So my intent for the day was to give you guys a review on my December goals, but as I'll be trekking out to my parents house to work on cleaning out the old room today and tomorrow, I figured theres a good chance I'll make more progress so I should wait on the goal review to see if I do. Instead, I bring you January goals!
1. Finish Cleaning out the old room. I have time scheduled in each day this long weekend to work on this, so I'm hoping it will get done ASAP, but it may still get drawn out throughout the month. It's been 4 months now since I moved out though, so I think its time I completely move out! Except of course for a box or two of storage stuff. :)
2. Try 3 new recipes. One of my year goals was to try 25 recipes so I thought I should start out the year strong! Plus I'm excited to try stuff in the Jamie's Food Revolution which I got for Christmas.
3. Read 12 Books. 1/12 of my yearly goal, lets see if I can do it!
4. Exercise 465 minutes. That's 15 minutes a day on average, and I beat my 10 minutes a day goal last month so I think I can do it!
5. Finish my 21 days in a row streak of exercise. I'm starting off with 11 days in a row (given that I work out tomorrow) and just need to keep it up til the 10th!
6. Finalize my budget for 2011. I have a monthly budget, not a yearly one, but it stays mostly the same month to month. I want to get this figured out once I have final numbers on what I'll be getting each paycheck.
I'm optimistic about these goals and hopefully goals 2,4, and 5 will help me to win some prize money in the biggest loser in March when it finishes!
30 December 2010
28 December 2010
2011 goals
This blog was started to focus on getting myself out of debt so that is what I should be focusing on in my 2011 goals, but that is not the case. I decided to make 2011 my year for focusing on my health. This post by J.D. at Get Rich Slowly reinforced my decision. My primary focus for the year is to lose weight, be more fit, and be all around healthier. For so many years school has been my top priority and other things have fallen by the wayside. This year my focus is on my health. And if that means I have to pay only the minimum on my debt, or spend so money to keep me focused and inspired, then so be it.
Now I'm not talking about going out and blowing a couple thousand on an elliptical machine, I'm talking about buying a new DVD or game when my exercise routine gets a little stale. Reasonable spending still since my finances are important, but I want to put my weight and health before putting extra money towards my debt. With that in mind, I'm making financial goals, but I will not beat myself up if I fall short of them because this other area of my life takes priority.
With that said, down to the goals!
Money:
Make a workable budget and stick to it (or at least keep tracking it)- again this is still waiting on the raise!
Pay $12,000 towards my debt- this works out to be paying about $250 more than the minimums every month, but I expect my tax return to go towards debt as well.
Make an extra $1,000- I've never had a goal like this before but I'm hoping to get my Etsy shop up and running again so I think this is doable. The intent is for this to not include my tax return.
Health:
Lose 35 pounds- this is a very doable goal for a year! The biggest loser contest I signed up for starts in a week and a half and I also got a biggest loser calendar for the year so I can't forget that this is a goal for me!
Exercise everyday- I'm not talking about an hour of workout time everyday (although I wouldn't mind working up to this) I want to do something EVERY day, even if its just a handful of situps. I started on this goal a little bit ago and so far I'm at 8 days in a row!
Misc:
Read 120 books. I know I didn't meet my 100 goal in 2010, but I think I can meet the 120 goal in 2011.
Try 25 new recipes I really want to broaden my cooking horizons, and it will help me get healthy.
Learn to knit more than just a scarves. 'nough said.
Now I'm not talking about going out and blowing a couple thousand on an elliptical machine, I'm talking about buying a new DVD or game when my exercise routine gets a little stale. Reasonable spending still since my finances are important, but I want to put my weight and health before putting extra money towards my debt. With that in mind, I'm making financial goals, but I will not beat myself up if I fall short of them because this other area of my life takes priority.
With that said, down to the goals!
Money:
Make a workable budget and stick to it (or at least keep tracking it)- again this is still waiting on the raise!
Pay $12,000 towards my debt- this works out to be paying about $250 more than the minimums every month, but I expect my tax return to go towards debt as well.
Make an extra $1,000- I've never had a goal like this before but I'm hoping to get my Etsy shop up and running again so I think this is doable. The intent is for this to not include my tax return.
Health:
Lose 35 pounds- this is a very doable goal for a year! The biggest loser contest I signed up for starts in a week and a half and I also got a biggest loser calendar for the year so I can't forget that this is a goal for me!
