24 Goals - Final Update

So it's time I share how I faired.

1. Make the maximum contribution to Roth IRA by July 4th ($4,000/$4,000) - Complete
2. Successful open up Hedge Fund account by June - Complete
3. Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $10,000 by August ($13,136/$10,000) - Complete
4. Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $20,000 by January ($12,500/$20,000)
   
5. Roth IRA account greater than or equal to $9,000 by January ($6,912/$9,000)
6. Have 150 blog posts by December (92/150)
7. Create Fund website by July 4th - Complete
   
8. Read five books by August (5/5) - Complete
9. Create two more portfolio's in my VSE league (2/2) - Done, dedicated my portfolio to EMA technical trading.
   
10. Do 75 push-ups without taking a break (80/75) - Oh yea, next goal is 100.
    
11. Run 2 miles in 12 minutes - Reached this in December
    
12. Increase my net worth by 80% this year (68%/80%) - Almost got there!
    
13. Play a set of tennis without double faulting - Not gonna happen.
14. Achieve Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification - Deadline passed; goal failed
15. Secure a full-time job - Yes
    
16. Convince five people to start investing (5/5)
    
17. Establish and record 500 phone contracts (220/500) - A little to aggressive
    
18. Establish and record 1000 email contacts (280/1000) - A little to aggressive
    
19. Learn how to drive a manual transmission - Nope
20. Achieve 1000 lifetime trades (465/1000) - A little to aggressive
    
21. Complete my portfolio management spreadsheet and submit to sourceforge.net - Nope
    
22. Attend a University of Michigan basketball game for free - Complete
    
23. Master double-digit multiplication and division - Complete
    
24. Give blood - Complete
    

In short, I am pretty satisfied with the results. I set 24 aggressive goals and was able to accomplish 13 of them.

24 Goals to Accomplish in 240 Days - UPDATE

It has been nearly six months since I shared my goals for the rest of the year. I have detailed the status of each of the goals below:

1. Make the maximum contribution to Roth IRA by July 4th ($4,000/$4,000) - Complete
2. Successful open up Hedge Fund account by June - Complete
3. Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $10,000 by August ($13,136/$10,000) - Complete
4. Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $20,000 by January ($13,136/$20,000) - Organic Growth, Yea!
   
5. Roth IRA account greater than or equal to $9,000 by January ($7,092/$9,000)
6. Have 150 blog posts by December (91/150)
7. Create Fund website by July 4th - Complete.
8. Read five books by August (5/5) - Complete
9. Create two more portfolio's in my VSE league (2/2) - Done, dedicated my portfolio to EMA technical trading.
   
10. Do 75 push-ups without taking a break (40/75) - Will measure this month
    
11. Run 2 miles in 12 minutes - Will measure this month
    
12. Increase my net worth by 80% this year (65%/80%) - Increased by almost 7%
13. Play a set of tennis without double faulting - 4 double faults is still my average
14. Achieve Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification - Deadline passed; goal failed
15. Secure a full-time job - Still working it
    
16. Convince five people to start investing (4/5)
    
17. Establish and record 500 phone contracts (170/500)
18. Establish and record 1000 email contacts (250/1000)
19. Learn how to drive a manual transmission - No progress
20. Achieve 1000 lifetime trades (435/1000)
21. Complete my portfolio management spreadsheet and submit to sourceforge.net - No progress
22. Attend a University of Michigan basketball game for free
    
23. Master double-digit multiplication and division - I would say I have a good grasp of this
    
24. Give blood - Complete

8 Goals down, 1 unreachable, and 15 to go.

24 Goals to Accomplish in 240 Days - UPDATE

It has been nearly five months since I shared my goals for the rest of the year. I have detailed the status of each of the goals below:

1. Make the maximum contribution to Roth IRA by July 4th ($4,000/$4,000) - Complete
2. Successful open up Hedge Fund account by June - Complete
3. Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $10,000 by August ($11,608/$10,000) - Complete
4. Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $20,000 by January ($11,608/$20,000)
5. Roth IRA account greater than or equal to $9,000 by January ($6,975/$9,000)
6. Have 150 blog posts by December (90/150)
7. Create Fund website by July 4th - Complete.
8. Read five books by August (5/5) - Complete
9. Create two more portfolio’s in my Virtual Stock Exchange league (1/2)
10. Do 75 push-ups without taking a break (40/75)
    
11. Run 2 miles in 12 minutes - Still running, no timing
    
12. Increase my net worth by 80% this year (58%/80%) - Increased by 5%
13. Play a set of tennis without double faulting - 4 double faults is still my average
14. Achieve Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification - Deadline passed; goal failed
15. Secure a full-time job - Getting some interviews
    
16. Convince five people to start investing (4/5) - Another roommate opened an account!
    
17. Establish and record 500 phone contracts (160/500)
18. Establish and record 1000 email contacts (240/1000)
19. Learn how to drive a manual transmission - No progress
20. Achieve 1000 lifetime trades (420/1000)
21. Complete my portfolio management spreadsheet and submit to sourceforge.net - No progress
22. Attend a University of Michigan basketball game for free
    
23. Master double-digit multiplication and division - No progress
24. Give blood - Complete

I think I can easily knock off #9, 11, and 16 this month! We'll see.

