Photograph Credit: Flickr (Angie Torres)
Though some of these goals are a real pain in my side, I made these goals after lots of thought and planning. Just because they get hard means I need to find a way to keep them.
The financial budget is really hard for me. I do not find budgeting a gateway to freedom – yet. I love my food budget, but that emotion has not transferred into our entire budget. Maybe with some practice I will get there, but for now, I am at the beginning.
I have based my goals on Crystal Paine’s book The Money Saving Mom’s Budget, where Crystal breaks down the steps to reach your financial goals.
I have included my financial and other goals as I seek to change and improve. Though I do not meet every goal, I am plugging along. Progress, no matter how small, is still moving closer to my goals.
Physical
Drink 2 glasses of water per day. Success! When the ice melts in my cup, I keep refilling ice and water. Many days I am drinking 3 or more glasses, so I am increasing this goal to 3 glasses of water per day.
Eat breakfast each morning. Yeah! I found a little secret that is working. When I make my son’s lunch in the morning, I make myself a peanut butter and honey sandwich to eat on the way to school. I know a peanut butter sandwich is usually a lunch option, but it works for me. Keeping this goal since summer is around the corner, and I might need to adjust my routine.
Exercise for 20 minutes at least 3 times a week. Fantastic progress! For two weeks I was very consistent before getting sick. After taking 2 weeks to fully recover, I am back to exercising. Designating a time for exercise has been the reason for my success this month.
Family
Plan at least one family outing/activity each week. Definitely accomplished! With 4 soccer games a week, we have spent lots of time together as a family. Love this goal, and keeping it all year.
Spend 10 minutes with each child each day. Still need more work on this goal. Recovering from my illness, I had much to do. With this goal, I will make this time a priority as I begin planning our summer routine.
Allow children to help with a household task each week. Paul and I are discussing adjusting our allowance system. Now that our children help more, we will be creating a chore list for each of them. Some chores help keep our household running and are done as a member of the family while other chores earn privileges, games, or money. This goal is a work in progress.
Financial
Follow Crystal’s year-long plan to reach my goals. On track. Our bare-bones budget continues. This month, I need to create a full-fledged budget which I have never done. Giving myself some grace, I may take a little more time with this goal. Though I am concentrating on the budget, I have chosen not to use cash. Having used $60 in Discover rewards to grant graduation gifts, our Discover Card (which we payoff every month) continues to serve our family well. I am not ready to lose these benefits.
Purchase dressers for my daughters’ room. This goal is ongoing. No progress made on this goal for April.
Purchase upgraded computers for hubby and me. This goal is also ongoing. We received the laptop for parts, but the seller did not include all the pieces advertised. This purchase was a $30 gamble. We learned, and continue to save for another upgrade.
Business
Write posts one week in advance. Bombed this one! With the illness, I fell behind, but I am almost caught up. Having my monthly blog schedule saved me from falling further behind. In fact, I adjusted the schedule by adding a Quick Tip Week, and this change worked beautifully. Thanks for sticking around during the lack of posts. My readers encourage me every day! You still read even when I post late. Thanks! I am keeping this goal and will continue to strive for one week of posts written and scheduled.
Make one improvement to the blog this month. Accomplished updating Using Time Wisely’s Facebook page! I hope you like the uniform look. I still need to work on the landing pages, so I will keep this goal for another month.
Read two chapters of blog book each month. Failed this goal in April as I did not read any business books. I did read my first Boxcar Children book and loved it. My son read it on his teacher’s recommendation, and I wanted to learn about the series. I really like this series, and I hope my son becomes a fan because it will make summer reading a blast. 🙂
My goals are working for me. With some easy and others challenging, the goals keep me on-task. By plugging along slowly and steadily, I am making progress. If you are struggling with your goals, then adjust. Small steps are still steps in the right direction. Keep going!
Question: How are your goals coming along?