Failing....that's how!
Some of them I have been working on, but others I have been ignoring and just plaining doing terrible with.
But this is what I have learned: when you're failing at your goals, identify 3 things you can do to get yourself moving in the right direction. Just three. But choose wisely.
Let's go through each of my goals and see what 3 things I can do to improve my performance and be more successful! But first, let's start with the SUCCESSFUL ones! :)
#1 GOAL: Get Life Insurance
Update: Done!! I am now fully covered up to $650,000 in the event of my--sigh--death. Well, at least, for the next 30 years, long as I pay my policy of $103.00 per month :) I was going for a cool $1M, but because of a sketchy medical history from my dad (thanks a lot *sarcasm*), it was going to be a little out of my budget to get covered for a whole month. This $650,000 was the next best thing. The agent's advice was to go for a larger coverage in a shorter amount of time ($1M for 20 years versus $650K for 30 years), and then he advised to get the policy reassessed in 5 years. No thanks. I want to be covered for 30 years, and I don't want to have to be reassessing shit. The point is that my health is naturally only going to DECLINE as I get older, simply because I am getting older, so the last thing I want to do is try to fiddle with my policy. Get it now while I'm "young" (well, 30's-ish), and stick with it. The idea of holding on for a 30-year policy is so that if I die, my adult kids will still benefit. They can use the money to buy a house, pay for a graduate degree, travel the world--whatever. Who wants to die at year 22 after the 20-year policy expires?! Anyhow, DONE!
#2 GOAL: Drafting Necessary "Life" Documents
Update: FAILED so far. I don't know why, but for some reason, I just don't want to do these forms! And I know how important they are. I really do. Even having a list of my accounts and their passwords and account numbers, is important for the people you leave behind. Yeah, I have that, but I just can't seem to sit down and say, "Okay, if we die, here's where I want my kids to go.....here is who I want to have my stuff...." I think the likely person to have our kids is hubby's mom, because she lives closer, is most patient with our kids, and would provide well. We need to make sure she knows that, and that it's clear. I need to get my ass in gear.
1. Talk to my mother-in-law and see if she would be willing to even TAKE the kids should we pass.
3 Things To Do NOW to Improve:
2. Find a lawyer who could review the documents after I draft them, and get a pricing for a review.
3. Draft forms using Suze Orman's Must Have Documents program.
#3 GOAL: A Year of Gift-Giving
UPDATE: Sort of successful! This goal was about giving to someone each month of the year, so that come the end of the year, I can look back on all the good, thoughful things I had done for the people I love.
January: Bought a puzzle for my grandfather, by suggestion of my 5-year-old, who isn't close to my grandfather at all, but just happened to remember that Pappy likes puzzles. I thought it was so sweet of him! Pappy loved the puzzle!
February: FAILED. I actually SKIPPED February, when I was supposed to give my teenage nephew a photobook full of pictures of him and his Nanny.....his younger sister.....pics of him as a child......Pics of him and his mom.....Sort of a scrapbook of favorite pics through his young 17 years. I have gathered most of the pics.....have put them into Shutterfly......and just haven't made the time to organize them so I can purchase the book. So, I FAILED on that month. But I promise to get it done THIS WEEK and take it to Hagerstown next weekend when I go.
March: I played hookie from work and drove to my hometown to pick up my mom. The plan was to go thrift diving and buy her whatever her little heart desired......but it ended up being a "National Lampoons"-esque kind of day, and we both laughed as we went from one mishap to another. She didn't even find anything for my to buy for her! But lunch at the Cracker Barrel was good :)
April: I took some amazing shots of my sons and framed them and gave it to my mother-in-law. She loved it!And it made me realize that I never really need to pay for pics at Sears; not when I can DIY it!
May: My friend turned 40! No one had any plans for her, and I personally think she just wanted to sulk that day over turning 40. So I had planned a surprise dinner for her and several of her friends/family, but would you believe everyone bailed at the last moment?? Things come up, I know. But we still went, and she enjoyed it! She was shocked I took her, honestly, because I'm usually NOT a birthday celebration kind of person.
June: My niece Camryn is having a birthday next weekend, and I must come up with something nice for her! I would love to do something handmade for her! Perhaps knit her something?? Must think fast!!
June: My niece Camryn is having a birthday next weekend, and I must come up with something nice for her! I would love to do something handmade for her! Perhaps knit her something?? Must think fast!!
#4 GOAL: Lose 30 Pounds
Update: I've lost 9-10 pounds so far!! Seriously not as much as I should have lost by now. This is since coming back to work in early February. I am 176 as of this morning. I'm still too fat to wear most of my pre-pregnancy stuff. I've been working out a lot these past fews weeks since joining the gym here at work, doing classes, and you would think that I would have dropped more, but what the hell?! I have 21 pounds more to go. So, here are the three things I must do to get myself moving in the right direction.
