Saturday, July 1, 2023

Goals Revisited and Renewed: Part 1

 I have expressed my goals in three different ways this year - my original original 2023 goals23 Hard Things in 2023, and the Could Have Been goals. These goals are a reflection of who I am at this present moment, what I dream of, what I value, who I want to be and what I want to do. The year 2023 is now at the midpoint. This is the perfect time for me to revisit those expressed goals, revise if necessary and renew my commitment to them. 

Original 2023 Goals

*Money related goals: Earn ESOP - I do not have it confirmed yet that I earned any stock for the last fiscal year. In the meantime, I am working hard to make sure that I am getting enough hours to earn stock this fiscal year. The stock price for the company that I work for jumped $30 this year and is projected to continue to grow by leaps and bounds for the next five years. I definitely want in on this action. This has me reconsidering my timeline for work, home improvement and hitting the road. I may set a goal to continue working through the age of 62 so that I can be fully vested. In the meantime, I would focus on completing the home improvement tasks. I may revise my road trip plans as well. I may strive to do a segment of the trip each year between now and age 62. I have to be on the road!

Pay for Maceo's move or Visa - I have more than enough money saved for this. I should know more by the end of the month about which I will be funding and the amount needed to accomplish it.

Pay off Kohl's credit card, Herb's credit card and student loan - this goal has been revised and the revised version has been accomplished. The Kohl's card, student loan, and American Express have all been paid off. Herb's card has been paid down but I am not going to focus on paying it off; that is now completely his responsibility. We refinanced our mortgage and rolled the AMEX and H's CC (well, most of it) debt into the mortgage. This will slow down the interest accumulation on that debt and I will now have the ability to pay a larger amount towards the mortgage - new goal: have the mortgage paid off in under 15 years! With the exception of the mortgage, all debt with my name on it is paid off! That's huge and feels so good!

Adhere to my $150 entertainment budget, review subscription services, and "use it up" - I haven't reconciled my June expenses but believe that I went over a smidge. I definitely need to refocus my attention on tracking these expenses better. I am satisfied with my status as it relates to the other two goals.

*Decluttering goals: purge a minimum of 100 items per month, reclaim attic and set up guest space, "use it up" - I have not touched the attic nor made progress on setting up a guest space but I have been making steady progress on using things up or getting rid of them. Through June, I have purged 1122 items!!!

*House related goals: repair front stairs, haul large trash, clean yard and remove curly tree. We have repaired the front stairs and removed the curly tree. The yard cleaning is roughly 50% completed. We are actually now moving forward with getting the house re-piped!

*Other: one adventure per month, move like a child, journal, floss, take my vitamins, stretch, strengthen, read, investigate - I have had one adventure per month, although they have not looked the way that I had envisioned when I set the goal. I am doing things that are uncomfortable or exciting or both. I have made progress with all movement related goals. This bum foot of mine is slowing me down. I will press on. I journal, floss, take vitamins and read routinely. Investigating, on the other hand, hasn't happened at all. Going to Silver City and revisiting a bit of Calvin's life has removed some of my drive to investigate the issues surrounding his death.

Could Have Been Me Goals

*Defeat the hoard: I am making steady progress on this goal. Thus far, in the year 2023, I have purged 1122 items. This doesn't include food or scrapbook items, unless I am giving those items away rather than using them up. I am steadily peeling back the layers of my life. I am learning what is of value to me and, of those things that I value, what I value more than the other. It is a process. I am defining myself and how I want to spend my time, my money, my life. I still have a long way to go on this journey but I am taking steps in the right direction.

*Be debt free: Surprisingly, I took a huge leap forward in achieving this goal. As mentioned before, I now have no debt in my name, with the exception of the mortgage. And I have a clear plan to have the mortgage paid off in 15 years! If I stay focused, I can be entirely debt-free by 70! I know that I need to make progress on home improvements and we will need to address vehicles within the next 15 years. These factors need to be taken into consideration, a plan needs to be developed so that I can truly be 100% debt-free at 70.

*Take my EPIC American road trip: No can do, just yet. Reaching the other goals, however, contribute to making this one a reality.

*Be strong: I have made progress on this. My bum ankle/foot and being fatigued is hampering my progress but I WILL figure this out!

This post seems plenty long, so, I will address 23 Hard Things in 2023 in the following post.

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