Remember when I joked the other day about creating a “List Out All Your Accomplishments” Day in order to counteract all the New Years Resolution #fails most of us end up getting? So we feel better about ourselves and actually give ourselves credit for achieving stuff?
Well, I was going to just leave it at that, but then I came across an old journal of mine while cleaning up this week and found a page of exactly that – all my accomplishments from the year! 2013 to be exact. And it made me feel SO STUPIDLY HAPPY to see!!!
Here’s a snapshot of it:
It’s as cool as it is random, right??? Learning how to juggle? Moving somewhere new? Growing my first handlebar mustache?? Haha… Pic or it didn’t happen, right?
All things I’ve wanted to do over the years, but none of which ever landed in my official New Year’s Resolutions. You know what my resolution was for 2013? “Keep stuff simple” I.e. streamlining all my financial accounts and projects more and “condensing, condensing, condensing.” A valiant goal, but none of which as specific (or fun) as the list above :)
Though I did find this nugget when I went back to re-read that year’s resolution:
“I literally just heard on the radio that it’s better to focus on ONE thing early on rather than a handful as it increases your odds of not giving up ;) Which, according to this same person, will happen to 80% of us come January 21st – the date most people will have already thrown in the towel, haha… She also went on to say that if you can capture your goal with one simple word (no joke!), then it’ll help push you along even further. So I must REALLY be on track here! :)”
Feels about accurate! But again, whether you hit your NY’s goal or not, it still doesn’t change the course of all your *other* accomplishments you’ll go on to achieve throughout the year.
And that’s the point to this made-up holiday I’m now making official ;) Accomplishments Day, January 3rd, is all about those *wins* from the previous year, no matter how big or small or silly! We all accomplish a number of things regardless of how crappy our years are, but we’re absolutely terrible at remembering them or even appreciating them, for that matter.
So Today, Accomplishments Day, I urge you to whip out a piece of paper or spreadsheet or TPS report, and go back in the mental time machine to pluck out every last awesome thing you did last year that just straight up makes you PROUD.
It can be related to anything in the world at all – work, life, money – but it has to be jotted down, and it has to be stuff that makes you happy. Then, paste it up somewhere so you will see it every day! Or at least until the end of the weekend, giving you plenty of time to really let it all soak in…
Then, take out another piece of paper/TPS report and write “2018 Accomplishments” across the top to keep handy as the 2018 year rolls on. Updating this one will be a lot easier – and fun! – than doing it in one big chunk at the end of the year ;)
I’ll then ask y’all about it in 12 months on the anniversary of Accomplishments Day! And will post up all your notes too for an even more festive celebration. Else you’ll just end up getting my own random list again, haha…
Speaking of which, here’s mine for 2017 after some good marinating (you’ll be amazed at what you can come up with in 10-15 minutes!):
- Paid off my car
- Maxed out IRAs
- Finally bought new shoes and clothes!
- Stopped working nights and weekends
- Became a part-time stay-at-home daddy over Summer
- Made a big decision with a project (ironically, the same one mentioned in that 2013 list!)
- Woke up between 5-5:30am every (work) day
- Went to the doctors and dentist regularly like an adult (!!)
- Grew net worth exponentially (next report coming out shortly)
- And most importantly – remained alive :)
It’s interesting how in 2013 I didn’t list a single financial thing outside of some consulting growth, but then again if my memory serves correctly it hadn’t been a great year up to that point anyways… So again – good thing I had a bunch of other wins to fall back on and impress upon myself! Haha…
Which is really who these lists are for, btw – YOU. Not for sharing with the world or plastering around your offices, etc. (unless you happen to be an anonymous blogger too ;)). It’s strictly to make yourself happy, and perhaps future versions of yourself or your family as well.
Can you imagine stumbling across lists like these from your father or grandfather, or even great-great-grandfather one day? Would be so cool!! And something that’s getting rarer and rarer as we move away from the print world and more into the digital one too, sigh…
But I digress.
If you want to do something fun today, whip out that paper and start giving yourself those handwritten pats on the back! NY’s resolutions are great and you should still go after them of course, but this gives all your other wins a chance to shine as well. Which look a lot more impressive combined than they do alone.
On Friday we’ll be back for one more new year’s-related item (actually, a cool giveaway!), and then we’ll finally point our feet forward and jump right into the new year here :)
Happy Accomplishments Day, everyone! You’ve done a lot more than you think!!
