HAPPY NEW YEAR!
To look forward to 2010, let's start by taking a minute to look back on 2009.
Here's how I did:
- Contribute to my emergency fund with the goal of reaching 6 months of living expenses. WIN! Made it to six months of living expense yesterday!
- Contribute to my 401k, but putting it all in a ROTH. FAIL! Decided earlier this year to focus all my attention on building my e-fund. And I'm not sure why I decided to put it all in a ROTH... probably will not do that on 2010.
- Get on the path to homeownership. FAIL! Again, focused on my e-fund and then did a mini-assessment and decided that I wasn't ready to be a homeowner. It's a goal I will revisit in 2010.
- Develop new skills and learn new techniques to help me on my career track. WIN! I got thrown into the management fire and so far am doing all right but need work. I am also working with people in my company to learn the money side to my business. I also have reconnected with a mentor who has been loads of help.
- Earn more money through various ventures including more freelance writing. PASS. I wouldn't call this a win, but I did earn more than $2,500 this year on freelancing, without trying as hard as I intended to. And no, didn't earn money in any other fashion and really didn't try.
- Go on a big vacation this year for my 32nd birthday, September 25. WIN! WIN! WIN! Not only did I go to Hawaii for my birthday with my oldest friend, but I did it all on cash I saved, no debt, AND saved enough to go on a short trip to Japan! Loved it. Dream about it sometimes...
- Make new friends and make time for old ones. PASS. I have made some new friends, but have not made time for old ones. Maybe I should invest in Rock Band for the Wii and start having band parties.
- Take better care of my physical self -- including taking up yoga, exercising regularly and improving my diet. PASS. I started yoga and committed myself to two classes a week. I get up at 5:30 twice a week and I go to the early class on Saturdays. FAIL on exercising besides yoga and improving my diet. It only got worse closer to the end of the year. Back to the kitchen and home-cooked meals with me!
- Take better care of my emotional and spiritual self, including spending more time having fun! WIN! I had a lot of fun this year and I feel great. I also feel like I learned a lot in just a year. My number one take away: I cannot control other people. I was amazed at how some of my simplest action and most innocent words were really about trying to control others' behavior, reactions, and lives. Just finally realizing that I can't control others lifted this huge burden off my chest. I don't freak out when things don't go my way like I used to. I shrug a lot more off.
- Write for myself. (I've always wanted to write a novel. So I will get started!) PASS. I did more writing this year than in the last three years combined. So why just PASS? Well, I didn't finish two projects I wanted to do for myself and I never committed to writing three hours a week the way I told myself I would. I will remake this commitment in 2010.
Not too shabby! Even on the goals I failed, I didn't completely fail -- I made some progress and in 2010, I can pick up where I left off.
How was your 2009?
DH
I love your next to last point: trying to control other people is nearly impossible yet so many of us try and fail to do it. Saving yourself the trouble means you have the energy to be more productive in other ways.
Posted by: Revanche | January 03, 2010 at 06:00 PM
Great post. Glad to see so many "PASS" & "WIN" entries. Now it's time to do the same for 2010! Maybe you can stay in the black by shooting for a specific amount in savings by a specific date & if you already have that goal just break it down into a smaller sub goal like "half of goal $X by half of the time" - wait a second I'm talking to Debt hater - 'you know this...man'
Posted by: Dee | January 03, 2010 at 11:02 PM