I shared my spiritual goals for 2019 in this blog post, and today I'm sharing my goals for our finances, my personal growth, and work. I also hope to update you monthly or at least quarterly how I'm progressing on these goals.
Increase discipline in our finances
Why? Overspending in the little things is killing the big things. We have been so blessed by this home and it has been a wonderful place to raise the boys for the last 16 years. The Lord has sustained it with only one major repair throughout those years, but it is showing its age and needs to be cared for. (Last year we hit our goal of having our emergency fund fully funded! We started this journey with Dave Ramsey nine long years ago and with over $33,000 in credit card and car loan debt. We didn't work the plan as fast as others, and we worked through hundreds of one step forward and two steps back, but we made it through baby step three at the very end of 2018!)
Why? Overspending in the little things is killing the big things. We have been so blessed by this home and it has been a wonderful place to raise the boys for the last 16 years. The Lord has sustained it with only one major repair throughout those years, but it is showing its age and needs to be cared for. (Last year we hit our goal of having our emergency fund fully funded! We started this journey with Dave Ramsey nine long years ago and with over $33,000 in credit card and car loan debt. We didn't work the plan as fast as others, and we worked through hundreds of one step forward and two steps back, but we made it through baby step three at the very end of 2018!)
- Create a zero-based budget for each paycheck
before spending anything
- Start weekly budget checkups to enter
receipts/stay on track (Friday mornings, before noon)
- Start focusing on balancing and saving in
Freedom account
- Start a zero-based budget for work related expenses and
income (Nail this one down.)
- Hit savings goal for repairs/remodel to bathroom
- Give consistently to our church and one other ministry (still considering the other ministry)
Why? It is still a struggle to stay focused and on track in so many areas of life. I've seen some success and desire to continue to pray and grow here. I'm standardizing my breakfasts and lunches for the first of the year to start moving from a mindset of "What do I feel like eating?" toward a mindset of fueling my body and not feeding my wants/desires.
- Pray daily for obedience and discipline
- Read through Taste for Truth with accountability (ignore that review that says you need two more books, she has a free app you can download)
- Eat standard breakfasts 5 days a week (2 eggs or Oatmeal + 1 slice of toast and coffee)
- Eat standard lunches 5 days a week(chicken or fish with veggies or salad)
- Disciplined, regular exercise: Couch to 5k through week 6 (I've decided to go slow this year with the couch to 5k and repeat each week. I'm not in a contest to get it done quickly, I want to get it done well with grace. I will also add in other forms of exercise on my off days.)
- Fast and pray between meals (no snacks)
- Fast through breakfast and lunch and pray 1x per month
Encourage and make disciples of Jesus
Why? I have this incredible community God has given me (in real life and online) and want to make the most of it and help grow His kingdom and encourage and make disciples of Christ.
- Release 4 new products this year by working at least 2 hours a day, four days a week
- Weekly blog posts
- Update and expand the free Journal and Doodle
through Ephesians
- Read 4 business books
- Pay attention to people around me
- Share Christ
- create some surprises and fun giveaways!
I'm working on finalizing my other goals and I'll also be sharing the tools I'm using to keep on track with the goals next!
God bless,
I'm really focusing on finances this year too. I'm a big overspender and trying to correct that. My plan is simple. Just take x amount of money in cash each week and that's the only amount I can spend. I tested it out in December and so far it's working well.
ReplyDeleteAnd balancing my checkbook every other day is helping me know exactly what is in my bank account.
Yes! The envelope system (cash only) made the biggest difference for us too! We pull cash out for groceries, gas money, and fun money!
DeleteI haven't even gave my finances a thought until now. I think I'm going to work on some goals for my finances and give it a try. I was getting paid weekly then changed biweekly and I feel it got hard to actually save a few dollars. Dont know how to start but realizing it is a problem is a start.
ReplyDeleteA great place to go to next is Dave Ramsey's website, look up the zero-based budget. He walks you step by step how to budget your paycheck. And his Baby step plan works!
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