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Finances

My Financial Goals by 30

August 5, 2018January 12, 2019 Leila Leave a comment

Now that I'm 25, I've set some big financial goals for myself over the next 5 years. From paying off debt, investing, and saving money...I'm so excited to continue this journey! Read my goals at LivinglikeLeila.com.

Now that I’m a quarter of a century old and finally starting to feel successful in life, I’ve put a lot of thought and time into my future.

After hitting my quarter-life crisis in 2017 my life has changed quite a bit. Here’s a bit of a timeline:

-In May of 2017 I decided I needed to find a higher paying job
-As a result of that I lost HOURS of work and was hardly making $150 a week
-I sold many things and charged my necessities to credit cards to get by
-A few weeks later I got a front desk job at an urgent care for $12.75/hour
-My shifts were 12 hours long, people were rude, I was miserable
-I was still living paycheck to paycheck and applying to many jobs during my 8 months of employment
-I FINALLY got a job offer in my field of study (Biology) at a VERY good and well-known company
-My income more than doubled and I am in a MUCH better place financial and mentally
-I have been working here since late April and am contracted to work through April 2019, my contract may be extended an additional year or longer (either way I’m not worried about my future)
-Lately, I have become EVEN MORE obsessed with my finances, getting out of debt sooner, and securing my future

This journey hasn’t been easy. There’s been times when my bank account over-drafted…something that’s embarrassing for me to admit. All of the struggle and effort I put into being where I am now has been worth it. I refuse to ever reach such a scary and low point with my finances again.

Because of all that, I’ve made some big goals for myself over these next 5 years and I’ve never been so excited to go after them!

1. Pay off all of my debt

If you follow along with my spending/debt analyses each month, you’ll know that now I should be able to pay off all of my debt within 4 years…possibly even 2-3 depending on my income. Debt is normal, I don’t want to be normal. The longer I’m on this financial journey and the more I learn, the more I realize how much my peers have succumbed to this reality.

We literally work, work, work just to pay for old purchases that we obviously can’t afford because we had to take out loans or charge them onto credit cards. Can you imagine getting a paycheck and literally more than 90% of it being YOURS?!?

Being debt free means not owing money to anyone! You would then have the freedom to save your money or pay for things in full with your cash. I can’t wait for that!

2. Contribute the maximum amount to my Roth IRA

I opened a Roth IRA when I was 22 and contributed $1400 all at once. Since then, I either wasn’t making enough money to contribute or (now) focusing on throwing majority of my money to my debt.

Once I pay off my debt I can start contributing the $5500 maximum to my Roth and maybe even open a Traditional IRA. I think it’s a great account to have. Honestly, $5500 out of one year is nothing. So if I don’t have to pay off debt I could easily do that and still save thousands in cash.

I want to retire early by the way. Retire as in not have to work if I don’t want to, but of course I would still be blogging, Youtubing, and maybe doing other creative work. There’s no way I’m waiting until 59 1/2. The more passive income I make the sooner this can become a reality for me

3. Save 12 months of income

I have a pretty decent cushion in my bank account right now, and that’s only going to grow. By the time I’m 30 there’s no reason for me to not have saved a large amount of cash. Five years from now 12 months of income may look a lot different for me, so I’m not sure how much this would be exactly.

4. Actually profit from my “side hustles”

I’ve been blogging and Youtubing for years now. I do make income, but honestly it doesn’t make much of a dent. I enjoy doing both and eventually I want to make full-time income from these gigs. For now, making a couple thousand per month from these platforms while working full-time is a dream.

I just have to continue to be consistent and commit to the extra work day in and day out! I know it’ll happen.

5. Only using credit cards for rewards

I’m basically already doing this now, but I definitely want to keep it up. I have a few credit cards, only two of which I actually care for the rewards. My Bank of America credit cards gives me cash back on all purchases, more on gas and groceries. My Capital One credit card rewards me with points that can either be used on travel or redeemed for cash/giftcards.

I know that some people are completely against credit cards but I would still like to maintain a credit score even if I can pay everything in cash later on. If you know how to responsibly use a credit card they don’t have to be the enemy.


There you have it, my big goals for the next 5 years!

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July 2018 Debt and Spending Analysis
August 2018 Debt and Spending Analysis