*******
PS: Found one other list in my old journal too… of which only one thing was ever completed ;)
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This is such a cool idea!
I have never actually thought about all the things I have accomplished in a given year at any point in my life. In 2017 alone I think I am most proud that I finally got off my a** and finally started my blog after toying with the idea for the whole year!
And congratulations on the new shoes and clothes! I think you have deserved that “splurge” after a GREAT year of work!
Good job on the blog! All about putting yourself out there and seeing where it takes you :)
That’s a lot of accomplishments right there. Keep up the good work.
The main ones for us are:
– Survived the first year of having a baby :-)
– Decreased mortagage by $80K
– Started a blog
I don’t know which of those is hardest, haha…
Oh man, 2017 was a big year! Taking a new position at work that included quite a bit more travel (and managing it alright!), keeping a toddler alive, running a few PRs, settling in our new hometown, and starting the blog were big ones for me.
Great idea J.
-We had our second baby
-Out net worth grew at a fantastic pace
-I was promoted
-I started my blog
Not a bad year at all.
-Made a 3 part plan to pay off debt
– Phase one of debt payoff complete by 12/31/17!
– Increased 401k by 2%
-Read two more Finance books
I finished my will and trust paperwork as well add my living will, doctors directive and powers of attorney. Have you, J? Remember beneficiaries in 401k etc do not need to go through probate. :)
Ugh, no – we got a will like 80% completed a cple years ago and then never followed through with it :( I’m waiting for baby 3 to come out and then going to set up a proper meeting w/ a professional to help us knock it out once and for all… Though my beneficiaries are set up correctly! At least the first line of defense haha.. (ie if something happens to my wife, then we’ll be in trouble until that will/trust is set up)
I learned how to change a tire. The 20 pound one around my waist is now 10. Just kidding. I learned a new way of paying down our mortgage from a neighbor who is a retired financial advisor. He said to get an amortization statement & pay ahead the principal amount (thereby doubling your principal payment) each month so we’re giving it a go!
Forgot to say we also maxed out our IRA’s & finally finished installing hardwood floors in our home (started 11/2016) last summer (did all the work ourselves on weekends).
Nice!! On all accounts! (but particularly the 10 pound waist tire ;))
Wait a second — you can juggle? I’m impressed. I tried several years ago using one of those learn to juggle kits and could never master it (or even minor it).
Every year I have the same financial goal – to increase my net worth by 10%. This last year was much easier to reach than learning how to juggle but I’m not sure about 2018. My goal is the same but I’ll secretly breathe a sigh of relief if we stay above water by the end of the year.
You know what I did? I practiced for like 20 mins every morning while watching my (then) baby wiggle around the floor when I was on “dad duty”, and after 2-3 months in a row I finally got it haha… Felt pretty proud of entertaining both myself and my baby, while at the same time learning a new skill! Though I still can’t get to 4 balls – only 3.
Haha, that’s exactly how my husband learned to juggle…
At this point in my life, if I need a six month old to learn how to master it, I think I’m ok without adding that skill to my resume. I think I’ll take up card tricks instead.
well you’re no fun :)
2017 was a weird year, but I still got some things accomplished!
-Maxed out all of our retirement accounts
-Meditated/yoga at least 2x/week
-Lost 40 lbs
-Started my first blog!
40 lbs! Wow! That’s a lot!
Wow! No wonder you had a New Years Resolution for so many years to make your handwriting better… just kidding :) I could read it and mine is probably still worse.
On our items:
– making it through and paying off Mrs. BD’s hip surgery (plus a successful recovery thus far)
– starting our site
– watching our 3 year-old nephew and 6 year-old niece for a week without losing anyone
– hitting up OTF for 193 workouts and burning 148,929 calories since I joined end of Jan 2017
More to come soon!
OTF? Orangetheory Fitness? (had to google.. I suck at fitness :()
Yup! Orangetheory Fitness.
I’m addicted now…almost as much as balanced dividends :)
Although a different kind of personal dividend…
Haha… I see what you did there ;)
Keeping your list short and achieving them early has definitely been a great recipe for me to achieve my goals. Last year I set five goals and I achieved 3.5 of them.
This year, I am shortening it to four. One goal that I will set for myself every year until I reach FIRE is to grow my net worth by 10%. If I achieve this goal, my year will be a success. The rest of the goals is just icing on my cake.