Exercise everyday- I'm not talking about an hour of workout time everyday (although I wouldn't mind working up to this) I want to do something EVERY day, even if its just a handful of situps. I started on this goal a little bit ago and so far I'm at 8 days in a row!
Misc:
Read 120 books. I know I didn't meet my 100 goal in 2010, but I think I can meet the 120 goal in 2011.
Try 25 new recipes I really want to broaden my cooking horizons, and it will help me get healthy.
Learn to knit more than just a scarves. 'nough said.
27 December 2010
A look at 2010 goals
My Debt:
Pay off undergrad loan by April 2011- I'm really surprised I was so ambitious when I was moving out and had just bought a new car. I have not made progress in this area really since I shared the goal in August. It's also lumped into half of my grad school loans now so its hard to distinguish which is which.
Pay off Credit Card by October 2010- whoops. Forgot about that one. Still more progress to make than I would like on this.
My Health:
Lose 35 pounds by December 2010- nope. not a single damn pound.
Misc:
Read 100 books- nope. I'll probably be ending the year around 80, but still good if you ask me.
Next time: My goals for 2011.
Pay off undergrad loan by April 2011- I'm really surprised I was so ambitious when I was moving out and had just bought a new car. I have not made progress in this area really since I shared the goal in August. It's also lumped into half of my grad school loans now so its hard to distinguish which is which.
Pay off Credit Card by October 2010- whoops. Forgot about that one. Still more progress to make than I would like on this.
My Health:
Lose 35 pounds by December 2010- nope. not a single damn pound.
Misc:
Read 100 books- nope. I'll probably be ending the year around 80, but still good if you ask me.
Next time: My goals for 2011.
24 December 2010
Friday Goal Check-Up
1. Get the guitar and extras, Itunes gift card, and the doll up on Ebay. No progress yet.
2. Take 4 boxes to goodwill. Ditto
3. Meet my 100 books goal! Still sitting at halfway through 3 books. Still at 78 books. :(
4. 310 minutes of Exercise. Definitely making progress!. 200 minutes so far, I'm only 40 minutes behind. If I do half an hour tomorrow and Sunday I'll be caught up!
5. Revamp my Budget. I've come to the realization that this won't get done this month. I need to know what my raise is going to be and I won't know that until admin gets back from holiday vacation time! This means I won't know what my raise is until January 3rd at the absolute earliest (and my transcript still does not show I'm graduated so that might delay it further). Sigh, this will definitely be done by next month. I may try to come up with an intermittent budget that runs from mid December to Mid January instead. In fact, that will be my goal today!
2. Take 4 boxes to goodwill. Ditto
3. Meet my 100 books goal! Still sitting at halfway through 3 books. Still at 78 books. :(
4. 310 minutes of Exercise. Definitely making progress!. 200 minutes so far, I'm only 40 minutes behind. If I do half an hour tomorrow and Sunday I'll be caught up!
5. Revamp my Budget. I've come to the realization that this won't get done this month. I need to know what my raise is going to be and I won't know that until admin gets back from holiday vacation time! This means I won't know what my raise is until January 3rd at the absolute earliest (and my transcript still does not show I'm graduated so that might delay it further). Sigh, this will definitely be done by next month. I may try to come up with an intermittent budget that runs from mid December to Mid January instead. In fact, that will be my goal today!
22 December 2010
The problem of the Air Purifier
Wesley has bad allergies. He is also allergic to our pooch, but he just deals with the allergies because he loves dogs so much. To combat these problems (and because the pooch also has some nasty allergies) we have an air purifier in the house that seems to really help and I chose a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter to also help. A problem arose a week ago when Wesley had some friends over and one of them informed him that the Sharper Image Ionic Breeze that he's had for YEARS actually releases stuff into the air that is not so good for you. Wesley did some quick googling, discovered it produces ozone which can damage your lungs and now the Ionic Breeze has been unplugged and discarded in a corner.
Now we pretty much need an air purifer for Wesley and the pooch to be comfortable in the house and Wesley makes a lot less money than I do which leaves me to be the one to replace the air purifier. So I did what any good librarian would do and I researched it. I picked up September issue of consumer reports which reviewed air purifiers and decided to buy their top rated one. Unfortunately, top rated does not come cheap (although farther down the list were purifiers at more than 2x the price) and I just placed an order for the Whirlpool® Whispure 315-CADR Air Purifier from Amazon, which costs $285.
