Goals v. Resolutions

06Jan10

I have no desire to make resolutions this year. I’ve made resolutions in the past and it’s never worked out very well. I usually do well until mid-February when the resolution becomes boring or tedious and I give up. I do, however, have a desire to set goals this year. As Nick and I looked back at 2009, we marveled at how quickly Brianna has grown and how much we’ve grown in being her parents. There were, however, a few areas of life in which we were somewhat disappointed, such as finances and personal development. So this year, we’ve decided to make some changes.

Our financial goal this year is to try to pay off our van, or pay off as much as possible, by the end of the year. In order to do this, we cut off our cable (gasp!), reduced our monthly grocery fund, and revamped the rest of our budget. The only things we weren’t able to part with were our iPhones…sad but true. Other than our cell phone luxury, we made up our minds that this coming year will be one of frugality and penny pinching in order to meet this mammoth goal. It won’t be easy, but hopefully in January 2011, we’ll be able to look back and say, “Wow, look what we accomplished!”

We also set goals in our personal lives. Nick decided to resume college classes to continue making progress toward a degree. I’m proud of him for tackling school this year, considering Emmersen will arrive at the end of March. I, on the other hand, have set smaller goals, knowing that a newborn will turn my little world up-side-down for at least three months. So with that in mind, here are my goals:

1. Read a minimum of 12 books this year. I’m sure I can read more than 12, but I thought it wise to set a realistic goal instead of shooting for 36 books and failing miserably.

2. Become proficient at using coupons.

3. Become more efficient in my kitchen by planning weekly meal menus around grocery sales and using up all my leftovers.

4. Nurse Emmersen. This is a big one for me. I wanted so badly to nurse Brianna and was only able to do so for about four weeks. Nursing just didn’t work out for numerous reasons. I’m hopeful my body will cooperate this time around so I can nourish my little one, bond with her and save money on formula.

Hopefully, setting goals for 2010 will be more productive than making resolutions!

This post is linked to Frugal Friday.

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