3 Things To Do NOW to Improve:
1. Cut out food past 8 p.m. It's not uncommon for me to snack at night, especially on stove-popped popcorn!
2. Track everything I eat. I'm sort of spotty on truly following Weight Watchers. Ugh....
3. Cut bread and sugar. I must get back to eating hot cereal in the morning.
#5 GOAL: Get Organized
UPDATE: Colossial FAIL. I'm the worse. No menu planning....no putting things back where they belong.....Spending without paying attention to what I'm spending on....Blah, blah, blah
UPDATE: Colossial FAIL. I'm the worse. No menu planning....no putting things back where they belong.....Spending without paying attention to what I'm spending on....Blah, blah, blah
3 Things To Do NOW to Improve:
1. Clear clutter and make donations. The less stuff you have, the less you have to remember where shit goes. That's gotta work....
2. Create a menu. Even if for a few days out, it's got to be better than winging it the way we have been...
3. Make a schedule. I started doing a schedule for myself a couple weeks ago, and you'd be surprised how much more organized and efficient your life is when you schedule something in.
3. Make a schedule. I started doing a schedule for myself a couple weeks ago, and you'd be surprised how much more organized and efficient your life is when you schedule something in.
#6 GOAL: Follow-Through
UPDATE: Oh, man, I have been trying real hard on this one. The idea of following through is that I want to finish one thing before I start another. I've been working on my reading room on my DIY thrifting blog, and I've been a bit held up because I realllllly want a rug for that room, as well as a comfy place to sit and lounge, and I have neither of those things. So, I've been focusing on the wall furnishings, and I hope that financially I can swing something of a rug or sitting area sooner or later! My mom was going to give us a sofa, but hubby bitched about it because my mom owned a cat (our oldest is allergic to cats, but we could have washed it, and I planned to make a slipcover anyhow....). Anyhow, I've had some other projects I wanted to work on, like painting our fireplace, but I wanted to get the reading room as complete as possible first. So that's on hold. Trying to stay focused and follow through!!!
UPDATE: Oh, man, I have been trying real hard on this one. The idea of following through is that I want to finish one thing before I start another. I've been working on my reading room on my DIY thrifting blog, and I've been a bit held up because I realllllly want a rug for that room, as well as a comfy place to sit and lounge, and I have neither of those things. So, I've been focusing on the wall furnishings, and I hope that financially I can swing something of a rug or sitting area sooner or later! My mom was going to give us a sofa, but hubby bitched about it because my mom owned a cat (our oldest is allergic to cats, but we could have washed it, and I planned to make a slipcover anyhow....). Anyhow, I've had some other projects I wanted to work on, like painting our fireplace, but I wanted to get the reading room as complete as possible first. So that's on hold. Trying to stay focused and follow through!!!
3 Things To Do NOW to Improve:
1. Make a To Do list, by room. If I know what I need to do for each room/project, then it will help follow-through that much easier.
2. Pick a project. I've had this idea for a while. How about randomly picking projects, by room/area, and then doing them in that order, until they're all done? I like that idea.
3. Begin with the end in mind. Going forward, I will try to begin with the end in mind, and it might help me follow-through on projects instead of getting lost, like I usually do.
#7 GOAL: Go to Hawaii!
UPDATE: So as of last update, I had $100 saved towards Hawaii in December 2012. I am now up to $300! My strategy was to save at least $50 per paycheck for the year, and it should be enough to cover airfare, and some spending money. I should have slightly more, but I haven't been saving the last couple paychecks :( I have had very poor spending habits lately. And poor saving habits! I have figured that the ticket will cost about $900; maybe less if I split up the airfaire from one trip from Washington DC to Seattle, and then get another ticket from Seattle to Hawaii. Not totally convinced I want to do that, though. Otherwise, it will be close to $900. What's been bad is that there are some things that I have been wanting, like a mold inspector to come into our house to evaluate things (ugh....long story), and that eval costs $320. I've had thoughts of dipping into that Hawaii fund to fund the isnpector. Really, if I just buckle down, I could save the $320 needed. If I touch the Hawaii fund, I'm afraid I'll have to resort to credit for it.
3 Things To Do NOW to Improve:
1. Automate savings. I used to do this, but when I needed to overspend (rolling my eyes), I would put a halt on the automated savings withdraws so I could buy other more stuff. I will do this immediately for the $50.
2. Post a pic. I will post a pic of Hawaii on my fridge, or on my phone, and it will visually remind me what I am saving up for!
3. Identify flights. Although the trip isn't for 6 months, it's probably a good idea to get some idea of flight times, departures, etc., and even get trip-watches set up so I am emailed when good deals are advertised.
