Revised Goals for 2023

The weather here in Central Wisconsin as of Friday, September 15, has certainly cooled off from the triple-digit Fahrenheit temperatures that were set just weeks ago. It is predicted that the high temperature today is going to reach 75 degrees Fahrenheit, which is an ideal temperature in my opinion. With probably just a few days here and there of this type of weather left, I am definitely going to get outside before typical fall and winter weather hit us.

Anyways, taking into consideration the financial and professional impact of my recent job loss, now is probably a good time to adjust my goals a bit for the three and a half months that we have remaining in 2023.

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My Updated Financial Goals for 2023

1. End 2023 with a six month emergency fund

My recent job loss has drove home the importance of a healthy emergency fund. I currently have an emergency fund of about three months of living expenses. And while it looks like I will be blessed to quickly land back on my feet, three months just doesn't seem like an adequate emergency fund after having experienced my first layoff. That's why I'd like to just over double my emergency fund to six months of living expenses.

2. Conclude 2023 with net annual forward dividends of at least $4,300

At the time of writing, my portfolio is expected to generate net annual forward dividends of $4,221.86. Since I am going to be focusing on building up my emergency fund, I either won't be investing for the rest of 2023 or capital deployment will be quite minimal. But dividend increases over the next few months should help me surpass $4,300 in net annual forward dividends before the year is over.

3. Reach $120,000 in investments and $140,000 in net worth

My cash flow is likely going to be less for the next few months than what it had previously been throughout this year. This is why my goal is to simply have the value of my portfolio remain around $120,000. And as I slowly build up my emergency fund, the thought is that I can increase my net worth by around $5,000 from the current mark of nearly $135,000.

My Personal Goals for 2023

1. Publish approximately 360 Motley Fool articles

Prior to my layoff, I was going to crush my goal of publishing at least 450 Motley Fool articles. In fact, I was on track to publish over 520. But given the circumstances, I will have to settle for the roughly 360 that were published.

2. Publish at least 90 Seeking Alpha articles

Until my layoff, my goal was to publish one Seeking Alpha article each month. My new goal is to publish 90 Seeking Alpha articles for this year. Based on the 15 that I already have had or will have published as of writing, this is a modest goal of five articles per week. As I get settled into Seeking Alpha and a new role at a Marketplace service, I may up this goal for 2024.

3. Publish one blog post each week.

Out of all my goals, this is the only one that is going to remain the same. I like where I'm at right now with publishing to the blog. It's still a nice hobby to update readers on my progress on the journey to achieve financial independence.

Concluding Thoughts:

Have you ever updated your goals as the year evolved?

Thanks for your readership and please leave your comments below!