Ashley’s Financial Goals for 2026

digitalplatform.g@gmail.com January 19, 2026Last Updated: January 19, 2026

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Looking back on last year’s financial goals, I feel more strategic about the coming year. 2025 was the year of order. We opened our LLC, rethought our investment strategy, and hired a CPA. It wasn’t perfect, but it was productive.

So what does 2026 look like? Here are the biggest financial goals I set for myself and my family.

Plan and Prepare for Early Retirement

This is the goal of the 2026 article.

I am planning an entire blog post on this topic (thanks to some of the comments on my Catching FIRE blog post last month). But for now I will say that this has been a thought and a dream for many years but it has been a “reach” goal and I have not found anything concrete in terms of strategies or plans to make it a reality. I want that to change this year. I plan to come up with a realistic timeline for retirement and plans for what we will do in terms of health care, IRA distributions, and more. Using the numbers, we’ll see what’s possible and where we might need to compromise (working longer versus cutting back on the “lifestyle” in retirement, etc.). I’m excited to work on this plan and report back when I’ve given it more thought.

Save 50% of Income

This is in line with the previous goal (preparing for early retirement)! We’ve been looking at this number for a long time, but it also felt like a vague mandate because is it 50% of our total revenue? Do I use the amount paid in the paycheck as a whole number (but most of the investment is taken out of our check before it goes into our bank accounts)? Or do I look more closely at our gross income minus taxes? Eliminate taxes and insurances? What are others doing here when they think of saving “X” percent of their income?

I know this is all semantics, but it can be really difficult if you have multiple savings and investment accounts going on (eg, we have an ORP, 403b, HSA, IRAS, taxable brokerage, high yield savings account, 529s for kids, Roth IRAs for kids, etc.)

We currently have good income and stable jobs. The next 7-10 years are an important time to build long-term security and ensure our ability to retire early. Also, getting a specific number on what we live on versus saving will be important as we plan our retirement income needs.

Adjust Investments

Also – shout out and thanks to the commenters from my blog post “Assessment”. Given the desire to retire early, one of my goals for this year is to start growing our regular taxable accounts. This will be a bridge that we will use between ages 50-59.5 so that we don’t have to draw on retirement accounts that may have early distribution penalties. Part of this will move (some) money from high yield savings accounts to traditional brokerages so we have a high growth rate. But I also want to increase monthly contributions and reinvest funds here that I had to make mandatory withdrawals from an inherited IRA I received last year after my father passed away.

Keep an eye on the rental market

I have mentioned many times that I am interested in turning to real estate investing. To be clear, this policy is NOT a commitment to purchase a rental property in 2026. But I want to continue to watch the housing market, watch interest rates, and be ready in case an opportunity arises. This is not something we can rush into. I know there is a lot of added responsibility (and oftentimes frustration and difficulty) that comes with being a landlord. So this is more of a goal to continue to keep our fingers on the pulse of the housing market and be open and ready when the time feels right.

Long-term property rental strength be on the cards for 2026 (or not). And down the road I’m still dreaming of a vacation rental (that doubles as a family getaway). But this is a goal of slow play for now.

Be Debt Free (get rid of the house)!

We have been consumer debt free for a long time. We have no car loans or credit card debt. No medical debt or outstanding bills. I remember when I first started blogging here that I had a Mattress Firm credit card and we owed taxes and had to negotiate medical debt and all kinds of things we owed to all kinds of people and places. It’s crazy how much has changed in 10 years.

Like Hope, my last remaining debt (not counting the house) is STUDENT LOANS! It’s been the bane of my existence for years (a bit hyperbolic, but it drives me crazy!). FINALLY this is the year to put them to bed. I’m in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and I’m set to have my remaining student loan balance (about $25k-ish) forgiven later this year. I. I KNOW. NO. WAIT!

Wrapping up

So that’s the plan for 2026: Save more. Invest wisely. Keep things simple, deliberate, and sustainable all to prepare for our early retirement dreams.