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I've been vegan for 5 years as of yesterday. It's I've been vegan for 5 years as of yesterday.  It's still the best decision of my life.  I've gained the most strength and look my best as a vegan.  It's also worth mentioning I was vegetarian for 13 years before going vegan, which is why I had to bust out a double bi in photo 3 lol  So yes, I do get enough protein despite not eating animals 😏  As a vegan I've also learned to cook better, eat more types of foods, and have discovered amazing restaurants, recipes, and vegan alternatives all without harming animals.  I never want to push veganism on anyone, but I encourage everyone to explore this lifestyle.  Personally, having an animal suffer for my food, clothes, and products just isn't worth it. Being a perfect vegan isn't necessary, but even small changes can make a large difference.  My sister (@loka1089) made this shirt for me for Christmas by the way!!  #vegan #bekindtoeverykind #veganfortheanimals #veganweightlifting #vegangains #strongvegan #veganwoman #vegananniversary #GoVegan #veganbodybuilding #anythingyoucaneaticaneatvegan #LivinglikeLeila
Happy March!  An update on my February goals:
▪️Pay off my car ✅✅✅🙆‍♀️🙆‍♀️🙆‍♀️  ▪️Jump rope for at least 2 minutes daily ✅ (Well, I missed ONE day but otherwise I enjoyed this challenge a lot)  ▪️Start 'Phase 2' of my training program ✅ (it's more intense than I expected but my strength and body are improving!)  ▪️Finish reading 2-4 books ❌ (I finished 0. I stopped reading a fiction book because it was boring. I've been taking my time reading The Brain That Changes Itself because it requires focus lol)  ▪️Stick to my usual habits better ❌ (Feb was tough for me honestly. Sometimes I have bouts of intense fatigue and lack of motivation which I believe is associated with PMDD. Idk honestly)  March is usually a pretty transformative month for me, so here are my goals:  ▪️Put at least $600 to student loan savings
▪️Make over $1K online
▪️Finish The Brain That Changes Itself
▪️5 minutes of abs daily (new challenge!)
▪️Walk 10K steps daily again
▪️Stick to my habits/routine (for real this time!! I'm feeling better 😊)  #NewMonth #debtfreecommunity #debtfreejourney #blogger #youtuber #goals #february #habits #march #personaldevelopment #strong2021 #fitness #vegan #fitnessgoals #health #healthy #LivinglikeLeila #DebtOverIt
I just wanted to say a big thank you for all the l I just wanted to say a big thank you for all the love and kind words on my previous post ❤🥺  It amazes me that I have this growing community of support and I'm so grateful for it.  I know paying off a car and paying off debt isn't a big thing for everyone, but it's a huge part of my life and I genuinely appreciate that everyone is proud of me and celebrating with me!!  I do hope my progress and my openness on my finances encourages more people to look into theirs and improve it. Improving my finances has made a HUGE difference in my life.  No, money may not buy happiness. But when shit is in order you have less stress, more clarity, and more faith in what's to come👌  These blue light glasses are from @tijneyewear 👓 (gifted)  #thankyou #financialindependence #finance #debtfreecommunity #debtfreejourney #DebtOverIt #blogger #financialcoach #debtcoach #personaldevelopment #neverstopimproving #LivinglikeLeila
I paid off my car today 🙂 27 months EARLY!!! T I paid off my car today 🙂 27 months EARLY!!!  This car should have cost me about $22K, but it ended up being about $30K!!! I'll break down why that is in a future video.  But for the first time in my adult life I am paying $0 in interest right now 😭  I started my debt free journey in June 2018 with $82,200 of debt... I'm now down to ONLY my student loans of $36,200. Which are in forbearance and at 0% interest right now.  This is like a little preview of the debt free life 🥺  Not to mention, my minimum car payment was $382.55 and if I invested that monthly, it would grow to over $200,000 in 20 years.  You may be able to afford that car payment, but it comes with a HUGE sacrifice.  My debt free journey has changed my life and I'm so, so excited for my financial future. 🙏💰  #cardebtfree #finances #debtoverit #cardebt #debtfreecommunity #debtfreejourney #money #finance #studentloandebt #financialfreedom #financialindependence #firemovement #financialindependenceretireearly #TransferTuesday
'Living like Leila' will always be my first born b 'Living like Leila' will always be my first born baby business, but as my personal finance business has significantly grown I've realized I just want LLL to encompass Me.  If you haven't noticed, I am VERY multi-passionate. I love fitness, finance, personal development, veganism, plants, books, food, planning, habits, business. I literally lose sleep at night because I CONSTANTLY have ideas lol  So I know this IG and my LLL YouTube covers everything under the sun, but that's exactly what I want it to be. It's just a digital journal of my life and even though it can be a lot, it's just a reflection of my life and the things I value.  This has allowed me to put less pressure on myself for the content I create, and I truly just enjoy it all as a hobby now.  So I understand that some of my content may not resonate with everyone, but I appreciate ya'll being here 😊❤  And as a side note, if you decide to start an online business...niche down to ONE topic. It will go a lot further, at least from my experience 👀  #multipassionate #livinglikeleila #vegan #personaldevelopment #books #debtfreecommunity #finance #debtfreejourney #business #onlinebusiness #habits #fitness #life
Post-filming, pre-workout selfie ✌ hence the mes Post-filming, pre-workout selfie ✌ hence the mess.  My January finance update and February budget will be up Friday 😊  Also these are the best leggings ever from @ptulaactive  #ptulafamily #ptulaactive #ptula #youtuber #health #fitness #vegan #fit #igfitness #blogger #debtfreecommunity #debtfreejourney #debtoverit #budget #finance #livinglikeleila
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