Resolutions for 2010: MoneyWatch Money Goals
Since CBS MoneyWatch launched earlier this year, our editorial team has done its best to provide you with the best financial advice we could. But are we walking our own talk?
We asked the folks at MoneyWatch and its sister site, BNET, what they wanted to do better in 2010 — financially speaking, of course — and what they could have done better in the past. We hope that our to-do list will inspire you to set (and keep) some financial resolutions of your own. Please share yours with us in the comment box below. In 12 months, we'll check back in and see how we all did.
Nelson Wang, senior editor, CBS MoneyWatch
Resolution: “To finally write a will this year. My parents have been bugging me about doing this for years, and I’m no spring chicken anymore. Plus, I just got married last year so it’s even more important.”
Past regrets: “Regrets? I’ve had a few. But then again, too few to mention. (Actually, I probably could have saved a little more in the past. But then life wouldn’t have been as much fun).”
Jack Otter, executive editor, CBS MoneyWatch
Resolution: “To follow my own advice and allocate my retirement assets in a unified way instead of in four separate silos. I recently started this job, so now I have yet one more retirement account to manage.”
Past regrets: “Not investing in emerging markets late last fall, when I actually assigned a story telling people that it was time to invest in them. Emerging stocks have doubled in value since then.”
Christine Lee, managing editor, BNET
Resolution: “I’m hoping to invest in real estate. Prices are much more reasonable now than in the past 10 years. It’s easier to come out ahead on a small rental property. One word: foreclosures.”
Past regrets: “I wish I’d saved more for the down payment during the boom times.”
Richard Eisenberg, senior editor, CBS MoneyWatch
Resolution: “I hope to find more ways to lower my family’s living expenses. This is the right time because, with two kids in college, I could use ways to shore up my savings.”
Past regrets: “Overpaying for outrageously high wireless and cable services.”
Karen Steen, senior editor, BNET
Resolution: “To do some deep research on tenancy in common (TIC) real-estate arrangements and decide whether getting into one would be a good investment for me. Now is the time because the housing market is down and interest rates are low.”
Past regrets: “I’ve been inconsistent about my Roth IRA contributions. I’d like to start contributing the max every year.”
Eric Schurenberg, editor-in-chief, BNET and CBS MoneyWatch
Resolution: “Get more sleep. One of the first things I learned at MoneyWatch was how much damage you do to your human capital by keeping the kind of hours I keep. I haven’t figured out yet how I’ll squeeze it all in.”
Past regrets: “I didn’t take enough risk last year and missed too much of the market rebound. Oh well. This year the trick will be to avoid chasing last year’s gains.”
Marianne Wilman, executive producer, BNET and CBS MoneyWatch
Resolution: “I am going to curb my clothes shopping habit, again. Now’s the right time because I’d like to buy a home and if I can pull a deposit together the government is going to help me with my purchase, to the tune of $8,000.”
Past regrets: “I haven’t always contributed fully to my 401(k). I’ve now seen the benefits of compound interest in my 401(k) and wish I’d been more savvy earlier. It may not be the best retirement savings tool in the world but it’s the one we have, right?”
Rachel Elson, managing editor, CBS MoneyWatch
Resolution: “I’m going to see an estate lawyer and create a will.”
Past regrets: “Honestly, I’m embarrassed that I don’t have a proper estate plan already. Also, there’s a new baby in my extended family, so I want to make sure he’s covered.”
Jill Schlesinger, editor-at-large, CBS MoneyWatch
Resolution: “To complete the purchase of a second home with the cheap money the Fed is providing! My partner and I have wanted to own a second home for three or four years, but the prices went crazy, so we decided to wait. The wait has paid off because prices came way down and interest rates are low, so we want to act now.”
Past regrets: “I would have loved to pour lots of money into the market at the bottom, but that’s only with hindsight. Knowing that I am a complete and total wimp, I’m happy with the small moves that I made.”
Lindsay Blakely, associate editor, BNET
Resolution: “I plan to pay for 99.9 percent of all my expenses and purchases with cash. (And actually stick to the budget I set up for myself on Mint.com.) Now that I’ve built up some savings and paid off my credit card balances, I want to keep my finances simple.”
Past regrets: “Yes: Spontaneous shopping excursions.”
Christopher DiLella, associate producer, CBS MoneyWatch
Resolution: “To start my 401(k)! Now that I just graduated, it’s time — as my parents keep reminding me. Also, I plan to start paying off my credit card debt.”
Past regrets: “I’ve learned the hard way about convenience checks. They’re really not that convenient.”
Matt Giles, associate producer, CBS MoneyWatch
Resolution: “For the New Year, I would like to start saving more. My girlfriend and I are thinking about moving out of Manhattan and into Queens and beginning to curtail our spending. I am 25 years old now and it’s time to stop living like I am still 23.”
Past regrets: “I haven’t really ever made financial moves so I don’t think I have any past mistakes yet.”
What’s your resolution? Sign in and let us know in the comments field below.
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