Heres to a New Year. There is something about the beginning of the year as a time to set new goals for yourself. New Years tends to be a time to declutter your life, try to eat healthier, and better manage your finances. Are you one of the millions of people that set goals for yourself at the beginning of the year? How are you at maintaining them.
Most years I set goals for myself, what I want personally and professionally. I am sure there are years that I didn't really have the forethought to sit down and actually write them out. This year I have some specific goals I would like to accomplish as well as some general life goals.
Before we get to that I would like to share what
ABCnews said was the Top 5 Resolutions of 2016
1) Enjoy life to the fullest
2) Live a healthier lifestyle
3) Lose weight
4) Spend more time with friends and family
5) Save more, Spend less
I would have to say that this is pretty much encompasses everything that I would like in life. There are a few I would add, like do more marketing for Marsh Meadow Bison, to get that business off the ground and running. If I can get this business to bring more income I would consider taking time off of work to stay home with the kids. I don't know many people that would not want to live life to the fullest. Who is just happy sitting around in your normal daily routine.
My family and I already lead a pretty healthy lifestyle. This things that aren't healthy; cakes, cookies, ice cream. I am not willing to give up. Moderation is key with these treats. Sure, I do love my treats and so do my kids. They constantly ask for cookies for breakfast and I wouldn't mind some for myself, but that doesn't mean we have cookies for breakfast. Unless of course it is Christmas.
Losing weight is on my list as well. I gained more than I would care to admit when pregnant with my third baby. She is now 10 weeks old and cute as a button, but I am sick of wearing maternity pants to work because my other pants don't fit yet. I have lost 16 pounds since her birth and would like to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight by 6 months post partum. One major way I plan on doing this is running. I have challenged myself to run 2,016 miles in 2016. I have joined the
Run the Year 2016 challenge to keep me accountable.
2,016 miles is quite the feat. It is an average of 5.5 miles a day, or 38.76 miles a week, or 168 miles a month. We are only 8 days into the year and I have 31.1 miles logged so far. I am a little behind with a few days of short runs and one rest day. I do plan on having longer runs on the weekend to make up for shorter weekday runs. Since I am planning on logging the miles I may find a marathon to train for this year.
I must say that I am pretty excited about the shoes I get to buy. I love running shoes. I typically stay with a certain type. Because they work for me and I haven't had any issues, but this might be the time to try out something new.
The next goal to spend more time with friends and family is an important one for me. Since starting my family, my children have really become my priority. Which I believe they should be, however I have neglected some of my girlfriends that either live further away or don't have kids. My goal this year is to make more of an effort to get together with them, and bonus if I can do it without kids around. That is not always possible because of Wally's schedule.
Save more, Spend Less!! - Budget - I still have a couple of student loans that I would like to pay off quickly. Luckily this year we really got our spending more under control and paid off credit cards. Since we are now paying for child care for 3 kids, I need to do more budgeting to make sure that we stay in an comfortable place financially. I read somewhere once that if things are tight in your budget you need to either spend less or make more money. Do you get a second job? sell some stuff? work over time if that is available to you? These are all things that have been coming across my mind, I would love to make a little more money - as most people would. But my goal is to pay off those student loans, then start to pay down the mortgage.
Do you make Goals or Resolutions for the New Year?
What are they?
Do you make a budget? How do you do it?