Sigh. Another big expense. At least I can take solace in the fact that I know I'm getting good value for my money!
Now we pretty much need an air purifer for Wesley and the pooch to be comfortable in the house and Wesley makes a lot less money than I do which leaves me to be the one to replace the air purifier. So I did what any good librarian would do and I researched it. I picked up September issue of consumer reports which reviewed air purifiers and decided to buy their top rated one. Unfortunately, top rated does not come cheap (although farther down the list were purifiers at more than 2x the price) and I just placed an order for the Whirlpool® Whispure 315-CADR Air Purifier from Amazon, which costs $285.
20 December 2010
Weekly Money Check-Up
This post is part of My Pretty Pennies Weekly Money Check Up.
1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on dinner at Texas De Brazil.
2. Today I feel anxious towards money. I'm still on edge because I don't know about my raise yet and I just found out I'm going to have to sink a few hundred dollars into an air purifier. More on that later.
3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free/inexpensive thing I did last week that made me happy was drive around and look at Christmas lights with Wesley.
4. I will consider this week a success if I catch up on my exercise minutes. I'm not doing so well as of now, but I have short days the next two days (where I go in late) so I should be able to get in some heavy duty dance sessions
5. My favorite holiday movie is Muppet Christmas Carol. I also love A Charlie Brown Christmas and A Christmas Story, but the Muppets is the one I HAVE to see every year.
--
If you'd like to participate, fill this out and link it back to My Pretty Pennies.
1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on _____.
2. Today I feel _______towards money.
3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free/inexpensive thing I did last week that made me happy was_____________.
4. I will consider this week a success if I _____________.
5. My favorite holiday movie is ____________.
17 December 2010
Friday Goal Check-Up
I'm finally done with grad school!!!! HOOORAY!!!! Expect to see a steady increase in talking about my student loans! :( I plan to address them with my big 2011 goal post due out in a few weeks. For now though, a peek at how I'm doing on December's goals
1. Get the guitar and extras, Itunes gift card, and the doll up on Ebay. No progress yet.
2. Take 4 boxes to goodwill. Ditto
3. Meet my 100 books goal! I've finished one more, I'm half way through another three others. I'm currently at 78 books.
4. 310 minutes of Exercise. Not looking good. 95 minutes so far (a plus that its a 65 minute increase from last week) and I'm 75 minutes behind.
5. Revamp my Budget. Still waiting on the raise to do this. Expect a confession about my spending when I get it. I'm still waiting on my final grades before I can get the raise which should hopefully show up before Christmas.
1. Get the guitar and extras, Itunes gift card, and the doll up on Ebay. No progress yet.
2. Take 4 boxes to goodwill. Ditto
3. Meet my 100 books goal! I've finished one more, I'm half way through another three others. I'm currently at 78 books.
4. 310 minutes of Exercise. Not looking good. 95 minutes so far (a plus that its a 65 minute increase from last week) and I'm 75 minutes behind.
5. Revamp my Budget. Still waiting on the raise to do this. Expect a confession about my spending when I get it. I'm still waiting on my final grades before I can get the raise which should hopefully show up before Christmas.
15 December 2010
Weekly Money Check-up
This post is part of My Pretty Pennies Weekly Money Check Up.
1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on groceries. 122.64
2. Today I feel anxious towards money. I'm blowing my budget left and right and I can't seem to stop myself. I'll make a full confession soon, but I'm not ready yet.
3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free/inexpensive thing I did last week that made me happy was play with my cricut machine.
4. I will consider this week a success if I can keep up exercising each day.
5. My favorite holiday treat is Swedish crescent cookies. They are my family's traditional Christmas cookie.
--
If you'd like to participate, fill this out and link it back to My Pretty Pennies.
1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on _____.
2. Today I feel _______towards money.
3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free/inexpensive thing I did last week that made me happy was_____________.
4. I will consider this week a success if I _____________.
5. My favorite holiday treat is ____________.
1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on groceries. 122.64
2. Today I feel anxious towards money. I'm blowing my budget left and right and I can't seem to stop myself. I'll make a full confession soon, but I'm not ready yet.
3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free/inexpensive thing I did last week that made me happy was play with my cricut machine.
4. I will consider this week a success if I can keep up exercising each day.
5. My favorite holiday treat is Swedish crescent cookies. They are my family's traditional Christmas cookie.
--
If you'd like to participate, fill this out and link it back to My Pretty Pennies.
1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on _____.
