Thursday, January 5, 2012

This year I'm serious...

I know, I know, I say this every year and every year I fail, BUT this year I will not fail! This year, I am determined to better myself, and my life. So here is my cliche post, to go along with all the others this time of year.

Sometimes I feel like the reasons why so many New Year's Resolutions fail (mine in particular) is because they are often too lofty and unrealistic. Although my intentions are good, I often come up with too long of a list of things I can do better and therefore am overwhelmed with the so called list that I need to complete. So this year I have compiled a short list, that I feel can be achieved if I put my mind to it. So here it goes:


1. Get in shape and maybe even loose weight. I want to do something active 2-3x a week. Whether it be walking around the block, taking a zumba class, or just walking from one end of the mall to the other. Something, whether small or big, to get me moving and in shape. I want to be able to play and run with my kids, and live long enough to see them grow and have kids.


2. Become a better homemaker. I want to make more meals and eat out less. I want to be able to expand my cooking talents to more than just the basics (Mac and cheese, boxed dinners and pasta-I know I'm pretty lame). I want to learn the basics of sewing and be a better house keeper. I wanna spend less time on the couch and more time on my house.


3. Be a little kinder. You always here that phrase "Be kind because you never know what battle someone is fighting within." I think sometimes I forget this, and I definitely could be kinder. I want to do random acts of kindness, make someones day a little brighter and just be a better friend.

4. Improve my relationship with my Heavenly Father. Let's face it, life is busy and sometimes my priorities are a little backwards. I push the snooze button too many times, then end up running behind and forget to say my prayers. Or I'm too tired at night and I end up not reading my scriptures. I know these are typical "primary" answers but they definitely make a world of difference. I definitely need some improvement in this area.


5. Get my finances in order. Money is such a hard thing. Sometimes I feel like I can never get a good grasp on it. I want to learn how to budget, pay of my debts and eventually become debt free (as much as possible--the car and home will not be paid off anytime soon!) When you have the weight of a credit card debt on your shoulders sometimes it makes life that much more stressful, when it is completely uneccesary. Most of the time credit card purchases are petty and should never have been purchased. I also want to build up a rainy day fund, for when our tires need to be replaced, or something major breaks. It would be nice to have enough money set aside to get those things fixed.






I think that these goals are attainable and hope to make progress every month. With only 5 goals there should be plenty of time to get them accomplished. I am excited for what 2012 has to offer. 2011 brought us the end of a deployment, a baby and a new life without the gloom of deployments hanging over our heads. I am confident that 2012 can only get better!

1 comment:

Kylie said...

Great goals! I hated budgeting so much for the first year of our marriage. It was a huge pain to save receipts, and we really didn't make enough to live off of at first so it was just super frustrating. Then we started a program from a guy called Dave Ramsey. I don't agree with everything he says, but we adopted a few of his ideas: no credit cards for any reason (we don't even have one); our budget is all done in cash so we don't have to keep track of purchases, we just know how much money we have left; and no debt. It has really worked for me. Good luck, I hope you reach your goals!