Layout:
Home > Progress on goals, healthy habits, savings, etc.

Progress on goals, healthy habits, savings, etc.

January 17th, 2018 at 04:39 pm

Over the weekend we received a few of the emergency supplies I ordered. I need to put in batteries, figure out how to use them and where to put them, etc. For now they're just in a box in the dining room. I'll try to keep the grocery budget low so I can get a few more this week.

I joined a live chat for my novel-finishing class and it made me consider some of my characters and how I could make them more interesting. I'm also going through my novel, getting reacquainted, reviewing AS's feedback and doing a light copyedit as I go. I've done 87 of 299 pages. (It started at about 306 pages, so it's also shrinking as I cut unnecessary copy.)

Yesterday my task was no drinking. Warm ginger juice and sleepytime tea again; it might be a new rut for now, but at least it's a healthy rut. Smile Tonight my task is no phone/computer time after work and Thursday will be no social media at work.

I finally yesterday had a day where I did all four of my healthy habits that served me so well last year: morning strength-training exercises, no breakfast, at least 10K steps, no night snacks. I'd weighed in over 135, the highest I'd been in a while, and decided enough's enough; I have to stop making excuses and get back to what worked. Today I weighed in at 133.2, so hopefully I'm on the path back to getting under 130.

Our UK rental income hit that bank account, and AS got a nice freelance payment, so I put some money in savings. US$562 went into UK savings, which is our emergency fund; $300 went toward kitchen reno savings, and I've just started saving up for vacations, so $300 went into a vacation fund. NT is already starting to plan his next solo trip (Colorado in March) so I need to start putting money aside.

We're now at:
$9,562.50 EF
$19,900 reno fund
$300 vacay fund

Our EF goal is $10K, so we're really close! Our kitchen reno goal is $30K, so we've got a ways to go on that. Our total savings are at $29,762.50.

Other random happenings in the past few days:
- I moved a bunch of books and bookcases and taped off the baseboard so NT could finish painting my book nook. It was a dark dull green and then it was half and half (he started a few months ago but ran out of paint); now it's all a nice cream color. It's still a bit haphazard up there -- the furniture is mismatched, I have some boxes of papers I need to clear out, and the books aren't all organized -- but it looks way better. It's so low on my priorities list for home improvement, but this paint job makes it feel nicer. We chose paint colors for the bedroom, so that room will get a little lift next weekend. It's another space that needs a lot of work, but this is a quick way to make it a little better, since it'll likely be a year or more before we prioritize it.

- I went to see my fave band for the third time this month on Monday. Two more shows that I already have tickets to! I've had friends say they were going to the past ones and every single person flaked except AS. She can't go to the next one, but I have about five friends who say they're going, so hopefully at least one of them won't flake and I'll have someone to hang out with. If not, I'm going anyway. Smile

- AS and I ordered new glasses. It came to about $525 each. Yikes! I would have thought it was crazy if PatientSaver hadn't said hers were $400. Mine is covered by flex spending, but now I only have about $70 of flex left for the year, so copays and any other expenses will pretty much need to be out of pocket. Here's hoping for a healthy year! But I think I made a good choice with glasses that will give me a new look. And I changed my hair style when I got my hair cut Saturday. I can't wait to get the glasses so I can start 2018 with a somewhat new look. Smile

- AS now has nearly $18K worked or booked for the first quarter! As a reference point, she made about $13K in Q1 2017 and less than $6K in Q1 2016. Her previous high first quarter was $19.5K in 2015 (kind of a fluke). Since we're only midway through the first month, it's hard to imagine her not breaking that record. But she does have to be very careful about accepting things for the next three months because her time is almost all booked up, so it won't be a TON more, I don't think.

Hmm, I think that's all. 2018 is off to a brisk, but good, start for us!

6 Responses to “Progress on goals, healthy habits, savings, etc.”

  1. Dido Says:
    1516210308

    Great progress!

    I need a re-set on my goals--work started out crazy-busy so I'm already behind on everything. Should calm down after tomorrow so I'll finally start to think about my personal goals again.

  2. ceejay74 Says:
    1516210670

    A reset is a good idea! Put some micro-goals on the calendar that you can check off; that's been really motivating for me. Starting some of my healthy habits at just one day a week has made it feel really easy; we'll see if I still think that when I go up to 2 days a week, then 3 ... Smile

  3. rob62521 Says:
    1516211323

    Good job on your goals.

    Glasses are outrageously expensive. A friend asked me what I paid for mine because he had sticker shock and realized his was about the same.

  4. creditcardfree Says:
    1516214729

    I, too, had sticker shock when we bought my daughter's glasses last summer. So far 16 days without alcohol for me! Our drinking has been on weekends, and I haven't missed it a bit...but I think DH has. But he's made it so far, too.

  5. ceejay74 Says:
    1516216030

    That's awesome! I did consider just doing a teetotaling January, but then I decided to ease myself back gradually. I've been drinking pretty much every day at least for the past year and a half, so it's a pretty ingrained habit at this point. I'm hoping in a few months I'll have re-patterned my routines to include less drinking.

  6. Amber Says:
    1516226642

    Way to go on reaching those Saving goals, love it!

    Also, I hope none of your friends flake out

Leave a Reply

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)
*
Will not be published.
   

* Please spell out the number 4.  [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]