2. Today I feel _______towards money.
3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free/inexpensive thing I did last week that made me happy was_____________.
4. I will consider this week a success if I _____________.
5. My favorite holiday treat is ____________.
10 December 2010
Friday Goal Checkup
1. Get the guitar and extras, Itunes gift card, and the doll up on Ebay. No progress yet.
2. Take 4 boxes to goodwill. Ditto
3. Meet my 100 books goal! I've finished another, I'm half way through one more, and I've got to read a third by next Thursday for work. I'm currently at 77.
4. 310 minutes of Exercise. So far I've done 30 minutes. I'm 70 minutes behind schedule.
5. Revamp my Budget. I've been messing around a lot with my budget, but I still don't have my raise, or know the exact amount so I won't be able to finalize this for a while.
2. Take 4 boxes to goodwill. Ditto
3. Meet my 100 books goal! I've finished another, I'm half way through one more, and I've got to read a third by next Thursday for work. I'm currently at 77.
4. 310 minutes of Exercise. So far I've done 30 minutes. I'm 70 minutes behind schedule.
5. Revamp my Budget. I've been messing around a lot with my budget, but I still don't have my raise, or know the exact amount so I won't be able to finalize this for a while.
07 December 2010
School is nearing the end
This past weekend was the last weekend of my online and weekend class. I spent almost the entire weekend down at school sitting in a classroom. The down side is that's a lot of school all at once, the upside is I had a great teacher and with that weekend done I'm two assignments and an hour of class away from getting my Masters degree! YAY!!! Its been a long haul through this education thing, but it will be worth it in the end. What this means is that I've been loose with my budget lately (I keep telling myself I'm getting a raise in a few weeks and loan payments don't start for 6 months) and kinda out of it in general. Call it senioritis. I need to get myself back on track financially and figure out what life will be like without class, but I have the feeling that I won't be able to do it in December with the holidays and birthdays throwing a wrench into things. We'll see. I'll be happy if I just get a new budget worked up this month.
I've also been dealing with all sorts of medical stuff and have 2 appointments tomorrow (a final checkup with the dentist and x-rays and consultation with the oral surgeon) and will be likely getting all 4 wisdom teeth pulled in January. Sigh.
On the flip side of it all, I'm excited to be moving into a new stage of my life, taking care of things that need to be addressed, and hopefully adding more and selling more on my etsy shop. I just signed up for a Biggest Loser competition with my local park district and while I don't know if I have enough to lose to be able to win, I'm excited for the inspiration to get on track with my physical self and learn from the weekly sessions. It starts in January so I'll keep you guys in the loop on how I'm doing every week. 2010 is coming to a close and 2011 has some promising new starts to a new phase of my life. I just need to stay positive about it all!
I've also been dealing with all sorts of medical stuff and have 2 appointments tomorrow (a final checkup with the dentist and x-rays and consultation with the oral surgeon) and will be likely getting all 4 wisdom teeth pulled in January. Sigh.
On the flip side of it all, I'm excited to be moving into a new stage of my life, taking care of things that need to be addressed, and hopefully adding more and selling more on my etsy shop. I just signed up for a Biggest Loser competition with my local park district and while I don't know if I have enough to lose to be able to win, I'm excited for the inspiration to get on track with my physical self and learn from the weekly sessions. It starts in January so I'll keep you guys in the loop on how I'm doing every week. 2010 is coming to a close and 2011 has some promising new starts to a new phase of my life. I just need to stay positive about it all!
06 December 2010
Weekly Money Check-Up
This post is part of My Pretty Pennies Weekly Money Check Up.
1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on a donation to WWF. I donated $100 which was not in the budget but animals need help around Christmas too!
2. Today I feel not good towards money. I've totally screwed up December's budget. More than I want to talk about. I'm not ready to confess how far I've blown it this month and its not even a full week in. You'll get a confession out of me eventually, but probably not until the middle or end of the month. Whenever I redo the budget.
3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free/inexpensive thing I did last week that made me happy was I snuggled with Wesley in front of the Christmas Tree and watched A Muppet Movie.
4. I will consider this week a success if I don't eat out AT ALL.
5. My favorite holiday drink is hot cocoa. Nothing need be special about it (although I won't turn down peppermint cocoa) just delicious hot cocoa on a cold day is one of the best feelings in the world.
--
If you want to join in fill out the questions and link it back to My Pretty Pennies.
1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on _____.