Nice. You’re like PaulM above!
I don’t ever like doing %’s because most of the stuff is outside of your control the more you have invested in the markets and what not, but then again maybe you guys are better hustlers and will find new ways to jack it back up when need be :) I do like looking at monthly and yearly % changes though after the fact.
I hear what you’re saying. When you tilt toward passive investing it’s kind of out of your control. In years when I’m close to 10%, I reach it by doing some consulting work on the side to put me over the top
I think becoming a part time stay at home parent and not working nights and weekends are your two biggest accomplishments in 2017!
My 2017 was weird for me too…financially it was fine but I went through a lot of growing up and self learning…*and it was terrible.*
Choice m’stache by the way!!!
Haha – thanks :)
Good job learning a lot about yourself!!! That’s huge and will make future decisions much easier to figure out! (and correctly!)
The single biggest one for 17 for us was getting my wife’s business off the ground. Neither of us had any entrepreneurial experience so it was a steep learning curve. But on the other end all’s well.
Fun!!! Good job!!! Sometimes not knowing is good because it lessons your fear when you don’t know the odds of succeeding and what not, haha… There’s a lot of things I wouldn’t do now that I would have tried when younger before knowing any different :) Please congratulate your wife for me!
-saved enough cash to take full FMLA
-started a blog
-had our second baby
-was a stay at home day during FMLA
-maxed out Roth for the first time
-maxed HSA
When I think about it we did way more than we planned in our yearly goals. Thanks J. Money!
See!! That’s exactly why you take a few minutes to record all this stuff – we do so much more than we give ourselves credit for every year! Because our brains suck!
This is such a cool idea! Below were our accomplishments in 2017:
– Mr. FAF got his PhD and started a new job.
– Our baby came back to the US from China.
– We put a big chunk of disposable income towards our mortgage principle.
– We started maxing out our 401(k) and 403(b).
– I started my blog Frugal Asian Finance :D
Onwards to the new year!
Daaaaaamn. Killing it over there.
I love your “live on cash only” goal. After all, doesn’t that mean you are living within your means? Of course, I assume using a debit card (ahem, Dave Ramsey) is considered using cash because it is 2017.
I want to go hardcore and literally just use cash for like a month and see how it goes :) I know it’ll be annoying/perhaps impossible? for some things (like paying bills/rent), but I bet I’d learn a lot and get pretty close to success… Then maybe month #2 incorporate debit cards and see what a difference that makes too? People always talk about how you spend less with cash vs plastic, so I feel like using debit won’t change the habit since it’s the same method as credit card if you’re already living withing your means.
I definitely get that people spend more on plastic. Studies show debit card users do spend less than credit card users but more than cash users. I think it depends on how well you know yourself and if you are in denial of your weaknesses or very aware of them. Now, but not so much in the past, I am VERY aware that using a debit card is actual cash and I keep a tight leash on it. The thing about debt and out of control spending is that most people ignore their weaknesses and are in denial. Knowledge is power, yo.
Fo sho.
2017 was a very good year for me too:
– I was promoted at work
– We celebrated 10 years of marriage
– Our net worth hit the $1M mark
– launched my blog in April
There were a few other high points, but creating my blog was probably the most life changing. I have been on the road to financial independence for a long time, but kept it mostly to myself. Creating the blog has allowed me to meet and interact with a whole cast of new people. It has been great.
And typically when bloggers have a million banked their sites tend to take off much faster ;) Unlike those of us who started at the bottom and slowly worked our way up publicly throughout the years haha… Though there’s pros to that too, of course.
I love this. I think we tend to focus a lot on negative things that happen in our lives or what we don’t have or haven’t accomplished. You need to pat yourself on the back every once in awhile!
My biggest accomplishment in 2017 was completing my MBA degree. Woo hoo!
I think my most important accomplishment was finally getting my asthma under control, after a decade of denial about how bad my asthma was. That degree wasn’t going to do me any good if I stopped breathing!
Hah – truth! I love that they’re both in two separate areas of life too – career and health :) You master those two and you’re doing pretty well!
Hi Janet, I struggled with asthma from age 6 to 37. It was getting worse and meds not helping. Then, in May of this year I quit eating dairy products due to some dietary changes my wife was going through (milk, cheese, butter, ice cream). The asthma has virtually gone away, and I lost 20lbs. So many people struggle with asthma and the doctors tell us there is no cure, and I want to pass this experience along.
