Goals Update January 2021

It’s hard to believe the first month of the new year has already gone by! I will be updating my progress (or, sometimes, lack of progress 😉 ) on my goals for the year at the end of each month. You can see my original Goals for 2021 post here.

Here is my progress for January:

Career:

Goal: Begin working outside the home in the summer or fall of 2021.

Not much to report in this area. Since we decided to postpone my working outside the home until later in the year, I’ve just been busy at home. I am working on projects that I for sure want to have done before I do go to work, whenever that is.

Family:

Goal: Visit out of town family every other month.

I’m planning a visit to see my mom in February. I will need to watch the weather. Our area gets most of our snow in January and February, and I do not drive when it’s snowy!

Spiritual:

Goal: Memorize two Bible verses per month.

Our scripture memorization is going well. I have been troubled with anxiety for many years and am finally starting to get better at managing it. Reciting Bible verses that I know is one way I calm myself when I’m feeling anxious. We memorized Psalm 34:4 and John 14:27. To journal, I’m using a planner given to me by a friend.

Financial:

Goal: Increase savings, decrease debt by $200-$300 per month, and better manage grocery/household spending.

For our savings goal, we are at 66% of the amount we want to have saved. In December and January, we had auto insurance expenses, some holiday expenses and some medical expenses we paid from savings. Ouch. But that’s what it’s for.

We did decrease our debt in January by $246.27. This doesn’t feel like a huge amount when I look at the remaining balance, but it is progress.

My goal of sticking to my grocery budget is being helped immensely by my pantry/freezer challenge. I am planning the majority of meals from foods we have on hand and am not doing much extra stocking up.

While I’m doing well not spending much on food, there were lots of little extras…medications, new frying pans, birthday gifts, etc. that really added to the total that we spent over the month. We will continue to eat from the pantry and freezer for February, and I am going to work harder at not spending on things besides food, unless it’s really necessary. I am going to minimize trips to stores, which will minimize opportunities to spend.

Social:

Goal: Call or message a friend at least once each week.

I made a point to be more sociable this month and I did pretty well. I called/messaged someone three out of four weeks this month. I know it’s important to connect with others, so I’m trying to do more.

Physical:

Goal: Schedule/attend medical appointments, maintain weight, and follow eating guidelines.

I have done much, much better with my healthy eating to manage my Type 2 diabetes. I have an appointment to have my A1C checked in February, so that will tell me the effect of my holiday snacking. 😮 Truthfully, I’m a little worried because I did have more treats and starchy foods than I normally do. But, I didn’t gain any weight over the holidays, so that’s good.

I also had my yearly eye exam and ordered new glasses.

Intellectual:

Goal: Write 1-2 blog posts per week and work on photography skills.

I didn’t get two blogs posts up every week in January, but I’m getting into a routine for that. I’ve got several posts almost finished that will be ready for February.

I haven’t started on my photography skills improvement project. I’ve actually been taking blog photos with my phone lately, because it’s quicker.

Gardening:

Goal: Amend soil, build raised beds, and keep size of garden manageable.

Nothing is happening the in the garden currently. It’s covered in snow! We’ve discussed what we are planting where. I will be drawing it out next month and making a list of how much of each thing we will plant.

Grampy ordered a new kind of pepper plant he wants to try. It’s easy for us to get carried away with buying stuff for the garden. We are trying to keep the size of the garden more manageable this year to allow time for other projects. This will be our only experimental planting.

I organized my seeds, which is a great snowy day project!

Marriage:

Goal: Go on drives together, exploring the area and taking photos.

Grampy and I did not go on any romantic drives this month. Unless we count the trip to Lowe’s to buy trim for my laundry area project. There’s not a whole lot of scenery here in the winter. It’s mostly just brown. We may try to get some photos near the river, which can be pretty in the winter if it has snowed. We will wait to really go exploring when things start greening up. For now, we’ll just hold hands and walk around the home improvement store, which is actually my idea of the perfect date. 🙂

Home:

Goal: Finish the multitude of unfinished projects around our home.

I still need to make my list of all the things I need to do around our home. I’m procrastinating because seeing how much there is to do all written down is going to be overwhelming.

I think I will focus on one room at a time. I’ll make a list for that room, finish it, and then make the list for the next room.

Progress on my Word for the Year: FINISH

I am so close to finishing my first project. My laundry area makeover is almost complete. The total cost was around $50. The big expense was the under-cabinet lights. But I love them!

I had the paint for the cabinets and walls on hand. I bought trim and some decor. We looked everywhere for affordable cabinet knobs we liked and couldn’t find any. So I bought a $6 can of spray paint and painted my existing knobs. I like them!

I am beginning to accept the idea that our home will still have some imperfections. It’s old, and I’m not a professional home improvement person. I also have to consider cost. There are some things I want but I just can’t justify spending the money to replace something just because I want it to look a little different. I can make little, pretty improvements later, after I do the main things like finishing painting and trim, and fixing the things that are just plain ugly (like the damaged ceiling in the pantry.)

If you’ve set goals to accomplish in the new year, I hope you’re doing well.

I’ll be back at the end of February with hopefully more progress to report!