2. Today I feel _______towards money.
3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free/inexpensive thing I did last week that made me happy was_____________.
4. I will consider this week a success if I _____________.
5. My favorite holiday drink is ____________.
02 December 2010
November and December Goals
November Goal Review
1. Finish moving stuff out of my parents' house. Fail I'm making strides in the right direction, but I'm not there yet. I think I need to break down goals more next month.
2. Stay in my $250 grocery budget. Fail. And I've lowered my budget for next month so it may be an uber fail, but I'm going to keep trying.
3. Earn 2 Amazon gift cards through Swagbucks. Fail. Man this is starting to look pathetic...
4. Stay in my $100 eating out budget. Pass. Okay. I went $2 measly dollars over. Its close enough and considering I usually round up to the nearest dollar I was probably actually under.
5. Get up to 91 books. Fail. Totally. Not even up to 80 yet. I don't know if I'll make it to 100 this year.
6. 260 minutes of Pilates/Exercise. Pass!! Wooooooooooooo!!!!
7. Keep up at least weekly posting on my craft blog. Pass I did 4 posts, I think that counts :)
December Goals
1. Get the guitar and extras, Itunes gift card, and the doll up on Ebay. I may list these myself or I may take them somewhere for them to list it. I want them gone though!
2. Take 4 boxes to goodwill. I have a milk crate and a box of the same size that I've been using to transport stuff to goodwill and I want to fill each up twice and take it to goodwill from the stuff at my parents' house.
3. Meet my 100 books goal! I'm thinking I need to start listening to audiobooks at home in place of my TV watching and then I might be able to meet this. I also may pick some shorter books :D
4. 310 minutes of Exercise. I'll probably focus on Just Dance 2 here, but I'll likely get in some Just Dance 1 and hopefully some pilates.
5. Revamp my Budget. There are two main things I need to change with my budget. First off, I think I need to switch it to running from the middle of one month to the middle of the next. This is because I put everything on my credit card and pay my card off each month so I think my budget month should match my credit card month. Secondly, I get a sizable raise when I complete my degree mid-December so I need to sdjust my budget for the new income and to start paying off my loans (even though they don't come due until June)
I think 5 goals will do it for this month. I'm less focused on specific portions of my budget partially because I expect to screw up with it being the holidays and partially because I need to revamp the budget. We shall see how this all goes!
1. Finish moving stuff out of my parents' house. Fail I'm making strides in the right direction, but I'm not there yet. I think I need to break down goals more next month.
2. Stay in my $250 grocery budget. Fail. And I've lowered my budget for next month so it may be an uber fail, but I'm going to keep trying.
3. Earn 2 Amazon gift cards through Swagbucks. Fail. Man this is starting to look pathetic...
4. Stay in my $100 eating out budget. Pass. Okay. I went $2 measly dollars over. Its close enough and considering I usually round up to the nearest dollar I was probably actually under.
5. Get up to 91 books. Fail. Totally. Not even up to 80 yet. I don't know if I'll make it to 100 this year.
6. 260 minutes of Pilates/Exercise. Pass!! Wooooooooooooo!!!!
7. Keep up at least weekly posting on my craft blog. Pass I did 4 posts, I think that counts :)
December Goals
1. Get the guitar and extras, Itunes gift card, and the doll up on Ebay. I may list these myself or I may take them somewhere for them to list it. I want them gone though!
2. Take 4 boxes to goodwill. I have a milk crate and a box of the same size that I've been using to transport stuff to goodwill and I want to fill each up twice and take it to goodwill from the stuff at my parents' house.
3. Meet my 100 books goal! I'm thinking I need to start listening to audiobooks at home in place of my TV watching and then I might be able to meet this. I also may pick some shorter books :D
4. 310 minutes of Exercise. I'll probably focus on Just Dance 2 here, but I'll likely get in some Just Dance 1 and hopefully some pilates.
5. Revamp my Budget. There are two main things I need to change with my budget. First off, I think I need to switch it to running from the middle of one month to the middle of the next. This is because I put everything on my credit card and pay my card off each month so I think my budget month should match my credit card month. Secondly, I get a sizable raise when I complete my degree mid-December so I need to sdjust my budget for the new income and to start paying off my loans (even though they don't come due until June)
I think 5 goals will do it for this month. I'm less focused on specific portions of my budget partially because I expect to screw up with it being the holidays and partially because I need to revamp the budget. We shall see how this all goes!
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