PS – J Money I saw your story in Forbes this weekend and it inspired me to finally start my blog yesterday (after a decade+ of procrastination and excuses) and I expect you’ll see a lot more of me.
GOOD!! I will be cheering you on here from the sidelines! (and thanks for helping out Janet up there!)
Genius idea! I am going to add a 2017 Accomplishments Page to my finance journal. I’m the nerd that has kept a “goals journal” since 2012. But I have only written down where we are at the beginning of the year, and where I want to be at the end of the year. After reading your site this year, I’m adding in a quarterly net worth tracker. (I’ve never done that before. Wow!) And now an accomplishments page. Score!
DOUBLE SCORE!!
I hope you’ll share some snippets of them over time with us :) It’s fun looking into other people’s journals! Haha…
I love it! It’s important to review and measure your goals. It’s crazy what you can achieve in a year. Here’s what we achieved in 2017:
1. Paid off my $25,000 student loans. In fact, we just slammed $15k onto Mr. Picky Pincher’s $45k loan this morning. Ballin’!
2. Reduced our grocery costs by $1,000. A feat for picky eaters.
3. Faced my fear of needles. Yuhhh.
BOOM! You just wiped away a THIRD of Mr Pincher’s debt in one swoop – crazy!
Love this exercise J – thanks for bringing it up. What good are resolutions, if you can’t first pat yourself on the back and be proud of the past!
As a member of EO (Entrepreneurs’ Organization), we do a similar exercise on a monthly basis with a recap of the past month and a look at the upcoming month. The difference is, rather than focusing on achievements, there’s a focus on key moments (successes, failures and moments that elicited a reaction). The idea is to hone in on that 5% (things you might not want to even share with your spouse) so that you can really make strides in your life. I have found the process to be incredibly powerful. 2017 achievements:
Lived in a 175 square foot trailer for 6 months with my wife and two kids
Finalized a lengthy legal battle with my former business partners
Meditated every day
Started blogging about stuff in an effort to find a magic cauldron of happiness
I used to know someone who worked for EO! Def seems like a great organization… I like the “moments” idea too as it encompasses ALL the major areas than just one.
Here’s hoping you find that magic with the blog! You know how much I’m a fan of it already – love how raw you get :)
Increased NW by 340k and remodeled my kitchen.
Wow.
I love accomplishments day! Did you keep the ‘stache?
2017 definitely didn’t finish how I thought it would, but it turns out that it’s even better than what I could have imagined. Getting laid off is one of the best things that happened to me, but I don’t know if it’s an accomplishment. Meh, I’ll take it.
Haha.. you seem pretty happy about it from all your recent comments :)
No – I didn’t end up keeping the stache, but every year I grow it out again, usually along with a big bushy beard, and then after a while shave it all down and start over :) I’m currently in the starting over process, but in another month or two I should be able to curl it on up again – woo! A lot easier the 2nd and 3rd and 4th time around than the first, haha…
Hey J$!
What a great way to view the glass as half full rather than half empty :)
I agree with you that no matter what, we all achieve things that we don’t realize sometimes. For me, that was paying off my student loan just two weeks before 2018 started (sort of close to a last min decision…) but hey, I guess that’s still an accomplishment! LOL
I personally ignore the fads of new year’s resolution because I like to view them as “life” resolutions. It’s something that’s continuous to me. Why only start in January when you have Feb to Dec? :D
Happy Accomplishment Day to you!!
Agreed, but most people don’t do “life” resolutions and need New Years to get their asses in gear, haha…
I succeeded in donating to church at least once in every calendar month for 2017. I also automated monthly donations to 3 other charitable (2 religious, 1 artistic) accounts. This was a big hurdle for me, mostly emotionally and mentally (not necessities or needs, yet not really wants either?!) and was bothering me a lot that I was behind on charity.
GOOD FOR YOU!!!
You are my inspiration for the day – I, too, need to be better about it :)
Our major accomplishment this year is to survive the 1st year with our 1st daughter, which was so rough since she was a terrible sleeper (staying awake until 12 and waking up every 2 hours! And it was so hard to sleep train her since she went to daycare and was literally sick every single week of the entire year)!
Another minor is that we saved enough money to buy a new (to us) car! (except we only put half down and kept the other half for emergency funds).
