My 2008 Personal Finance Goals

Most of the personal finance blogs that I read include the blogger's financial goals. I assume it makes them more accountable, and also serves as a way to keep track and look back on how well (hopefully!) they've done. Back in January, I wrote out my goals on Adventures in Library Land. They were:

1. Pay my car off within 18 months.
2. Learn more about personal finance and investing. I quantified this one by saying I would keep up with the personal finance blogs I subscribe to (see the Finance section), as well as reading 2 books.

How am I doing on my goals?
1. I have paid off my car already. In 6 months instead of 18. The title came in the mail the other week, and it was entirely too exciting. I now own my car. What a good feeling. Goal 1 accomplished.
2. I have read two personal finance books. I would highly recommend Random Walk Guide to Investing, which I reviewed on Rage in the Page. The Ultimate Cheapskate's Roadmap to True Riches is also a great read, both entertaining and quick. It contains lots of good advice on how to keep your expenses low, although I doubt many would desire to be quite that cheap. (Note: Book title hyperlinks will take you into WorldCat where you can type in your zip code and see if a library near you has the book. It's cheaper than buying it, and I'm a librarian - I like to support libraries). I also do a relatively decent job of keeping up with the personal finance blogs I subscribe to.

Since I basically met the goals I set earlier, I am setting additional ones:
3. Open a Roth IRA (I've been intending to do this for the past 6 months, and I need to finally do it!)
4. Read 3 more personal finance books, and continue to keep up with the blogs I subscribe to.