Reviewing your goals and creating news ones is key to being successful. After looking at my goals for 2009 I’ve given myself a B thus far . I’ve completed some of my short term goals and most of my other goals are on track. I do believe I could have done better on some but I still have 4 months left in my short term goals to improve.
My Financial Goals
Short term (1-6 months) - Save $21k for RRSP. Keep my personal spending to under $100/month. I manage to contribute the $21k to my RRSP but one of my more lingering issues has been my personal spending. I usually spend about $200-$300 a month and that doesn’t include gifts. I feel this is excessive and if I can control it a lot of my other goals will come together.
Intermediate (6-12 months) - Increase our bi-weekly mortgage payment by 25% and a lump sum of $8k. I’ve increased our mortgage payments by 25% but still haven’t put down the lump sum because I haven’t filed my taxes. I’m also considering refinancing my mortgage now that the fixed rates are crazy low.
Long term (12-24 months) - Save $30k for our emergency fund. This has completely stalled now that some wedding expenses have come into the picture like the Hawaiian honeymoon. I’m keeping positive that we can work at this but probably not as quickly as I’d like.
My Blogging Goals
Short term (1-6 months) -Write 4 posts a week. I’ve done alright here. I usually post 3 to 4 times a week. However I’d like to post more and make sure the quality is there. Until I feel that I’m more consistent I’ll leave this one as uncompleted which is fine since I have another 4 months to work on this goal.
Intermediate (6-12 months) - Have 100 subscribers. I know I set this as a 6-12 month goal but I was hoping I would be further along then I am. I’ll continue to write and list my articles on the various carnivals. Maybe one day an article will be chosen as an editor’s pick.
Long term (12-24 months) – Have 250 subscribers. See Intermediate goal.
My Health Goals
Short term (1-6 months) - Join a gym and go 3 times a week. I’ve been doing really well on this. I’ve only had issues going to the gym during the week I was sick and the week my fiance was sick. I’m not ready to mark this goal off yet. It’s really easy to fall off the wagon. I’ll probably leave this uncompleted for the full 6 months.
Intermediate (6-12 months) - Lose 30 pounds. This is going along nicely. I easily lost 11 lbs but I think I’ve plateaued. I haven’t been watching my food intake as closely as I should. This should hopefully change in the next month or two as I increase the intensity of my workouts.
Long term (12-24 months) - Get my weight to 170. See intermediate goal.
How I’m doing on some of my goals got me down a little. What tricks do you have to stay positive?
-mfd-
It is great to see your goals laid out like this. You and I have some similar challenges. Like you, I strive to save as much money as possible and I just came through a period where I lost 44lbs in about 11 months. The weight comes off easy at first but then becomes much more challenging as you near your goal. I would still like to lose 6 more pounds but now it seems nearly impossible.
@moneygardener – 44 pounds is awesome. I can see how 6 pounds would be nice. It would give you that nice even number. You’ll get there eventually.
For me the challenge is I enjoy food. It’s not so much quantity its the type of food. I love to eat things like french croissants with ham and cheese, artisan cheeses, and 3 year old dried prosciutto. These things are not good for you by I love to explore through my palette.