OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD 2012

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Review of 2012 Goals



Taking a cue from Niki at Debt Free by Thirty, I was inspired to put together  my  list  of  goals for 2012.

1.   Pay off credit card debt this year.  Yep, it has got to go.  We have about $11,5000 in stupid credit card debt. We have reduced our Credit Card Debt To $4300.00.  It was as high as $13,000 this year. 

2.  Increase Emergency Savings from $1000.00 to $3000.00.  Right now our emergency fund carries about $1200.00, but by the end of the year we would like to increase that to $3000.00 for a little more piece of mind .Our Savings is currently at $2700.00. 

3.  Getting healthy. Time to focus on getting rid of some extra weight and change our eating habits. FAIL.  There was a lot of emotional eating this year..... and the scale reflects it.

4.  Building online income.   My work situation has changes totally.  I am now a fulltime care giver for my dad, and soon for my mom.  I will be able to (hopefully) find time during the day and night to learn more about HOW to successfully do that.  My work situation last year changed about every three months.  This goal was a FAIL. 

5.  Christmas 2012.   I again will be working my $500 Holiday Challenge.  I was able to stay pretty close to the spending/ shopping budget this year, so I am pretty happy about that.   Acquiring gifts all year round at deep savings really helped the bottom line.  FAIL.  This challenge fell by the wayside.  Better luck next year!

6.  Have more fun!  Life is short and I know that saving money, budgeting, and being frugal is important.  But....   having fun and enjoying life is just as important!   Living in Central Florida provides many opportunities to visit theme parks and be a kid again.  We have not yet decided which park we are going to get a year long pass for, but I am leaning towards SeaWorld. And next year.... Disney World.  I will be getting passes for me, my husband and my grandson.  Money well spent.PASS!! We did get passes to SeaWorld. 

7.  Plan a Trip out West.  We want to go to San Francisco, visit Alcatraz ( I find that place to be very fascinating), Cross the Golden Gate Bridge, to name a few.  It may not happen this year, but it will happen.  I plan to save at leat $4000.00 dollars towards this goal. NOPE!  The closest I got to Alcatraz was a keychain from a friend who actually did go to Alcatraz this year.

8.  Roth IRA..... hello....  you remember me, don't you?  My retirement planning has taken a BACK seat lately.  Time to get all that back under control.  I have a 401k with a previous employer that I need to do something with..... and I do recall a Roth IRA too.  I am a huge slacker when it comes to this stuff. PASS.  I moved all my 401ks and Roth's  to a central location and have initiated automatic withdrawals for the Roth again.

9.  Build a Life List.   Also know as a bucket list.  If I can manage to put some of my dreams and aspirations down on paper, like Laura has at move to Portugal, I can better reach these life goals. PASS.  I put the list together and am striving to accomplish some of the items this year!

10.  Read 10 books.  I miss reading books.  With everything online, I spend too much time reading and catching up online.  I could not tell you when the last time I actually held a book in my hands and read for enjoyment.  It has been a while.  FAIL.

11.  Get our wills done.   Enough said.  This has been on my goals list for the last two years. FAIL.  No excuses. 

12.  Improve my photography skills.  I love to take pictures and I take a lot of pictures with my iPhone.  My phone has a lot of cool apps that make picture taking super easy.  But..... I also have a DSLR and I need to improve my skills with that camera.  it might mean looking into getting another lens for it...... We will see.  I still like taking pictures with my iphone.  Love all the cool apps, but will definitely get the DSLR camera out more this year. 
 


 

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5 comments:

~Carla~ said...

You did great overall, Lisa! :) What about getting a couple Scott Kelby books for some beginner lessons? I love them... and that would be part of your book goal as well. ;)

laura @ move to portugal said...

Great job on the debt reduction Lisa, and I LOVE your Life List!

Sharon said...

Lisa! I so failed my Christmas challenge too! I ended up spending $1,000 on two of my kids for laptops. (A need, not a want since the schools have gone to online books!) Needless to say, I didn't come close! BUT, let's try again next year! I'm game if you are!

Live and Learn said...

I am impressed that you were able to accomplish as much as you did with the caregiver duties you have. I know that elderly parents take a lot of time and emotion from your life.

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