Category Archives: Goals

Feb20

Budgeting & Saving

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I’m a huge Dave Ramsey fan. I’m also very thankful Joe and I have the same mindset on finances. Don’t live above your means, pay your bills in full each month, and pay off your debts as soon as possible. Which is great because that’s pretty much the basis of what Dave Ramsey teaches. I hate debt. I hate “owing” people.

One of my/our goals for this year was to be more mindful of our expenses and try to cut back where possible, while also paying off a small student loan. I’m really excited that not even a sixth of the way into 2013 and we’ve paid the loan off!!! Now to start tackling one small thing, our house, and the medical school loan!

The thing is, we can’t pay things off faster if we don’t watch our everyday expenses. I’ve been using Dave Ramsey’s cash envelope system only for our grocery expenses. You have to start somewhere, and that’s the best place for us. Last month we saved more on grocery expenses than we did the previous month. I’m hoping this month will produce similar results!

Another area we’ve found to cut back is with our cable package. Time Warner is not only increasing rates AGAIN, but their service is getting worse. We love our tv time, but we don’t watch certain things anymore, like HBO. So we’re got rid of it. We also don’t watch much tv in our bedroom, at least not enough to warrant having cable in there. Got rid of it too! Those two things alone will save us a couple hundred dollars a year.

Saving money is incredible, and there is a little adrenaline rush you get when you pay off a debt. Hopefully over the next few months we’ll find other ways to reduce expenses and/or pay off the rest of our debt quicker!

Jan16

30 in 30 – Days 12-15

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In a few days we’ll be halfway through the month. I hope that when that time comes, I’ll feel as if this house has come under more order than it was when the month started out.

Day 12:

Reorganize our pantry. Every now and then it gets a little chaotic. When its properly organize, not only can I see what we have/don’t have, but I can better plan meals. It also helps financially to not to buy things we don’t need. Win win.

Day 13:

Write our Compassion International child. I’ve been so bad about this the past year being pregnant and after having Jonathan and I really do regret not keeping up correspondence. That will change today!

Day 14: 

Strip cloth diapers. Some of Jonathan’s diapers are starting to smell, so it’s time to do this.

Day 15:

I have a pile of laundry that needs to the stains specially treated. Today is the day!

Jan12

We’re Almost Halfway Into January?

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Its kind of hard to believe that we’re almost halfway through the month of January. In fact, I’m finding it hard to believe that I’m 31 years old, married and have a baby. Boy time flies! I feel like I should be a little kid still, hanging out at our pool with friends, and enjoying my summer vacation. But I’m not. I’m here, planning my grocery shopping list, cutting coupons and matching to sales, and praying that the food budget I created for this month holds (I’m so green at this thing!). It’s also not summer vacation by the pool. Its dreary out and I’m mad at the weatherman for giving me the impression that it was supposed to be sunny and 70 in January.

I’m already finding myself glancing back at my goals for 2013 to see if I’m making any progress whatsoever. I know we’re only 12 days in, but for me it is good accountability.

  • For my personal goals, I’ve managed to get out once with my new jogging stroller in an attempt to reclaiming my running ways. I was going to head out today, but I doubt that will happen (thank you Mr. Weatherman). My quiet times have existed, but they’ve not been so quiet. It seems most days when I’m trying to get it in during Jonathan’s nap, he chooses that day to go for the gold in sleep fighting. I’ve finished 2 books this month, but the soda/water thing hasn’t been going as well. I need to focus a little more effort on this.
  • The marriage and parenting categories could be much better, but its hard to measure most of those goals only 12 days in.
  • Our home is getting back to normal thanks to my personal challenge  - 30 Days to Reclaim My House. I’ve managed to make up my bed every day, which is probably just as much as I’ve made it up over the past five years. Don’t judge ;)
  • I’m doing my best to be a better steward with our finances. Coupons have been clipped and compared with the weekly sales flyer. I’ve kept myself from purchasing things that are not necessary. If I find something I like, I put it on my Amazon wish list for the time being, and then I can edit it along the way! It saves me from impulse buys! I’m also using this month (and maybe a few more) to test out the cash envelope system Dave Ramsey suggests. We’re starting with our grocery category and we’ll go from there!
Jan10

30 in 30 – Days 9-11

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We’re 1/3 of the way through the month, and things are going ok! I’m trying to get things accomplished in my attempt to regain the sanity of our living space. I’m also working on my goals for this year and trying to make them habits, adding only a little in at a time so that I stick with them!

Here’s what is in store for the next few days:

Day 9:

We have a stack of papers that need to be filed- documents and bills that we’ve paid, stuff of that nature. It all needs to be sorted and filed.

Day 10:

Clean the front and back glass doors, sweep the front porch

Day 11:

Clear out excess boxes in our bonus room. I’ve been putting this off for a REALLY long time now.

Jan6

30 in 30 – Days 5-8

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Day 5-

We ended up not tackling day 4 yesterday, changing the air filters and batteries in the smoke detectors. The task for day 5 was opted for instead! Joe bought me a BOB jogging stroller for my birthday a few weeks back, so we put it together in hopes that I will be able to start using it this week! With the holidays, it was easier to leave it in the box and out-of-the-way until all our company had come and gone. Hopefully we will at least get to part of the filter and battery changing today! Maybe not all of it, but if I can get at least a little of it accomplished, I’ll be happy (it’s been a busy weekend!).

Day 6-

Take down the Christmas tree. Sigh, I’m not looking forward to this at all!

Day 7-

Organize Jonathan’s clothes & keepsakes

Day 8-

Straighten bookshelves/movies in living room

 

Other than the day 4 & 5 switcheroo, I’ve managed to get everything accomplished so far! I’m looking forward to tackling the next few days and getting more of this house back in order!

