5 Money Goals I Have for 2021
By: Thomas Groenvold
Tags: Goal Setting, Self Improvement, Money, 2021, Charity

5 Money Goals I Have for 2021

My 5 biggest goals for my finances in the year to come and how I intend to make them happen. Thomas Groenvold Follow Dec 4, 2020 · 5 min read

Source: Shutterstock.com

As 2020 comes to a close, it’s time to start planning for the year to come. The past year turned out to be a very different year than most of us would have predicted, but financially the year delivered better than expected.

Markets are at all-time highs, interest rates at all-time lows, but somehow there's a dark shadow lurking around, keeping investors at their toes.

While I’m sure you’d agree 2020 won’t be a year we’ll miss any time soon, 2021 offers a new opportunity to put down some fresh goals to keep the momentum.

So, before it’s time to close the books on 2020 completely, let me do a quick summary of the achievements 2020 had to offer.

The year that pasted

2020 was, without a doubt, a hard year for us all. Like most, I have spent countless hours at the home office and gone whole weeks without leaving the apartment.

While we can all agree that 2020 was a disastrous year due to the ongoing pandemic, the financial year 2020 actually offered some great opportunities.

I started my passive-income portfolio (Dividend portfolio) back in March 2020, and YTD, I hold a portfolio showing a 41% gain in market value.

Together with my long-term savings, we’re back in positive territory, recuperating the devastating losses suffered when oil prices collapsed last spring.

Together with my wife, We made our biggest investment ever when we went all in, buying a new apartment in Oslo's development area. We now stand to sell this with a decent chunk as we look for new opportunities.

2020 was also the year I quit my job and did a complete turn around financially. I can’t summarize 2020 without mentioning my daughter's birth, which might not be a financial achievement but still the most important day of my life.

So, with that summary of the year coming to an end. It’s time to look into the crystal ball for what 2021 should bring.

Source: Shutterstock.com

1. Increase my passive income

I will continue to build my passive income portfolio through 2021. My dividend portfolio currently yields around $450 per month in dividends, and I will continue to build it toward the goal of $1000 per month.

Picture by author.

As seen above, I consider Dividends, medium, royalties, and affiliate marketing as passive income. Why? — Because these continue to bring income from previously published works.

My online real active income is my work as a freelance writer, where I take paid gigs on a fixed schedule.

While my main focus is on the dividend portfolio, I will continue developing my other sources of passive income by implementing affiliate links on my blog, promoting my E-books through various platforms, and publishing here on Medium.

This will again give me funds available for investing, boosting my dividend portfolio further.

2. Repay my final debt, becoming debt-free

2021 will be the year I become debt-free. As I mentioned previously, we intend to cash in on our investment in the housing market. To avoid further debt burdens, we’re moving out of the city center to purchase a new home in the suburban areas instead.

This will allow us to get rid of the mortgage, finalize any small loans we have connected to the apartment, and finally be free of loan expenses.

Once we’re rid of the mortgage, we can focus on developing our assets rather than working on the down payments, which will further boost our process.

This will also allow us to start setting aside money for our daughter's education at a steady pace.

So, if everything goes according to plan, I’ll happily summary this article in a year as the year I went debt-free.

3. Finish building the emergency fund

Another hairy goal I have for 2021 is to finish our emergency fund. I aim at having an emergency fund consisting of 6 months of full coverage by the end of 2021.

By 6 months of full coverage, I mean all fixed living expenses for 6 full months. In other words, we should have 0 income for 6 months and still come by with the emergency fund.

The fund will be roughly $10.000 when done and currently sit at a little less than $3500. Meaning I will have to add another $7500 to the fund by the end of 2021.

This is not investable capital, but cash sitting in high rent savings account in case of an emergency.

4. Add 2 more income streams to my diversification

As the flowchart posted further up shows, I currently have 5 sources of income. I started 2020 with only my salary, so I’ve managed to increase it with 4 more.

For 2021 I seek to add two more income sources to my flowchart, and rental properties will hopefully be one of them.

I’m also looking into launching some e-Products, which would be yet another source of income from direct sales.

I haven’t chiseled out the details for this goal yet, but the overall goal is clear. I want to add two more income sources, bringing the total up to 7 diversified income streams.

5. Start giving back

This might be the strangest one of my goals, but also the one I hold the closest to my heart. One of the benefits of becoming financially independent and debt-free is that we’ll have better room for giving back.

My last goal for 2021 is to set up a portfolio of passive income sources with the aim of giving back to charity. One of my biggest dreams is establishing my own foundation to pursue welfare and education for underprivileged children.

I aim to set up a passive income portfolio throughout 2021, which has the sole purpose of returning funds for such an organization.

It might start small, but with a long time horizon and the power of compound interest, I hope to increase my contributions continuously.

The bottom line

These are 5 massive money goals I have for the year to come. While some of them might not be directly money-related goals, they still hold a significant impact on my financial situation, which is why I’ve put them on the list.

2021 will also be my first year as a full-time freelance, which will be yet another massive milestone on my financial journey.

When a year comes to an end, one of my favorite things is to draw the line and start looking for new financial challenges to achieve. I hope my goals help motivate you to set your own 2021 goals and would love to hear them down in the comments.