Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Reflections on My 2009 New Year's Resolutions

I looked back on the resolutions I made at this time last year, and though I did accomplish some of the goals, I definitely want to push myself further in 2010. Here is the breakdown:

Personal
  • Take one non-family trip in honor of my 25th birthday.--YES! I went to NYC for my birthday and had a really nice time.
  • Study as much as it takes to get good grades (minimum of a 'B') in my Spring 09 semester classes.--YES!
  • Exercise on a regular basis (gym, exercise DVD's, etc). I don't need to lose weight, but I'd like to build more muscle, flexibility, and upper body strength. I'm sure there are 10 year olds stronger than me at the moment... --1/2 I really didn't put as much energy into this goal as I could have, my exercise schedule is still very sporadic.

Financial

  • Get Emergency Fund up to $3,000.--YES I accomplished this resolution but now realize I could have made that number higher.
  • Pay off $3,000 in credit card debt.--YES I accomplished this resolution but I still have a credit card balance on my VISA card but I really plan to throw as much extra money on that as possible to pay it down by the close of 2010.
  • Stick to my budget!--NO I really fell off on this resolution half-way through the year and simpley tracked my spending through Mint after the fact. I'll try budgeting in a more exact manner again in 2010.
  • Shopping moratorium for first 6 months of the year--NO In all honesty, my shopping moratorium was three months, but I might try another moratorium in 2010.

STRETCH GOALS: (1) Get car fund up to $1,000.--NO, I decided that I'd contribute to my travel fund instead. (2) Start contributing to a Roth IRA.--YES I did start a ROTH IRA and now contribute $200 per month into it.

Career

  • Get a mentor and communicate with this person on a regular basis.--NO
  • Get at least two freelance writing gigs.--1/2 I started blogging for the Washington Examiner (albeit sporadically...)
  • Write/submit one grant proposal for non-profit (because I'd like to turn this into a marketable skill anyway).--NO I did do a bit of research on grants, but I didn't manage to write a grant proposal. This goal got eclipsed by school work.

In all honesty my focus on my finances (and blogging) kind of ebbed away at some point mid-way through the year, and I feel like I'm just getting back on track. I definitely did do some unnecessary spending and didn't save or pay off nearly as much debt as I could have with more discipline. But I feel excited for the upcoming year and look forward to accomplishing alot of goals. I'm going to make a vision board over the holidays to visualize what I want to accomplish in 2010. I'll write my 2010 resolutions and post them tomorrow, so stay tuned!


Do you even make resolutions (I know some people don't), and if so, did you accomplish them?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I made a number of goals this year, and having them up on the blog really helped keep me motivated! I'm doing the same for 2010 - working on articulating them now. Nowhere near as many as you had though.

A Day in the Life of Mocha said...

i really need to do this for 2010 seriously

You have reached a lot of your goals, chica

Congrats

me in millions said...

I had no idea that you wrote for the examiner. That is so cool!

Val in VA said...

Came across your blog via Debt Hater. Congrats on fulfilling several of your 2009 goals! I work for a Head Start grant and have promised to make it my business to sit with a grant writer mentor in the office before she leaves (her grant ends after the summer school session for her group of Head Start sites). I too want to write grants, along with a Broadway musical, children's books and a whatever other opportunities come my way. Again, congrats on 2009 and may your 2010 be a year of open doors that release an abundance of money, good food, people, exercise, and career aspirations!