2011 Goal Update

Tomorrow is February 10...so I figured I'd finally get around to giving an update on the goals I listed on New Year's Eve. Initially, I wasn't planning on posting updates, but I thought it might be fun. Updates will be in italics.

Personal goals:
1. Like everyone and their mother, work on exercising more and getting healthier.
Haven't gained, but haven't lost.

2. Enjoy my free time more, by working on hobbies, taking classes, etc.
YES! I'm taking a sewing class, I've been putzing around the house more. We were signed up for a ballroom dancing class taught by the couple that helped us get ready for the wedding (we could not dance!) but with the bad weather and Turtle's schedule changing, we had to withdraw.

3. Make more of an effort to be social.
I'm trying...?

4. GET OUT of my hellish job that I've been at for over 4 years and MOVE ON with my life.
Applied to 4 or 5 jobs, had an interview. Need to keep looking and applying.

5. Keep improving my relationship with Turtle.
Things have been good, especially with his newly improved work schedule.

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.
See update for #4

House goals:
1. Really finish fixing up and getting settled into our house.
I think we have finally unpacked all of the boxes. Almost everything has a place now.

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.
Like I posted the other day, I have a color picked out for the half bath, almost set on a color for the kitchen...now just colors for the hallway, the dining room, our bedroom and our bathroom. And I still need to call for estimates on our bedroom, the hallway, and the kitchen. The rest I will tackle myself.

3. Start our garden in the early spring. We're already looking at seed catalogs (DORKS).
To add to our dorkiness, not only did we look at seed catalogs, we purchased from them! Seeds, starting kit, grow light, etc. Getting ready to set that up in our basement in a few weeks.

4. Buy new doors for the two bedrooms where the previous owners' sons bashed them in.
Not yet.

5. Paint our basement hatchway door.
Haha, in 3 ft of snow!? See you in the spring!

6. Figure out a new/better method for firewood storage.
We're debating what to do. The first big blizzard--right after Christmas--blew off the tarps that we thought we'd carefully secured to the woodpiles. Ever try to wrangle a tarp in 60 mph winds? I don't recommend it! We're thinking about constructing some kind of lean-to or rack for the wood.

7. Possibly build a shed in our backyard.
Hopefully we can do this.

8. Continue to keep things neat!
Depends on the location, but it's better than it was.

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?
Rabbit: aye, Turtle: nay. To be continued...

10. More planting! Especially some trees.
Again, see you in the spring. But we're thinking fruit trees to replace the maples that the previous owners had planted...then let suffer. They are still alive, but horribly stunted, compared to our neighbors' maple trees planted around the same time.

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.
So far so good. We did get a few big bills in January (not holiday related!), so we might not be putting in as much as we'd like over the next few weeks, but we'll see.

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?
I must have been on crack (Kidding! I've never done drugs, not even smoke a cigarette!) when I wrote this, because I NEVER put away $150/month. Maybe $80. I had to tap this fund to pay those pesky January bills, but that's OK since I didn't touch the savings. We're not going to Maine this summer, we are going to my aunt's house on Cape Cod. Our big trip will be next year, probably, to the Florida Keys.

3. Get Turtle enrolled in his 403b or whatever it's called. His company matches!
YES! And oh yes, they match quite generously!!!

4. Get us in to see a financial planner and have him help us make the best of our money.
Not yet, maybe after we have our taxes done.

5. Keep avoiding credit card debt. We've done GREAT with this for years, and I just want to keep it going.
I am so proud of us! As much as I'd like to just buy stuff when I see it, I don't like to pay for it. So I/we do without, and just save up for things.

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.
I did get a slight raise this year (just under 3%), so I will be increasing my 401k contribution by 25%, which sounds funny, but that increase covers how much my raise was. It will be like that extra money was never even there.