Looking to the Year Ahead

This year is likely going to be very busy, very full.

I anticipate making a trip to New Mexico, Vegas and L.A.

Maceo will be graduating high school and submitting his college applications which could take him and I to the U.K.

Bishop will begin his senior year of high school.

I hope to get Bishop to some pottery related workshops with master potters.

Bishop needs to complete the requirements for Eagle Scout as he will age out of scouts in just under a year now.

All of this while still adjusting to all the changes in our family; it's really changes heaped upon more changes.

But, in addition to completing the things above, I need to set more goals; I need to give myself structure.  So, let me give this a go.

Financial:

This one is really tricky.  We are still trying to figure out what our income will be and I have found that having my husband home complicates the finances.  Apparently he and I have very different spending habits, opinions about money and it is difficult to  come to an agreement.  We have kept the finances separated to a degree throughout the years as we typically lived separately but not anymore.  Now I have to figure out how to give him some autonomy without breaking the bank.  Already this month has been awful.  Money is just disappearing.  I am going to develop some strategies and some goals but they will be personal.

-I will resume my frugal accomplishments post.  I find it helpful to be accountable in this way.

-I will do my own version of the 52 Week Savings Challenge.  The $1400 tucked away in savings will be helpful towards the end of what is likely to be a pricy year.

-I will return to putting all my change into a jar.  This time I will not be saving it for Christmas but for learning experiences.  It will be the Learning Jar O' Change.

-I will work on refining and simplifying my gift giving.  I will seek to use what I have on hand and will make more of my gifts.

-I will return to building my pantry.

-I will work Swagbucks and Bing.

-I think I will participate in The Vicky Challenge.

-I will list all of my expenses and balances on debt so as to be brutally honest about where things stand.  And I will continue to try to communicate this to my husband.

-It is my desire to pay off the last credit card and student loan this year.

-I will help Bishop parlay his talents into an income stream.

House:

-I will once again attempt to go through every nook and cranny of my property seeking to get rid of even more.

-I will FINALLY sell off my nice things that I have opted to release.

-I will repaint the basement.

-I will trim the tree line and stock up some wood for next winter.

Personal:

-Several years ago I stopped going to the gym.  It was a deliberate well thought out decision.  It was necessary.  Now I believe it is time to resume; now it is necessary.  So my new deliberate well thought out decision will be to begin routinely attending the gym no later than February 5.

-I also commit to cutting my hair, which has not been cut (other than by me just piddling around) for years and years.  I may also add a little bit of color but this is contingent on how I feel after the hair cut and how the bank account is feeling.  I just feel the need for something a little different, I suppose.

-I will work on my memory preservation projects.

-I will work on the homeschool related projects that I have in mind; projects that will help me stay plugged in with homeschool community while possibly opening up avenues for income.

This is a start at least.

It gives me some direction, some focus.

Let's see what I can do.