We are looking at financial goals for the New Year. MSN Money lists 6 financial milestones to reach before age 30. If you are already over 30, these milestones are still worth looking into, but the real question is whether or not these milestones are good goals. We will be looking at one milestone each day, so let’s start with the first one.
“Scale back the credit cards”
The average credit card debt among 25- to 34-year-olds was $5,200 in 2004, according to credit card research firm CardWeb.com. That is on top of the average $19,200 in student-loan debt carried by recent undergraduates.
Sarah Young Fisher, 53, president of financial-planning firm Kuntz Lesher Capital in Lancaster, PA says a 30-year-old needs to be “living on your paycheck” — getting by without taking on credit card debt — and saving at least 10% of total salary for the future. “If not,” she says, “you’re not going be able to retire.”
Scaling back is not very measurable, so let’s fix that right now. Instead of ‘scale back credit cards’ let’s say ‘get rid of credit cards’. There, now that is measurable and doable. It is also the best way of getting out of debt. Step 1 for getting out of debt, stop borrowing; that would include buying things on credit that you cannot afford. Check back tomorrow for the next milestone.
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