I’ve never been great about setting goals. I’m more of a “go with the flow” kind of person, but I’m quickly learning that going with the flow is a great way to get nowhere. With that in mind, I’m trying something new this year, and setting some reasonable goals for myself.
Financial Goals
- Pay off credit card debt by September. We have around $1100 in credit card debt left, and our 0% introductory APR runs out in September. I don’t want to transfer another balance, so that balance will be at zero come September 1.
- Make a budget and stick to it. By that I mean consistently trying to stick to a budget. I realize, especially given that our income situation still isn’t consistent, that there will be times I go over my budget. But instead of throwing in the towel, I will adjust and move on.
- Limit eating out to 4 times a month. This one is going to be hard. If I master cutting back to 4 times a month, I may try to cut down to twice a month.
- Save 5% of our income. When my husband lost his job, we stopped saving. We need to start saving again. Since I don’t know exactly what our financial situation is going to be, I’m going to start with a low goal of 5%. Once I get a better picture of where we are, I may bump that to 10%.
- Get health insurance. One way or another, this needs to be done.
- Update our will. This is another thing that just needs to be done.
Blogging Goals
I made a couple of blogging goals earlier this year. One was to hit 500 subscribers and the other was to reach a 200 Technorati ranking. I hit both of those goals, and it felt good. Here are my new goals for 2008.
- Hit 2000 subscribers. Ambitious, but I think it’s possible.
- Consistently have posts written one week ahead. There are obvious exceptions, such as my weekend roundup posts, but it’s nice to have most posts written ahead, in case I have to deal with illness or writer’s block.
- Guest post at least once a month. I’ve always been hesitant to guest post, but I like to help out other bloggers in a pinch. In order to accomplish this goal, it would be good to have a few posts written for such an occasion.
- Learn the ins and outs of SEO. I never want to write specifically for search engines, but it’s nice when people find my site via a google search. I’d love to figure out if there are little things I can do to make my blog more search engine friendly.
- Continue to post authentically, from the heart. I started this blog to get real about my finances, and I never want to lose sight of that. I want to continue to be an encouragement to my readers by just posting about my life…what works and what doesn’t. This is my most important goal. Meeting the previous goals will be meaningless to me, if I can’t be authentic when I write.
Do you have any goals for the New Year? Feel free to share in the comments! Or better yet…write a post and submit it to the Carnival of Financial Goals! The next edition will be held right here on Friday!
Photo by Daniel Voyager in TSL.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Did you like this post? Then check these out:
January 1st, 2008 at 6:05 am
I just found your blog and I was totally blown away by your honesty. Our story is much like my own but I’ve always had a “we brought it on ourselves” attitude that has kept me from being really honest about it. We’ve made lots of money mistakes but sometimes, life just happened to us.
Thanks for your blog. I check in every day.
ArdenLynn
January 1st, 2008 at 6:48 am
How come you eat out so much? Is there something unique about your situation that increases the pressure to eat out?
You aren’t a bad cook, are you?
Great goals, I wish you the best, I am going to have my wife add you to her blogroll on our family blog.
January 1st, 2008 at 8:59 am
I was going to say something here then realized it was way too long so put my response over on my own blog. :)http://www.gracedbychrist.com/?p=1500
January 1st, 2008 at 9:39 am
@ArdenLynn - I found that the more honest I became about my finances, the better my financial situation became. I also used to justify bad decisions with the “we deserve this” excuse. Thanks for reading.
@rocketc - Thanks for the honest question. I’ll give you an honest answer. My husband insists I’m not a bad cook (though I sometimes wonder). The problem is more that I hate to cook, and I’m not great at planning ahead. I have a lot of “oh no it’s 4:00, and I don’t know what to make for dinner” nights.
@heather - I am headed over to read your response!
January 1st, 2008 at 9:43 am
LOVE the authenticity one. It’s what I love most about your blog. It’s way more fun to read when you can tell a person is being real.
Best of luck in all your goals. I have a sneaking suspicion you’ll reach them all!
January 1st, 2008 at 11:35 am
Wonderful goals Lynnae, my favorite being continuing to be an authentic blogger. You do a great job and I love keeping up with what’s been going on. As for your financial goals, I’m excited that you’re finishing off that credit card debt and getting health insurance. both goals will give you some peace of mind.
January 1st, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Lynnae, you might want to add me as a suscriber even though I don’t ACTUALLY subscribe…hehe…I fear new things…
January 1st, 2008 at 1:05 pm
I should cut down eating out too. I probably eat out 4 times a week, especially when the groceries are gone and grocery shopping gets pushed to the bottom of the to-do list.
Eating out probably seems like a poor financial decision, but I generally don’t spend a lot of money at all. I love subway daily specials for $2.49 and Wendy’s chilli & baked potatoes.
January 1st, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Like blogging in advance, have you considered doing some cooking in advance too?
January 1st, 2008 at 1:21 pm
@Mrs. Micah - I really need to invest in a freezer. All I have is the small freezer on top of my fridge, and most of the time it’s full. But yes, I should start doing that. Like blogging in advance, it’s not one of my strengths….yet.
January 1st, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Good luck with your goals for 2008. Let’s hope we can all hit our goals this year!
January 1st, 2008 at 4:59 pm
I found that having small kids keeps us at home for dinner. They are a lot of work though!
Mike
January 1st, 2008 at 6:29 pm
I admire your authentic blogging voice…somehow you manage to speak the truth of everyday life while maintaining a sense of gratitude, as well as hope and faith in a better tomorrow. It is a gift Lynnae…
God Bless you and your family in 2008.
January 19th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Wonderful website! I plan on reading it quite often to get tips on being frugal. Good Luck to you and your family in 2008!