24 Goals to Accomplish in 240 Days - UPDATE

It has been nearly four months since I shared my goals for the rest of the year. I have detailed the status of each of the goals below:

1. Make the maximum contribution to Roth IRA by July 4th ($4,000/$4,000) - Complete
2. Successful open up Hedge Fund account by June - Complete
3. Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $10,000 by August ($11,000/$10,000) - Complete
4. Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $20,000 by January ($11,000/$20,000)
5. Roth IRA account greater than or equal to $9,000 by January ($6,902/$9,000)
6. Have 150 blog posts by December (87/150)
7. Create Fund website by July 4th - Complete.
8. Read five books by August (5/5) - Complete
9. Create two more portfolio’s in my Virtual Stock Exchange league (1/2)
10. Do 75 push-ups without taking a break (40/75)
    
11. Run 2 miles in 12 minutes - I have been running, but still have not timed myself
    
12. Increase my net worth by 80% this year (53%/80%) - Increased by almost 20%
13. Play a set of tennis without double faulting - 4 double faults is still my average
14. Achieve Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification - Deadline passed; goal failed
15. Secure a full-time job - No progress
16. Convince five people to start investing (3/5) - No progress.
    
17. Establish and record 500 phone contracts (150/500)
18. Establish and record 1000 email contacts (220/1000)
19. Learn how to drive a manual transmission - No progress
20. Achieve 1000 lifetime trades (410/1000)
21. Complete my portfolio management spreadsheet and submit to sourceforge.net - No progress
22. Attend a University of Michigan basketball game for free
    
23. Master double-digit multiplication and division - No progress
24. Give blood - No progress

I really need to start addressing my physical goals. Hopefully with school starting, I will be able to establish a more conducive schedule for these goals. The problem with this new schedule will be its potential impact on my net worth goal. Having a part-time job may only allow me to stabilize my current net worth. We'll see how it works out!

24 Goals to Accomplish in 240 Days - UPDATE

It has been nearly three months since I shared my goals for the rest of the year. I have detailed the status of each of the goals below:

1. Make the maximum contribution to Roth IRA by July 4th ($4,000/$4,000) - Complete
2. Successful open up Hedge Fund account by June - Complete
3. Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $10,000 by August ($10,800/$10,000) - Complete
4. Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $20,000 by January ($10,800/$20,000)
5. Roth IRA account greater than or equal to $9,000 by January ($6,700/$9,000)
6. Have 150 blog posts by December (82/150)
7. Create Fund website by July 4th - Complete.
8. Read five books by August (5/5) - Complete
9. Create two more portfolio’s in my Virtual Stock Exchange league (1/2)
10. Do 75 push-ups without taking a break (40/75) - No progress
11. Run 2 miles in 12 minutes - I have been running, but no measurable progress
12. Increase my net worth by 80% this year (33%/80%) - Increased by 8%
13. Play a set of tennis without double faulting - 4 double faults is my new average
14. Achieve Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification - Deadline passed; goal failed
15. Secure a full-time job - No progress
16. Convince five people to start investing (3/5) - Added my sister!
17. Establish and record 500 phone contracts (140/500)
18. Establish and record 1000 email contacts (240/1000)
19. Learn how to drive a manual transmission - No progress
20. Achieve 1000 lifetime trades (380/1000)
21. Complete my portfolio management spreadsheet and submit to sourceforge.net - No progress
22. Attend a University of Michigan basketball game for free - Potentially
23. Master double-digit multiplication and division - No progress
24. Give blood - No progress

Looks like the goal process is going well. Due to summer employment commitments, I have not been able to attack this list as much as I wanted to this month. So far I have managed to complete five goals, while only allowing one to slip away.

24 Goals to Accomplish in 240 Days - UPDATE

It has been nearly two months since I shared my goals for the rest of the year. I have detailed the status of each of the goals below:

1. Make the maximum contribution to Roth IRA by July 4th ($4,000/$4,000) - Complete
2. Successful open up Hedge Fund account by June - Complete
3. Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $10,000 by August ($10,800/$10,000) - Complete
4. Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $20,000 by January ($10,800/$20,000)
   
5. Roth IRA account greater than or equal to $9,000 by January ($6,700/$9,000)
   
6. Have 150 blog posts by December (74/150)
7. Create Fund website by July 4th - Complete.
   
8. Read five books by August (4/5)
9. Create two more portfolio’s in my Virtual Stock Exchange league (1/2)
10. Do 75 push-ups without taking a break (40/75) - No progress
11. Run 2 miles in 12 minutes - No progress
12. Increase my net worth by 80% this year (25%/80%) - Increased by almost 12%
13. Play a set of tennis without double faulting - 9 double faults the last time I played
    
