Goals for 2013
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My dad used to scuba dive. I remember this one time when I was about 8 years old we went to Catalina with one of my dad’s friends so that they could go scuba diving. For some reason they were doing an early morning dive. We were up at the crack of dawn and had to get all their scuba gear down the docks. We had taken a boat over the island and didn’t have a car so as the sun peeked over the horizon we loaded up a wagon and walked down to the pier.
No big deal right? Should have a been a smooth ride, a moment to take in the morning air and gaze at the beautiful sunrise. Except that the walk was cobblestone streets the whole way. So the wagon didn’t roll smoothly. It bounced. Loudly! Those cobblestone streets announced our early morning plans to the whole place. I still remember it.
That’s pretty much how my December went. December is supposed to be a time where you reflect on the year, spend time with family, and basically regroup. Instead we bounced along never really finding a groove. With my husband sick all month and a pointless school schedule I really don’t know how I got anything accomplished at all. To say it didn’t go smoothly would be an understatement.
Which means that I didn’t really have much time to do my reflecting and planning. It’s my favorite time of year and I almost missed it!
But never fear! I’m a bit late but I do have my goals set for you! Each year, I set three New Years Resolutions. One financial, one personal development, and something I’ve been putting off.
- Earn an additional $1,500 per month (all of which will be paid towards debt)
- Believe in myself more (easier said than done but I’m going to put real effort into it this year)
- Do a better job of keeping track of my business expenses. (UGG.. I’m embarrassed to admit they got away from this year. All my talk and this is what I do. Terrible!)
I’d love to hear yours! Please share in the comments!
Ashley
Hi, I'm primary author and founder of Money Talks. My passion in life is to help you make the most of your money. If you enjoy this site I encourage you to sign up for our newsletter.
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For many years I’ve refused to set goals. I used to do it because everyone else did, and then by the end of January I’d have forgotten all about them.
I gave it a try again in 2012. now after assessing how I did last year, I’ve decided my problem is that my goas are too ambitious and I set myself up for failure. Last year I wanted to read 12 books. I read 2. Both in January. I also planned to declutter the house – I wrote down that I wanted to elimintate 5 items per day from our lives (sell, donate, recycle or toss). I managed to keep up until mid April. Better progress than if I hadn’t set the goal, but still not terrific. On the upside we did renew/renegotiate our morgage at a much better rate, and also increased the regular payment amount. We also threw an extra $12k in extra payments at it on top of the required bi-weekly payments. We achieved our retirement savings goals. We took our annual family vacation (Scandinavia/Russia this year) and paid cash. Apparently we were in total control of our financial goals and far less so on the personal improvement items. A faint lightbulb has gone off for me. Apparently if the task is on a spreadsheet and I can calculate/graph progress it gets done. Otherwise not so much.
For 2013 we have the same financial objectives as last year ($12k extra mortgage payments, max out retirement savings, and pay cash for our summer vacation plans). We are also planning do a couple of home improvements, cash only. Based on past performance, I don’t see any of that being a problem. I’m toying with setting monthly resolutions for my personal goals (more reading, excersise, decluttering). That way I only have to focus on a small manageable task rather than a huge year long commitment. I recognize I’m unlikely to change lifelong behaviours, so I’m going to modify the challenges to suit my personality. Wish me luck!