I’m pumped it’s February…my birthday month. Sharing my goals for the month and taking a look back on how January’s goals went.
JANUARY GOALS REVIEW:
1. Paint and redecorate bathrooms – This is about 80% complete. Our guest bathroom is finished, I just need to add a small towel rack on the sink. The master needs a shelf behind it and a little extra decor. I’ll share the finished products soon (hopefully the middle one this week).
2. Join a gym again & lose 5 pounds – I lost 8 pounds this month on diet alone. I have started working out in the last couple of weeks, but haven’t seen any weight loss since. I’m staying the course and continuing this journey. I’m loving getting back in the gym!
3. Look into sports associations in our city – I did this and can sign B up for soccer this Spring if I want. I’m not sure why I’m hesitating, but I haven’t officially done it yet.
4. Meal plan each week. I’ve done a really good job with this and we’ve eaten in lots more than eating out (which I usually prefer). I love cooking, but hate cleaning it up…3 times a day.
5. Declutter kitchen and master bedroom – I did a lot this past weekend, but it’s not finished.
6. Wake up at 7:30 – My plan is to wake up at 7:30 (on non-school days), make coffee, clear counter of any dishes that were drying/unload washer, light a candle, and read my devotional & Bible. Maddox gets up around 8:00/8:15 – If I’m being honest, I didn’t do well with this. Shocker. I will say that I woke up yesterday 30 minutes before Maddox woke up (only because he woke up 30 minutes later than usual) and wow! It was amazing how much better that was. I really hope I can do this in February.
7. Schedule dentist appointments for Beckham and I – Nope! Someone just come pull all my teeth out. Lesson learned regarding dental insurance…always get the more expensive one!!! I’ve avoided the dentist because I know what they’re going to say (cavities) and I don’t want the dentists we have available to us to “fix them.”
8. Complete and mail sales tax for business. Finished. And learned I only have to do this once a year now (sales taxes are usually done quarterly)! Yay!
9. Start my spreadsheets for 2015 taxes 🙁 No I haven’t! Bleh! Worst part about business.
10. Email contacts for blog redesign. Yes, and everything is underway. I’m really excited and even more nervous. I know once it gets set up, there will be a lot of learning involved, but I know I’ve hired some really great people to help me with these tasks!
Now onto February’s goals! In my new planner, there is a goal setting sheet. I like how it has 3 goals at the top to focus on. Obviously I have more goals, but this is nice to set 3 major ones or “themes.” So, I list out all of them in the bottom section.
1. Lose 4 pounds – I’m going to continue eating healthy and working out at the gym (aiming for 4 days a week). I really hope the hard work pays off.
2. Finish my book, The Slight Edge. I’m about halfway through and I really recommend this book. It can be slow at times, but empowering how small, positive changes in your life can transform it! For example, invest a little over the course of your life and become a millionaire. It really doesn’t take a lot to completely change your future financially, but consistency and time.
3. Do 2015 taxes – This will take some major time, but we usually wait till the last minute (April) and end up tweaking our taxes 2-3 times before we send them in, so hopefully this will save some stress in April.
4. Start a new program for tracking my sales/expenses. I bought this Excel program that will input my info from Etsy and organize it in Excel for me and haven’t used it yet. My goal is to set it up this month…once I set it up, it will be so easy here on out.
5. Add new signs – I’m not putting a number to this, but I at least need to add the signs that are already designed (most of these are custom orders that aren’t listed because they were sent privately).
6. Wake up around 7 (at least 30 minutes before kids) – With that said, I will also aim for 7 hours of sleep. Overall, my goal is to turn the lights off at midnight.
7. Schedule dentist appointment for myself and Beckham
8. Explore new grocery stores. I’m having a hard time staying in our $400 grocery budget and so I plan to visit some other stores that “claim” to be cheaper than Walmart (Aldi & Winco). I still shop around at Sprouts for their sales (and sometimes Trader Joes), but I’m wondering if the other two stores will save me more money. My grocery haul this week…
9. Finish bathrooms.
10. Plan some birthday shindigs! My birthday falls on a Tuesday this year. I’d like to do plan something with girl friends, Ryan, and my family (all separately) so I just need to schedule it all out.
As always, thanks for your encouragement! I feel held accountable when I post my goals and how I did each month. And if you have any tips on grocery stores that you’ve had good experience with, let me know.
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I love aldi! I usually get my produce there. I don't buy meat there. But my kids love heir snacks and yogurt tubes! Definitely a great way to save a little bit
Thanks Kimm! I've been in Aldi, but I'm not sure I've bought anything before 🙂
Oh girl you're about to make me reveal my crazy! They FINALLY put a Winco in "near" me in August (it's like 20 minutes away) And I've been tracking their prices on what I like to buy ever since! So my analysis is that it's definitely a worthwhile thing to shop there because their prices are consistently low (and stupid walmart savings catcher doesn't consider them a competitor and therefore doesn't price match). I have a few receipts from the last few weeks to put into it but after that I can send it to you to see what their prices are generally at the one near me (Garland, TX). But to sum up, I've been able to stay in my grocery budget by shopping there even though I impulse buy my way through the store! So awesome.
I call that super smart…definitely NOT crazy 🙂 My kind of girl! I think I'm going to try Winco next! I feel like the savings catcher is cool, but it doesn't catch everything. Thanks for the info. I'm bad at impulse shopping too…especially for kids.
What kind of planner do you have? I like how it highlights the goals at the top!
Plum Paper Design. I'll post soon…was waiting to get some info on my calendar to show y'all.
I love Aldi but I always go there before my other grocery stops because they can be very hit or miss as far as selection of produce and things like that! Also make sure you bring your own bags and a quarter for a shopping cart. Things I like to get there include chips, granola bars, nuts, milk, cheese, yogurt, hummus, crackers, fruits, veggies, pasta, frozen veggies, fresh produce, bread, spices / seasonings, etc. The only thing I've gotten there and not liked are the apples, cereal, and coffee. The prices really cannot be beat! I have gotten meat there and it tasted fine but now we are trying to get our meat more fresh / natural so no longer getting meat there. Hope this helps!
Definitely need to try and see what I like there. Those items are definitely on our shopping list so I'll have to see!
We have Aldi's in Knoxville, TN. Yes you will need to bring your own bags & the quarter. The produce seems to be a little cheaper than the grocery stores
at times. We've gotten baked chips,
which my husband doesn't like baked chips at all, but does like the Aldi's brand. He says they taste like
pringles. The milk is good & I buy a lot of turkey bacon which is good. Looking forward to the new blog site & the bathroom update.
Thanks so much! Glad y'all reminded me of the quarter…didn't know about the bags 🙂 That would have been bad…lol
Happy (almost) birthday!!
I, too, struggle with a $400 grocery budget. We're a family of two adults and one super-picky six year old. Snacks for the six year old and produce are always the spots where I over-spend.
Congrats on your weight loss – that's fantastic!!
Having a picky eater makes it tough! I always over spend in those categories too. Produce prices are terrible right now too (fruit). 🙁 Thanks so much!