14. Achieve Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification - No progress
15. Secure a full-time job - No progress
16. Convince five people to start investing (2/5)
17. Establish and record 500 phone contracts (140/500)
18. Establish and record 1000 email contacts (230/1000)
19. Learn how to drive a manual transmission - No progress
    
20. Achieve 1000 lifetime trades (342/1000)
    
21. Complete my portfolio management spreadsheet and submit to sourceforge.net - No progress
22. Attend a University of Michigan basketball game for free - No progress
    
23. Master double-digit multiplication and division - No progress
24. Give blood - No progress

Woo-hoo, I have completed four goals already! I still really need to start working toward achieving the fitness goals. Feel free to share how your goals are going!

Performance and New Features on the Way

The performance table on the sidebar was taking too much space so I will simply be sharing my recent trades and their results several times a month. Feel free to check out the Excel or html file detailing my transactions and month-to-month performance. I am happily back atop all of the major indices, which puts me several steps closer to achieving several of my 24 goals!

With that being said, I hope to dedicate the next several posts to individual stock recommendations. I spent about a month getting the personal finance tips off my chest, but it's time to get back to good ole investing!

As a side note, I would like to thank everyone who continues to read and contribute to my blog. I am hoping that this site will not only serve as a motivation tool for myself, but also a source of reference and knowledge for others.

24 Goals to Accomplish in 240 Days - UPDATE

It has been nearly a month since I shared my goals for the rest of the year. I have detailed the status of each of the goals below:

1. Make the maximum contribution to Roth IRA by July 4th ($0/$4,000) - Rollover to Roth IRA conversion in process - contribution to by made by end of the week!
2. Successful open up Hedge Fund account by June - Account to be open by the end of the week!
3. Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $10,000 by August ($0/$10,000) - No progress
4. Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $20,000 by January ($0/$20,000) - No progress
5. Roth IRA account greater than or equal to $9,000 by January ($3,500/$9,000) - No progress
6. Have 150 blog posts by December (41/150)
7. Create Fund website by July 4th - Initial planning has started
8. Read five books by August (3/5)
9. Create two more portfolio’s in my Virtual Stock Exchange league (1/2)
10. Do 75 push-ups without taking a break (40/75) - No progress
11. Run 2 miles in 12 minutes - No progress
12. Increase my net worth by 80% this year (14%/80%) - Increased by a little more than 2%
13. Play a set of tennis without double faulting - No progress
14. Achieve Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification - No progress
15. Secure a full-time job - No progress
16. Convince five people to start investing (1/5)
17. Establish and record 500 phone contracts (130/500)
18. Establish and record 1000 email contacts (220/1000)
19. Learn how to drive a manual transmission
20. Achieve 1000 lifetime trades (280/1000) - This is going to be tough!
21. Complete my portfolio management spreadsheet and submit to sourceforge.net - No progress
22. Attend a University of Michigan basketball game for free - I went to an arena football game for free!
23. Master double-digit multiplication and division - No progress
24. Give blood- No progress

I have made substanial progress on nine of these goals, but I really need to start working toward achieving the fitness goals. Feel free to share how your goals are going!

24 Goals to Accomplish in 240 Days

After reading the simple dollar's 101 Goals in 1001 Days post I felt inspired to document my own list of goals. I used Trent's same strategy of establishing specific, quantitative goals that may be poised for failure. I was a little impatient with Trent's time frame, so I made these goals good until the end of the year. I plan to write an update on these goals every couple of months or so. I have italicized all finance-related goals.

1. Make the maximum contribution to Roth IRA by July 4th ($0/$4,000)
2. Successful open up Hedge Fund account by June
3. Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $10,000 by August ($0/$10,000)
4. Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $20,000 by January ($0/$20,000)
5. Roth IRA account greater than or equal to $9,000 by January ($3,500/$9,000)
6. Have 150 blog posts by December (25/150)
7. Create Fund website by July 4th
8. Read five books by August (1/5)
9. Create two more portfolio’s in my Virtual Stock Exchange league (0/2)
10. Do 75 push-ups without taking a break (40/75)
11. Run 2 miles in 12 minutes
12. Increase my net worth by 80% this year (30%/80%)
13. Play a set of tennis without double faulting
14. Achieve Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification
15. Secure a full-time job
16. Convince five people to start investing (0/5)
17. Establish and record 500 phone contracts (120/500)
18. Establish and record 1000 email contacts (200/1000)
19. Learn how to drive a manual transmission
20. Achieve 1000 lifetime trades (200/1000)
21. Complete my portfolio management spreadsheet and submit to sourceforge.net
22. Attend a University of Michigan basketball game for free
23. Master double-digit multiplication and division
24. Give blood

I encourage all of my readers to set their own goals and let me know how they go. Remember, be specific with these goals and do not be afraid to set yourself up for failure.