Jan4

My One Word

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For 2013 my one word of the year is…

focus

My husband may think this is a funny word for me to choose because of my adult onset ADHD. Even though I tend to be scatter brained when it comes to getting things done around the house, I do want to be more focused this year. I want to focus more on my family and growing my faith. I want to be more focused on getting back in shape and leading more of a healthy lifestyle. I want to focus on growing my marriage even stronger and focus on being a good mom to Jonathan. I want to focus on friendships – making the ones I have stronger, and building more. I want to focus on praying for friends and lifting them up. I want to focus on helping others in need. Those are just a few of the amazing things I want to focus on this year!

Kristen of We Are That Family has a beautiful post written about her one word for this year.

Jan3

30 in 30 – Days 2 through 4

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Well the Christmas decorations are pretty much down, with the exception of the tree. At some point, it will all make its way to the attic. For now, it’s all shoved in my sewing room.

The next three days are going to consist of even more mini projects to reclaim my house from the unnatural disaster that has taken place! Here’s the lineup for the next few days:

 

Day 2: 

- There is a huge stack of linens hanging out in our bonus room from where we’ve had guests stay over the past month and a half. A queen size duvet that needs to be shrunken thanks to space saver bags, pillows and blankets that need to go back in our linen closet, and sheets that need to be washed and folded.

Day 3:

- I have a big bag of postpartum supplies and baby supplies that I won’t be using. The staff over at the crisis pregnancy center are more than willing to take them off my hands so they don’t go to waste here.

Day 4:

- Our air filters and smoke detector batteries are due for a change! No time better than the present to get these done!

Jan2

New Year, New Goals, New Me

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2012 has come and gone. The number one thing on my goals list was accomplished-to have my baby boy and to love him like crazy. Everything else was just icing on the cake! I didn’t accomplish everything on my goals list, but I’m 100% ok with that! Motherhood is different than I was anticipating…at least the sleep deprivation part! I’m loving every single second of being a mom and cannot thank God enough for the blessing He has given us. Such an honor and privilege!

2013 is here now, and with it a great opportunity to seize each moment that the Lord has given us. I want this year to be significant. As a family, I hope that God will use us to  bring glory to Him, and give us opportunities to reach out to others and help those in need!

Without further adieu, here are my goals for this year:

2013 Goals

Personal:

1. Lose weight (I do have a specific amount I’m targeting)

2. Read 1-2 books per month

3. Have a more regular quiet time

4. Drink less soda and more water

5. Stay off the computer more during the daytime, be wiser about time management

Marriage:

1. Resume reading the Bible together during the week

2. Have date nights, even if they have to be at home

3. Spend more time together

Parenting:

1. Cloth diaper on a more regular basis

2. Read to Jonathan more

3. Play more music for Jonathan

4. Successfully wean

5. Attempt to begin potty training by the end of the year

Home:

1. Make bed daily

2. Make one new dinner recipe per month

3. Keep kitchen table & island clear

4. Maintain regular cleaning & organization schedule

Financial:

1. Pay off smaller of two medical school loans

2. Create a monthly budget

3. Be better steward of our finances (for example, stack coupons with sales for smarter grocery shopping)

4. Shop less and reduce expenses where possible

5. Find/pray about ways to help those in need

There are other things I have in mind too, but we’ll just start here and adjust as needed!

Jan2

30 mini goals in 30 days

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I’m not sure when the tornado hit my house, but it was probably somewhere around Thanksgiving. This place in an overwhelming disaster. There are toys, papers, boxes, packages, stuff…. EVERY.WHERE. I. LOOK.

To get it done, I’ve got to have a game plan. Realistically, it’s not going to get done overnight or even over the course of a week. While Jonathan is beginning to nap a lot better, I still need to allot time to do the basics around here like prepping dinner, making food for Jonathan, dishes, laundry, keeping my floors cleaned (a daily job), errands, etc.  I’ve decided on a 30 day plan, starting today, and lasting through the end of the month.
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I’ve come up with a list of near 25 mini projects in my house that need to be taken care of. I’ve left room so that I can add as I go along, because lets be real, new projects are always coming up. Hopefully by the end of January my house will be somewhat reclaimed from the storm that blew through!

Today  I will focus on getting the Christmas decor down, linens washed, and all of it boxed up. The tree can wait another day or two since it’s the toughest part of it all!

What about you? Do you need to reclaim your house from the holiday craze?

Nov12

Looking Ahead

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2013 is around the corner which means a few things around here.

1) I really need to start Christmas shopping.

2) I should probably figure out our plans for Thanksgiving

3) Did I meet/surpass any of my goals for 2012?

4) I need to start coming up with a list of goals for 2013

Since its hard to Christmas shop while nursing, cleaning, sleeping, playing with Jonathan, and/or any of the other things I do during the day and middle of the night, I figured why not start looking ahead. There is still plenty of time to do those things and time to look back, right?

I find myself with such a desire to get certain things accomplished. After 6 months of long sought after time to accomplish things, quality nap times are finally happening, and I’m reclaiming my house, as well as my self. *Insert a big sigh of relief*

I want to make 2013 a year of being focused. Focused with my faith, my marriage, my role as mom. I want to be focused about my health/self (because let’s be honest, the past few years I’ve really stunk at this). I want to be focused regarding the relationships I build around me. I want to be focused when it comes to our finances and making sure I do every thing possible to save us money, to help pay off one medical school loan and the rest of the car, while still being able to give generously to ministry opportunities that arise.

I’m looking forward to outlining my goals for 2013 over the next few weeks. I’d love to hear your ideas and goals for 2013! Be sure to leave a comment here or on FB!