What financial goal are you focusing on this year?

TOM WATSON

Senior journalist 2023 is going to require some serious discipline on the savings front because my sights are firmly set on purchasing a home with my partner. I won’t lie: the prospect of buying our first place when property is so expensive and rates are at decade highs is a bit daunting, so if we do end up in a position to buy then you can bet we’ll be shopping around for the cheapest mortgage we can get our hands on.

SHAUNA MILANI

Design and production manager

Now that I have one less child at school, the goal is to direct any school-related expenses/fees we previously had straight onto the mortgage via higher repayments. This will not only help to pay it off faster but will hopefully provide a good buffer for any further interest rate hikes over the next year. Not immediately exciting, but it will be great to have that mortgage paid off so much sooner.

NICOLA FIELD

Contributing writer 2023 sees my youngest child (of four) enter Year 12, making it the last year I have to budget and save for school fees. Happy days! It’s my 17th year of paying private secondary school fees, so my system of regularly setting aside savings is finely tuned. I can’t deny it will be a huge financial relief when the final invoice is paid. But it’s bittersweet, marking the end of an amazing journey watching my kids growing up.

SANJESH PINNAPOLA

Research analyst

My biggest focus will be growing the account balances of my investments and savings. Having to currently pay off those not-insubstantial university fees meant that it hasn’t been possible to add any money into my investments or savings of late. However, with that monkey soon to be off my back, I’m hoping that usual service can resume and that my savings actually grow.