Love your accomplishment list. It really encourages me to do more in 2018. Thanks JMoney!
Rock on!!! You don’t often hear doing a 50/50 split like that, esp if you have the money saved, but I totally dig it. I’d rather have debt and a stockpile of cash as well vs $0 and $0 :)
I’m proud to say I used the Mustache Bottle Opener that someone brought to the beer share at FinCon17.
Also, I dropped to part-time at work, spent three consecutive weeks in Mexico, saw 1.5 Million pageviews on my site, and increased my net worth by ~20% (thank you stock market!).
Cheers to further accomplishments in 2018!
-PoF
Yessir! You done good!
Proud? I was a pretty good dad and I don’t get mad at our kid as often. That’s a tough one.
Net worth, investment, money, etc… We did well with those things too, but they were all the result of the good economy.
Oh yeah, one more. I doubled my blog income. That was awesome. I focused on monetizing more and made a little money.
Good luck in 2018!
Great idea, I’ll have to make a list. I saw your “learn how to juggle” and it reminded me that I need to get after that again. I took the kids to a magic show at the library last summer and the guy was juggling,kids said dad you should learn how. I started but never got the hang of it…think I’ll start up again now, thanks! :-)
Video or it didn’t happen :)
Great idea, lik e making a “‘what are you grateful fror” list every morning which I’ve been trying to do.
My main accomplishment is semi-retiring. I now work 20 hours a week at the W2 job. And yeah I’m celebrating right now on an ice climbing vacation in the Adirondacks. It’s 3 degrees. Stoicism…. builds charatcter :)
Even better, you’re READING BLOGS while ice climbing – I didn’t know wifi worked all the way up there?! :)
I would say I’m most proud of dropping my gym membership – with the result that I worked out more times per week. When it’s a simple run from our driveway or a snow shoe from our back yard or supporting a friend at her gym (where guests come in for free!) working out is more laid back, less onerous, less time-consuming, and more likely to be done. Happy New Year : )
It was an unexpectedly big year.
We oversaw (using pro labor!) a super fast renovation of a whole house only making a few bad decisions without killing each other or our marriage,
Kept JuggerBaby alive another year,
Improved Seamus’s health (dog) enough so he only had half the allergy flare ups that he usually has annually,
Paid down 21% of the *new* mortgage and recasted the loan so our monthly payment is 80% of the original,
Hired and trained a new superstar at work,
Continued not working nights and weekends,
Made the decision to cut Dad off financially and followed through on setting and maintaining boundaries. Big feelings on this one but it was the right thing to do considering how badly he’s wronged me and my family.
I know it was :( So proud of you for making the decision though!!! And nothing saying it has to be forever if anything/one changes, right?
We purchased another rental property last year. And with housing in big demand, this one increased 10% in value so far.
We’ve all avoided any hospital/emergency visits and hope to continue the trend.
I made macaroons before Christmas and they were loved by all my co-workers. I even added intense flavors to them. I made different breads as well and plan on trying baguettes.
Macaroons beat out rental property! haha…. yum yum
I love writing my annual “year in review” in my journal. It is so easy to focus on the negative or what didn’t get done and I’m always shocked at how much I did do each year. Love this idea of 3 January as Accomplishment Day!
My biggies in 2017 were going to France x 2…by myself. The first trip was 16 days and I rented a car and drove 1,200 miles….visited a cave and saw ORIGINAL prehistoric drawings – just incredible – Peche Merle in case anyone else is interested. Stayed in a castle. Walked the labyrinth in the middle of Chartres cathedral, which is only uncovered one day a week, Rode the three story carousel in Nantes that is based on creatures from Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Stuff that memories are made of!
I also saved 18.7% of my gross income – my highest saving rate so far.
Jeez!!! You are super woman!!! So interesting!
What a great idea! It is awesome to look back on all the success. My success 2017 list is:
– Bought my first home
– Ran three marathons (including Boston!)
– Launched my first blog
2017 was a big year for me. Nov ’16 was my financial awakening, but 2017 was the first year I ever tracked my money and investments over a whole year. We ended up having a 40% savings rate and over $1k in passive income the first year of trying!
2018 goals:
-max out 457/403b $37k
-$2500 in passive income
-pay down $18k more in student loans
2018 should be a good year!
I also got off my arse and started a blog. My networth went up by $19K last year which is essentially all from debt payments. Will be debt free this year. I can’t wait!