#8 GOAL: Take a Family Summer Vacation
UPDATE: Well, summer isn't here just yet. We haven't identified anythign to do, although we have been talking about going to see hubby's cousin in MI. They even have a cabin up there! Now that would be nice! We never take family vacations :(
#9 GOAL: Organize My Photos
UPDATE: This has been an on-going activity, and it's not getting any easier. Somehow when I move pics from iPhoto on my Mac to my external hard drive, the pics don't have useful names to know what they are. I have to organize them into folders with identifying names. Gotta work that out. But I am organizing them by month and year, and that's been helpful. It's a lot of work! I have over 11,000 pics on my computer!!!!! And at least 1T (that's terabyte) on my external hard drive! YIKES!
3 Things To Do NOW to Improve:
1. Do some research. I need to know how to label each picture individually, for easier identification, on my external hard drive.
2. Purge. It's sooo hard for me to delete pictures. I might take 5 of a single shot of my kids, and I have to keep all 5 of them; to delete even ONE of them makes me cringe. But, at the very least, delete the blurry ones that are taking up space!
3. Buy another HD. I like multiple back-up storages, in case one fails. I will buy another HD as a back-up, and in the transfer, I will organize by relevant folders so I can find things.
#10 GOAL: Take a Woodworking Class!
UPDATE: I have done no such thing. I actually think I need to scratch this goal, because it's not really that important to me right now, although it's something I would love to do, given the time and money.
UPDATE: I have done no such thing. I actually think I need to scratch this goal, because it's not really that important to me right now, although it's something I would love to do, given the time and money.
#11 GOAL: Increase My Income
UPDATE: I started a blog, Thrift Diving, and although it hasn't been profitable past the $24.00 I have heard from Google AdSense (hahahaha), my ultimate goal is to have it be more profitable. I haven't identified any specific goals with just how profitable I would like it to be, but this is the start.
UPDATE: I started a blog, Thrift Diving, and although it hasn't been profitable past the $24.00 I have heard from Google AdSense (hahahaha), my ultimate goal is to have it be more profitable. I haven't identified any specific goals with just how profitable I would like it to be, but this is the start.
3 Things To Do NOW to Improve:
1. Sell on Craigslist. I find a lot of good stuff at the thrift store while I am out thrift diving. No reason why I can't list some of it for sale. I would love to see how much I could make doing that....
2. Read a book. I had bought a book on how to strategize Google AdSense, and I just haven't finished reading it. I should do so, so that I can strategize my ads.
3. Open an Etsy account. Or, if not Etsy, some place, where I can sell my creations, be it furniture, crafts, etc.
#12 GOAL: Read One Book Per Month
UPDATE: Definitely hitting this one! Well, right now I'm in the midst of book #3 from the Game of Thrones series (A Song of Ice and Fire series), and it's most excellent!! I can't put it down. I have no time at home to read, so I read while I walk to and from my car during work (10 minute walk!!), and I also read while I pump (which I have to do 3 times a day). You'd be amazed how much reading you can get done when you squeeze it in! Multi-tasking at its finest, eh?
#13 GOAL: Buy a Minivan
UDPATE: To hell with that; who wants a car payment?!. We have $8,000 saved towards it (tax refunds and bonus money), and that's didley-squat to buy a minivan. Maybe next tax return season, perhaps?? As long as hubby's car is running, we gonna make it work! Although, it is quite a sad sight to see our 3 boys packed like sardines in our cars!!
UDPATE: To hell with that; who wants a car payment?!. We have $8,000 saved towards it (tax refunds and bonus money), and that's didley-squat to buy a minivan. Maybe next tax return season, perhaps?? As long as hubby's car is running, we gonna make it work! Although, it is quite a sad sight to see our 3 boys packed like sardines in our cars!!
#14 GOAL: The Year of the Challenges
UPDATE: To hell with that one, too! I've got enough on my plate without challenging myself to monthly challenges. Surely I have other things to keep me busy......
So quickly, add/change a couple goals:
#15 GOAL: Get 200 Email Subscribers By the End of December
I think I am up to 124 or 125 email subscribers. I think 200 is reasonable! I honestly had wanted to go with 100 subscribers, but I surpassed that quickly! So, 200 it is.....
#16 GOAL: Cut Credit Debt in HALF by the end of December.
Seriously, I had always been one to pay off credit quickly. But since we moved into our house a year and a half ago, it's common that I have between $3,000 and $4,000 on my credit card. Not acceptable. I'm not even sure how much the amount is (can't log in from work). But I know it's probably at least $3,500. Now it's time to cut that in half. Here's what I am going to do:
3 Things To Do NOW to Improve:
1. Return any unused items. Anything I may have bought with my credit card, such as my fireplace painting kit which I haven't used yet, return it and get the credit.
2. Credit a payment schedule. If I know what I need to pay for the next 6 months to cut it in half, I will be more successful in meeting that goal.
3. Save my change. Any change, or extra little cash I come in to, must go towards paying down the credit card. This includes money saved from not eating out, saved from creating a menu, etc.
So there you have it!
Think I have enough on my plate?? ;-)
Think I have enough on my plate?? ;-)
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