As I am entering my 30s in a couple years and with no more school in the way, I am absolutely excited to begin this new phase of my life. I feel like I have a good understanding of who I am and more or less know where I want to be headed in the future.

I am a very goal-oriented individual and for as far back as I can remember, I’ve always thought of life in the years… what I want to do next year, and in 5 years., etc. So I figured I’d list some of my short and long-term goals just to keep me focused and so I can look back and reassess in a couple months or in a year.

Short-Term Goals

1. Increase my credit score.

I previously mentioned that I wanted to refinance my loans with First Republic Bank. However, they are very stringent with their requirements, one of which is to have a FICO score > 750.  Last I checked, my credit score is in the 730s range so I do need to raise it.

I had just opened a new credit card last year and was taking advantage of the 0% APR for 1 year while I was still in school which made credit utilization quite high, but I’ve paid down my credit card to under 30% so it should increase hopefully in a couple months.

Update: As of March 2018, my FICO score is >750. I’ve also put my plan of refinancing with FRB on hold, instead choosing to go with the federal REPAYE program that essentially cuts my interest rate in half and serve the same purpose as refinancing with FRB.

2. Decrease my student loan to < $100,000  by June 2018.

Right now I am at  ~$125,000. I hope that I can stay on track through the first half of 2018 (and hopefully after too), and keep making extra payments.

As I mentioned in my Nov-Dec 2017 Debt Statement, I am planning on hitting the loans aggressively until I get to $100,000 at which point I hope to split my focus between debt repayment and saving.

The interest that accrues at higher debt is by far the biggest reason why people should hit their debt aggressively in the beginning. As your loan dwindles, so does the interest that accrues every month which is why I am putting pretty much my entire salary into loan repayment at this point.

Update: As of July 2018, my student loan balance stands at $97,000.




3. Pay off credit card & apply for a new one by March 2018.

As I mentioned in reason #1, the credit card that I talked about has 0% APR but that is ending at the 1-year mark in March 2018 so I do have to start paying that off. I have about $3000 credit on that card that I do have to pay off by March because the only thing worse (and higher!) than student loan interest is credit card interest!

I must say I DO recommend getting a 0% APR credit card even if it only lasts a few months (and even better if it lasts a year) because that is a free loan right into your hand! I would caution on having a repayment plan in mind and only taking out as much as you are able to pay back because eventually, you DO have to pay it back, but I attribute being able to make so many extra payments to my student loan because I was able to charge my daily living expenses to my credit card.

Update: I paid off my credit card debt in February 2018 and got a new Chase Freedom Unlimited credit card in March 2018 with 0% APR (use this link to get $150 bonus after spending $500). They gave me a higher credit limit than the card I just paid off so I’m happy about that.

Long-Term Goals

1. Buy a condo. 

Some people dream of big houses with a backyard for their dogs to play around, I dream of a cozy condominium with a mini balcony to put some plants. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love the outdoors, but I never liked having a backyard because I never had much use for it.

I do hope to buy my first home within the next 2-3 years. The housing market is quite on the uprise right now, so I am hoping that by the time I gain more saving, I can afford to put a down payment on a condo.




As I was making my list, I realized that I don’t have many long-term goals (only 1 in fact) which I’m ok with. I will probably add on to it as I continue to look back on this list. In a sense, I think it is better not to overwhelm myself with putting too much pressure on these goals. As a person, I am going to continue maturing, evolving and my financial and life goals are going to change so I am not too worried about having everything laid out. After all… que sera, sera.