At the start of the new year, I listed my personal & financial goals HERE. I have printed and posted these in my closet so I look at them EVERY DAY! It helps me keep motivated and on track. At the end of every month, I will be posting an update. Here are my February results:
Personal: (a lot of these are continuous)
* Lose 30 lbs - I have lost 11 pounds since 1/1/12. I have been lifting weights the month of February. I know I've lost inches but gained muscle, so it seems like I haven't lost much this month. My pants are getting so loose!
* Cut coke from Diet - No drop of coke since 1/1/12.
* Eat more fish - I’ve been eating tuna for lunch and salmon for dinner a few times.
* Spend more time reading and relaxing - I have been taking time out of my evening to lounge on the couch with my blanket, a cup of hot, green tea and a book. In January I read Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow. This month, I read 168: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam. This book helped me put some things into perspective. I could cut some things out of my daily routine, but I can also outsource. It's OK to not be superwoman. I can't do everything myself. Whew!
* Load dishes in dishwasher as we dirty them - Last month, I talked about how fantastic this has become for my household. We are STILL doing this, and it is STILL wonderful!
* Research home flipping and put together business model - I have put together an outline of price points, fixed & selling costs, things to do, etc. It's a great start.
* Earn extra $600-$1,000 by any means possible - In February, we earned an extra $320 - $150 for opening a bank account, $95 from Brian running the cloth at high school basketball games, and $75 from a choir clinic I did for a friend. Grand total earned: $420.25. I'm hopeful we will meet our $600-$1,000 goal for the year.
Financial:
* Save & Pay Cash for Spring Break Trip - My family is wanting to take a camping trip again this year, which will be significantly cheaper than our original plan of Las Vegas. So we no longer have to save for this.
* Pay off school loans - 100% paid off!!! On to SAVING!
* 3 months of expenses saved in Emergency Fund
* Start IRA, Contribute monthly
* Start investing ($150/month) - We are going to cut this so we can concentrate on saving for the other things...like a family :)
* Save & Pay Cash for Summer Vacation
* Walk Dusty Bottoms (our dog) more - I’ve been walking him on the weekends and some in the evenings. So far so good.
**NEW** Pay cash for Brian's Master's Degree - Brian wants to start his master's program this summer. We should have the available cash to pay in full for each semester. Yay!
We had several set backs in February...all within 10 days of each other. We had over $800 worth of repairs done around our house. Our washer crapped out on us, so we had to replace 3...THREE parts. The Lord blessed us with a recommendation that was not only cheaper than the other places I called, but they had better customer service AND allowed me to use a coupon. A few days later, Brian's truck started making awful noises. We took it to the shop...over $500 worth of repairs needed. (We did find a coupon for $30 off though!) Then 2 days later, Brian's truck had a flat tire. The tire was not able to be patched up, so we had to buy a brand new tire. It always seems like when you get on the right track, everything starts breaking down on you. Luckily, we had our emergency fund to pay for everything. When my husband told me his truck needed over $500 worth of repair, I was able to say "OK" without any anxiety or fears. We have the money in savings for situations like this. No big deal! Needless to say, we were still able to pay off our school loans 100%. Hopefully March will be better!
Sacrifice today for a better tomorrow!
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