When I first started to define my financial independence journey, I believed saving 10% of my income and being financially independent by a certain age were concrete enough objectives. During the year 2015 I realized they remained too long-term and end-goal oriented. To keep me focused and motivated to see this undertaking through, I have decided to set from now on yearly targets. These goals have to be SMART. This means they need to be measurable. Some of them are not finance related, but are geared towards improving my overall quality of life and realizing dreams of my kids. I will also set goals going forward on the portfolio of my mother and my kids.
Below you can find my objectives nicely organized by year. If you’re interested in regular updates regarding my progress in achieving these goals, you can always browse through the goals archive as I post Goals Report Out.
2018 Goals
Read our blog post on how we set our SMART 2018 Goals
Here are our five 2018 financial goals
- Save at least 10% of my yearly income (Pay myself first! – see our Financial strategy)
- Achieve a total of 10.000$ dividend or options income for the total year 2018 which equals an average of 550$ per month. Increase also our monthly dividend paying income to at least 300$. We would like to have a 30% increase if possible compared to 2017.
- Put my mom’s portfolio at work and generate at least a yearly 3.500$ dividend and/or options income. That equals a 290$ a month.
- Continue to grow my foster child and my kids’ portfolio. Monthly contributions for the portfolio of my foster child and dividend income focus for my kids’ portfolio. Grow our dividend and/or options income in my kids portfolio to 1000$ for the whole year.
- Give our sons at least 5 FINANCIAL educational lessons and teach him the basics of finance and how to manage money.
As outlined in our last financial education class, we will give each son 1000 euro and start to use this money to teach them how to grow that money. From 2018 to 2022 we will teach different topics. Follow the blog to stay tuned on these topics. You will be able to download the presentations for your own education or your kids’ education.
The above 5 financial goals are SMART as they are clearly defined and measurable. They should be possible to achieve if we apply our consistent strategic approach.
In our life we focus on spending money on experiences instead of buying things. Travel is a perfect way to relax and learn new things. In 2018 we will continue to save money for our travel plans or local visits to interesting places in Belgium. This is the 3rd layer in our Financial Strategy. We save money for this specific purpose each year. 
Here are our five travel goals
- Visit this year three interesting spots in Belgium where kids can learn something and have a unique experience to remember. They don’t have to cost money to be great.
- Do ONE city break vacation in 2018 with my son. Last year I heard from another dad that he took his teenager on a few days trip to another country. Get to know his child better was the main reason. Well..I thought that was a great idea which I want to do in 2018 with my son. We will pick a world city and go there for a weekend with a fixed budget that he will manage as he learned in his Financial Education Class in 2017.
- Plan and relax two weeks somewhere in the world with the family for a SUMMER vacation
- Post a blog post of each travel or visit experience. Grow the popularity of the blog.
- Inject the kids with cultural insights during our travel and teach them about history and other important facts in life. Write a travel chapter in their life story book.
2017 Goals
Read our blog post on how we reflected on our SMART 2017 Goals
Here are our five 2017 financial goals
- Save at least 10% of my yearly income (Pay myself first! – see our Financial strategy) NOT Achieved
- Achieve a total of 6.600$ dividend income for the total year 2017 which equals an average of 550$ per month. Increase also our monthly dividend paying income to at least 300$. We would like to have a 30% increase if possible compared to 2016. Achieved
- Put my mom’s portfolio at work and generate at least a yearly 1.200$ dividend income. That equals a 100$ a month. Achieved
- Continue to grow my foster child and my kids’ portfolio. Monthly contributions for the portfolio of my foster child and dividend income focus for my kids’ portfolio. Achieved
- Give my son at least 3 FINANCIAL educational lessons and teach him the basics of finance and how to manage money. Achieved
Although we focus on the growth of our passive income, we don’t neglect our work/life balance. Travel is our way to relax and learn. We do this in three different ways. Learn more about those 3 ways by clicking the links
Here are our five 2017 travel goals
- Visit this year three interesting spots in Belgium where kids can learn something and have a unique experience to remember. They don’t have to cost money to be great. Achieved
- Do ONE city break vacation in 2017. Kids have chosen London and Paris in the top 2 to visit. Achieved
- Plan and relax two weeks somewhere in the world with the family for a SUMMER vacation Achieved
- Post a blog post of each travel or visit experience. Grow the popularity of the blog. Achieved
- Inject the kids with cultural insights during our travel and teach them about history and other important facts in life. Write a travel chapter in their life story book. Achieved
2016 Goals
Read our blog post on how we reflected on our 2016 Goals
- Save at least 10% on average of my net annual income. Achieved
- Increase my net worth with at least an additional €5,000 by the end of the year.Achieved
- Generate €5,000 in dividends or 416 € per monthAchieved
- Realize one of my kids dreams : Swimming with dolphins and learn my daughter to swim Achieved
- Take over the control of my Mom’s financial situation and clean up the banking fees Achieved
- Continue to save money for my foster child Anisha and her future Achieved
- Prepare the start of my kids dividend portfolio for 2017 Achieved
- Do one week horse riding vacation NOT Achieved
2002 – 2015 Goals
From 2002- 2013 I paid for the maintenance and co-invested in a house which I didn’t own. At the end it was a stupid mistake to do so as a house is an asset (passiva) and it doesn’t generate any money (nor did it result in sustainable love)
After my divorce in 2013 where I lost more than 30% of my net worth, I focused on getting back on my feet and worked out a financial strategy that could lead to financial freedom and independence. You can read about our financial strategy here.
