Looking Ahead: Goals for 2011

Personal goals:
1. Like everyone and their mother, work on exercising more and getting healthier.

2. Enjoy my free time more, by working on hobbies, taking classes, etc.

3. Make more of an effort to be social.

4. GET OUT of my hellish job that I've been at for over 4 years and MOVE ON with my life.

5. Keep improving my relationship with Turtle.

6. This goes with #4 but find a new job that allows me to shine and share my talents with others; where I am appreciated for who I am and what I contribute. Also, one that is family-friendly and has great benefits.

House goals:
1. Really finish fixing up and getting settled into our house.

2. Getting this house PAINTED top to bottom. I can do a lot myself, but for some rooms, I will need to call in the pros. The kitchen and our bedroom need to be done by pros b/c I take a long time, and we kinda need those two rooms to live in.

3. Start our garden in the early spring. We're already looking at seed catalogs (DORKS).

4. Buy new doors for the two bedrooms where the previous owners' sons bashed them in.

5. Paint our basement hatchway door.

6. Figure out a new/better method for firewood storage.

7. Possibly build a shed in our backyard.

8. Continue to keep things neat!

9. Put up some kind of tile/backsplash behind the stove. It gets messy back there and what's the sense in painting it if it's just going to keep getting gross?

10. More planting! Especially some trees.

Financial goals:
1. I've been trying to put away ~$500/month into savings, and I'd like to keep that up, if not increase it.

2. I've been socking away ~$150/month for a vacation, which I'm still going to do. We were going to go on a "big trip" in 2012/13 for our 5th anniversary, but I think instead we're going to try and go to Maine this summer. Besides a long weekend in Philly for our 1st anniversary, we haven't been away ANYWHERE since our honeymoon. We can still go away for our 5th anniversary, but not a "big trip." Maybe another small one. Who knows where things will be in 2 or 3 years?

3. Get Turtle enrolled in his 403b or whatever it's called. His company matches!

4. Get us in to see a financial planner and have him help us make the best of our money.

5. Keep avoiding credit card debt. We've done GREAT with this for years, and I just want to keep it going.

6. As I'm looking for a new job, I hope to be making more money (don't we all!). I want to increase my retirement contributions AND sock more into savings instead of going crazy with more money. Of course, then I'll be too paranoid to spend the money, haha.