Am I a Nerd?

Last week someone (jokingly, but probably a bit serious) called me a "nerd" for doing this blog. I guess the idea of having a site to write down your goals........reflect on them.........and update my status on them is considered.....weird?? (virtually rolling my eyes).

Just last week I downloaded an audiobook called "Goals! How to Get Everything You Want...Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible." I have only listened to the first 15 minutes of this 4-hour long audiobook, but one of the first points the author makes is an example of Harvard Business School study conducted between 1979 to 1989. In 1979 a group of Harvard MBA business school graduates were asked, "How do you set clear written clear goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?" Only 3% of the graduates had clear written goals and plans. There were 13% that had goals, but not in writing. And 84% had no specific goals at all, aside from getting out of school and enjoying summer. In 1989 the class was interviewed again. They found that the 13% that had goals, but weren't written down, were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84% of students that had no goals at all. But the cool part was that the 3% that had clear, written goals when they left Harvard, were earning, on average, 10 times as much as the other 97% of graduates altogether. The only difference was the clarity of their goals when they started out.

So who's the weird one now??

This example confirms that writing your goals down, and--hell--reflecting on them, I suppose, is going to help you be all that much more successful than someone that doesn't write down their goals, or more successful than someone that doesn't even have goals. So I'm on the right path.


Create a long-term debt reduction plan & Paying off my car
This week I have focused on this a lot. I began to question if paying off my car would be more advantageous than, say, paying extra on my student loan to get it paid off early. I owe $7,000 on my car, and $30K on my student loan. I have decided that I can come up with an extra $300 a month to use for debt repayment. If I use it on my car, then it will be paid off by Dec 2009, which would be 1 year early. If I use that $300 towards my student loan (in addition to the monthly payment I already pay), the student loan would be paid off 12 years soon. Yes, you heard right, my friends. A whopping 12 years early!! Anyhow, I was able to figure out that regardless of whether I pay an extra $300 now versus and extra $300 later, it will get paid off 12 years earlier if I can keep up with the $300 extra per month. SO......I have decided to stick with my goal of paying off my car early, so that I have an early success at the end of this year to look forward to. However, I'm glad I at least have numbers behind it to justify why I am doing it this way versus another way.

Use cash only (credit card only when absolutely necessary, e.g. big-ticket items that will be paid off within 1 week).
I'm still doing excellent with not using credit card and sticking with cash. Hell--I've been doing well with not spending much money PERIOD. I think about what I am buying now. I am motivated by NOT spending money, if you can believe it. I have found myself utilizing everything in my house before going to the store to buy more. For example, I HATE the smell of Palmolive dish liquid. I have only been using Seventh Generation, which is better for the environment. But I ran out. And heading to Target to buy more when I have some left over Palmolive from before.....That is what I will use until I am out of that. Then I will get my beloved Seventh Generation dish detergent. I no longer want to be wasteful.

I've taken to eaten the food that's in the house before seeking more groceries. Kwasi made some rice and beans on Friday night with some black beans and tomato sauce. Very yummy! Kwabena even liked it. And we didn't even have to go to the store! Today is January 18th and so far I have only spent $185 on groceries so far! Keep in mind that in 2008 I averaged almost $600/month for groceries (this is aside from what Kwasi spends! In 2008 I didn't keep track of his spending, but in 2009, I'll add him to my spreadsheet). So, yeah, I am thinking about every dollar we spend now.

Re-adjust 403(b) holdings to put 30% into bonds and 70% into stocks.
I have been reading Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan (which was available for free download last week. Did you get your copy??). She said that if you're young, like me, with more than 20 years until retirement, then she recommends being 100% in stocks, which is what I'm in now. A lot of people are freaking out about the market downturns. Me, I'm not one of them. It doesn't affect me. Retirement is so far away. As Suze points out, you WANT the market to be down at this point in our investing! A down market means retail stock for wholesale prices! More shares! Plus, if you move your money at this point (when you've got time, like me), then you've not giving the market time to recover that loss. So, no, I will not be re-adjusting my stocks at this point. Not to bonds.

Kiss Kwasi at least once a day
Kwasi was off work this weekend. I was happy for this.....at first. Until he started bitching at me and Kwabena for making too much noise while he was trying to watch tv (amongst other things he bitched at us about). I got sick of hearing the negativity so I hung a slip of paper on the fridge and started writing down each negative comment directed my way (add "You're lazy" and "You're wack" to that list). Turned me off! No kisses for him.

Read at least one book every 2 months.
I think I should be able to crank out 1 book every month! At work, parking has become horrific, so now part of my commute involves taking the shuttle. That 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the afternoon creates an extras 2.5 hours of reading time in my week! WHOO HOO!

Make at least one (baby) carrier a month.
Last night I was going to pull out some materials and start sewing a new carrier. I just couldn't find the motivation to do it. Not sure if I was just tired of what. I went through some of my silk fabrics, wanting to finish some of the bags that I had started but never finished. But, man, sewing takes a certain mind-set, and I just didn't have it last night. I decided to look through the sales papers from the Sunday paper. After 5 minutes, I fell asleep. :( Gotta really push myself to carve out sewing time!

Manage my sugar intake
I just went to the dr. to discuss my A1c test results. For someone that doesn't have diabetes, a normal A1c is 4.8% - 5.9%. In early October, mine was 6.2% (even though my fasting glucose is normal). After three months of watching what I eat, cutting out sugar, bad carbs, etc., I am happy to report that my A1c this month was 6.0%. Okay, still considered abnormal, but it went DOWN. Yes, D-O-W-N. The dr. said my next goal should be aiming for 5.7%, so that is what I am doing. But, um, okay, today can't count, because while at the mall with Kwasi and Kwabena, I pigged out on almond bark and chocolate-covered Oreos! OMG, bad....but so good.....

Obtain weight of 150 lbs
Well, according to my scale now, I'm about 155 lbs?? I seriously don't know. The damn batteries keep needing recharged. Anyhow, one of my favorite Joe's jeans today actually felt very LOOSE. I could even pull them down over my ass without unbuttoning them! Wow.....

Do cardio 3x per week and Weight training 2x per week
I had decided I would aim for 5 days a week, 60 minutes a day. My dr. and I discussed this. He suggested I aim for 5 days and 20 minutes. He pointed out that most likely when I get to 20, I may want to continue on for 30+. But the key here is that I won't make myself feel bad if I don't get to 30+. I agree with his reasoning. This past week, I worked out only 2 days. One of those days I put in 60 minutes. The other day I did 30 minutes. Next week will be better. :)


So, there you have it. That's what I've been focused on this week. I vow to keep this blog going, no matter how "nerdy" I am being. Maybe I'll even spark someone else to start a blog with their goals for 2009!