Check Up and Check In Part II
Wow. What a year so far! It's halfway through. To me, that's unbelievable. I feel like I was sitting down to set goals for 2019 just yesterday. Now, I'm midway through on these challenges.
So, if you're like many people, you set some kind of resolution or goal for the new year. Now is the perfect time to re-evaluate or maybe reset the motivation for that goal. Maybe you've forgotten all your goals you've set for this year (or...maybe that's just me!) Luckily, I kept track of my goals in my handy, dandy blog.
The purpose of my blog was to help people understand how achievable these goals can be when you write them out and make a plan. However, if anyone out there thinks I've achieved these goals solo, you couldn't be more wrong. I have many wonderful, supportive people in my life - particularly my husband. There aren't a lot of public school teachers out there who would willingly give up their summers of sleeping in to take over the morning routine of one very wily toddler.
Chances are if you look up and look around, you can think of so many ways people have helped you. None of us can achieve anything totally on our own, so I just thought I'd take a moment and express my gratitude to the dozens of people who love and help us. THANK YOU ALL!
Goal 1: Read 20 books for the year
STATUS: AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
Currently, I am at 18 books for the year...mostly thanks to checking out books electronically on my phone from the public library. If you aren't a member of your local public library, you're missing out on a great FREE resource!
Goal 2: Aim to contribute 15% of our income to retirement
STATUS: ON SCHEDULE
We are automating this process. Now that we have purchased our home, we were able to take advantage of my husband's 401k plan through his employer. For me, I am putting in 25% of my post-tax income and putting it in a Roth IRA. It feels good to save for the future!
Goal 3: Max out The JuJuBe's Educational Savings
STATUS: AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
I cannot take all the credit for this one. When they say, "It takes a village to raise a child," they are completely correct. The JuJuBe has family that loves her so much they want to ensure she has a great future. She has been given so many wonderful monetary gifts we were able to put directly into her ESA. Thank you to those of you that contributed! We are insanely blessed to have you. Because her ESA is maxed out at $2,000 and because we are 75% of the way there for this year, the next couple of months we will not contribute to her ESA. Instead, we will aggressively save more money for a replacement car for our family. Once that is purchased, we will continue to put money into her college savings! Once it is maxed out, we will pursue other places to save money for her.
Goal 4: Actively pursue an additional income stream.
STATUS: COMPLETE
I am happily employed by an amazing company. I hope that my schedule continues to fill so I have stable hours and a predictable amount of income each month. It's looking promising!
Goal 5: Pay off an additional $1,000 to our mortgage
STATUS: COMPLETE
I've mentioned before that knowing we owe on our mortgage constantly gnaws at me. Well, it still does. However, now that goal #4 has been accomplished (and will hopefully continue to be a great income stream), we are able to apply 25% of my paycheck to the principle on our mortgage each month. The old gazelle-intense part of me says, "Open up all the hours you can! Pay this thing off! Who needs sleep?!" The normal, rational part of me says, "You have a toddler. You have a busy schedule. Making sure your daughter is a decent, functional and caring human being is priority #1. Push yourself to work as much as you can within reason. Don't forego sleep. Don't forego health. You will get the house paid off early. Patience, young(ish) grasshopper."
Goal 6: Cook two new meals each month
STATUS: ON SCHEDULE
At this point, I've tried a lot of new recipes thanks to my spiffy Instant Pot. Some are winners. Some...not so much. In reality, I've probably completed this goal but I haven't kept very good records in the kitchen.
So...how you doin'?
Honestly, how are you doing meeting your goals? What can you do to just hit the reset button? Maybe it isn't a hard reset. Maybe you just need a slightly modified approach. Either way, good luck!
So, if you're like many people, you set some kind of resolution or goal for the new year. Now is the perfect time to re-evaluate or maybe reset the motivation for that goal. Maybe you've forgotten all your goals you've set for this year (or...maybe that's just me!) Luckily, I kept track of my goals in my handy, dandy blog.
The purpose of my blog was to help people understand how achievable these goals can be when you write them out and make a plan. However, if anyone out there thinks I've achieved these goals solo, you couldn't be more wrong. I have many wonderful, supportive people in my life - particularly my husband. There aren't a lot of public school teachers out there who would willingly give up their summers of sleeping in to take over the morning routine of one very wily toddler.
Chances are if you look up and look around, you can think of so many ways people have helped you. None of us can achieve anything totally on our own, so I just thought I'd take a moment and express my gratitude to the dozens of people who love and help us. THANK YOU ALL!
Goal 1: Read 20 books for the year
STATUS: AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
Currently, I am at 18 books for the year...mostly thanks to checking out books electronically on my phone from the public library. If you aren't a member of your local public library, you're missing out on a great FREE resource!
Goal 2: Aim to contribute 15% of our income to retirement
STATUS: ON SCHEDULE
We are automating this process. Now that we have purchased our home, we were able to take advantage of my husband's 401k plan through his employer. For me, I am putting in 25% of my post-tax income and putting it in a Roth IRA. It feels good to save for the future!
Goal 3: Max out The JuJuBe's Educational Savings
STATUS: AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
I cannot take all the credit for this one. When they say, "It takes a village to raise a child," they are completely correct. The JuJuBe has family that loves her so much they want to ensure she has a great future. She has been given so many wonderful monetary gifts we were able to put directly into her ESA. Thank you to those of you that contributed! We are insanely blessed to have you. Because her ESA is maxed out at $2,000 and because we are 75% of the way there for this year, the next couple of months we will not contribute to her ESA. Instead, we will aggressively save more money for a replacement car for our family. Once that is purchased, we will continue to put money into her college savings! Once it is maxed out, we will pursue other places to save money for her.
Goal 4: Actively pursue an additional income stream.
STATUS: COMPLETE
I am happily employed by an amazing company. I hope that my schedule continues to fill so I have stable hours and a predictable amount of income each month. It's looking promising!
Goal 5: Pay off an additional $1,000 to our mortgage
STATUS: COMPLETE
I've mentioned before that knowing we owe on our mortgage constantly gnaws at me. Well, it still does. However, now that goal #4 has been accomplished (and will hopefully continue to be a great income stream), we are able to apply 25% of my paycheck to the principle on our mortgage each month. The old gazelle-intense part of me says, "Open up all the hours you can! Pay this thing off! Who needs sleep?!" The normal, rational part of me says, "You have a toddler. You have a busy schedule. Making sure your daughter is a decent, functional and caring human being is priority #1. Push yourself to work as much as you can within reason. Don't forego sleep. Don't forego health. You will get the house paid off early. Patience, young(ish) grasshopper."
Goal 6: Cook two new meals each month
STATUS: ON SCHEDULE
At this point, I've tried a lot of new recipes thanks to my spiffy Instant Pot. Some are winners. Some...not so much. In reality, I've probably completed this goal but I haven't kept very good records in the kitchen.
So...how you doin'?
Honestly, how are you doing meeting your goals? What can you do to just hit the reset button? Maybe it isn't a hard reset. Maybe you just need a slightly modified approach. Either way, good luck!
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