My Next Few Goals

So now that my 2009 goals are met, I'll take a month off from saving to celebrate. July will be a no-save month, in as much as I am capable of living like that. It'll help that I'm away for two weeks of the month, staying with my parents. I'll need every penny of NZD to make it while buying USD priced items!

Since I still don't know what my future holds, I'll hold off on making concrete plans for August through December. My last paycheck for my current contract will come through around August 5.

If I get to stay, my next goal to tackle will be filling up my USD EF (I currently have about $2800 in my US EF; my goal is $5K) and getting some money in New Zealand retirement. If I get to stay, it means that I both have a 2 year contract and Permanent Residency. At that point, I will plan on staying in NZ for at least two years, to fulfill my contract and fulfill the requirements to get a returning resident's visa, so I can come back to live in NZ whenever I want in the future. Once I get PR, I can open up a Kiwisaver and the NZ government will contribute $1K in kickstart money. Additionally, my company should match my 2% contribution (they are required to match 2% this year)--I'm not positive on that because my company is owned by the university, so they may be exempt from such contributions, we'll see!

I can contribute 2%, 4%, or 8% of my gross pay to the Kiwisaver, my choice. I think I'll just stick with 2% since that is the match, and because I don't know how long I'll be in NZ.

If I do not get to stay, my plan is to take some of the $5.5K NZD from the car and travel funds and go on a trip to the South Island and Australia, and probably a couple of South Pacific islands! My $10K NZD EF ($6K) will be used to get me started in the US when I get back (I'd stay with my parents until I could get a job in DC or near there).