2009 Financial Goals

I am trying to make these goals achievable yet challenging and though I am not writing with the intent to change them, if this year is any indicator, I may change my mind about my priorities and end up altering them mid-year or so...

Roth IRA
I just changed jobs and am rolling over my old 401(k) into Vanguard's 2050 Target Retirement Fund (changed my mind from the 2045). I haven't decided if I am going to put an additional $3,000 in as part of my 2008 Roth IRA (like Money Maus, I know I shouldn't be nervous about this because I'm young and have the time to wait out the market but I do see the benefit of cash savings that may ultimately turn into a downpayment, as well). Regardless, I am definitely committing to fully funding $5,000 into my 2009 Roth IRA in this same fund. I will do this by setting aside $210 from each paycheck. I'm not sure how these contributions will work (go to ING first and then Vanguard once a month?) until I get my account set up and figure out the rules around it.

401(k)
Unfortunately, my new job doesn't have a Roth 401(k). It also doesn't have as great of a match as my previous employer (only 50% match up to 5% of salary with a 5-year vesting timeline). Regardless, I will contribute 5% to make my total retirement contributions 15% and the slight tax benefits will be a nice boost to my paycheck, especially since my base salary is declining ever so slightly in the new position (overall comp should be the same though!) I won't be eligible until March so my total contributions should be $2,115.

Emergency Fund
I am going to contribute $700/month to this fund. I already have $5,000 in it now and I will earn some interest (however pitiful it may be) but I will likely tap it for some various things throughout the year too so I am going to make a goal of $14,000. I will also throw my tax refund in here if I get one. I plan on keeping it with E*Trade because I'm not interested in rate-chasing unless some other amazing offer appears. This $14,000 may end up higher if I decide to use that $3,000 to pad my cash savings instead of the Roth IRA because of this rocky economy. I'm also thinking of doing Suze Orman's Save Yourself Account for the $100 bonus so $100/month of the $700 might start going there instead.

Travel/Holiday/Gift Fund
I want to go on at least one big trip and maybe a smaller long weekend trip or two in addition to possibly having a wedding or two to attend so travel could end up being a pretty big expense this year. In addition, I'd like to be able to dip into this for gifts and even holiday travel if possible. I have $160 in there now and am going to contribute $115 per pay period for the rest of my 25 pay periods in 2009 for a total of about $3,035 plus interest total over the course of the year. Again, this will be a fluctuating fund so it will be a little hard to track but I have my contributions from my checking to ING Savings on autopilot for my biweekly paydays so I should be all set to go.