Wow! Thank you for the shout out on Twitter, J$! I was wondering WTF happened that I suddenly got so many views. It gave me the kick I needed to publish a vulnerable post that I’ve been sitting on for a long time and it also terrified me at the same time. Here’s to a prosperous, healthy and happy new year for us all!
GOOD!!! We need as many real, and raw!, bloggers as we can get up in here… Too many people starting blogs as businesses and coming off as robots… I woulda tagged you on Twitter but couldn’t find your handle, sorry!
2017 was a great year for me….at least for one goal. I started with $2000 trading penny stocks in February 2017, and as of December 2017, I had turned $2000 into $27,000 ($25K profits in penny stocks trading). Now, I am using some of the profits I made in 2017 to take long positions in stocks while I continue day trading from my robinhood account (saved $3,857 in day trading fees on robinhood)
2018 goals
– Make $50k in the stock market (including cryptos)
-Max out my Roth IRA ($5,500)
-Continue paying tithe
– Pass all my coursework in pharmacy school ( year 2 in pharmacy school)
-Improve my credit score ( and not applying for credit cards)
-Pay down at least $10K in school loans.
I am confident and believe this year will be a great year for me.
Oh !, and I read 4 books recommended by this site…. I am now taking control of my finances and my goal is to retire from work at the age of 45
Good night! I don’t know anyone who’s ever been successful trading penny stocks haha…. That’s quite impressive (and even more so that you diverted the profits elsewhere before losing it all! :))
I’d be interested in hearing how your crypto stuff goes later.. I’m finally pulling my head out of the sand to learn more about them, though more for entertainment/experimenting reasons than investing/future currency stuff.
I love this idea. I haven’t had a chance to sit and make a full list yet, but 2017 was the first year that both Mrs. JB and myself have maxed out our 401K contributions!
It was a huge year for us in 2017…
2017 Successes:
– January: My wife retired at 51 yrs old
– March: Paid off another rental property mortgage
– April: Paid the final college payment for my oldest daughter’s education. (Both of our daughters college educations are now fully paid off).
– May: I followed my wife by retiring at 52 yrs old
– October: Our youngest daughter got married (and yes, the wedding costs are fully paid off!)
– December: Managed to achieve a +10% growth in net worth even after paying for several major expenses in our first year of retirement.
2018 Goals:
1. Create a Legacy Notebook
2. Travel more (at least 6 trips), and at least one trip outside of the US.
3. Exercise at least 4 days per week, and average +15,000 steps per day.
4. Increase net worth at least 5%
5. Lower my weight by 15 lbs.
6. Average reading at least 2 hours each day.
7. Build one new profitable income stream and donate at least 50% of the cash flow.
The Legacy Notebook is my favorite part :) Followed by the early retirements, haha…
J$! I like this idea and started it a few years back after reading The Miracle Morning.
Have to say that it works great and as I came across in my readings you have to embrace the suck to make your goals happen. If it ain’t comfortable, it is probably going to help you grow!
My greatest accomplishment last year was my daughter. She is amazing.
Businesswise, I started two business which are performing well which helps me pay for all the diapers:-)
I believe it :)
2017 though not that great was not bad at all for me. Here’s the breakdown:
1. The biggest was paying off a 15k loan
2. My wife’s promotion
3. Traveled to Asia for 17 days
4. Eat out less
5. Discovered that I can cook (biggest discovery) now I’m the cook of a family of four
The goal this year:
1. Work on my old blog again
2. Get more sleep
3. Blog more, trade more and cook more
Interesting find on the cooking!!
That’s something I’d like to spend more time trying out too once baby #3 comes… I feel like it’s something I’d enjoy, if I’d just carve the time to try?
And even better that your entire family then gets to enjoy it too – well done :)
In 2017 we were happy to have:
1) Paid off an EXTRA $50,000 on our mortgage
2) Added $11,000 to our IRAs
3) Paid $4,000 cash for a trip to Italy/England
4) Added almost $15,000 to savings/emergency fun
5) Paid cash/debit for everything else
By end of May 2018 we hope to have again put $11,000 towards IRAs and paid off the final $38,000 of our mortgage (will probably use a bit of the savings from above to help with making the mortgage pay-off happen – we just want to be DONE!).
All on a take-home pay of $115,000 for a family of 5.
My goodness, you guys are crushing it.
I showed up for a sick relative. I began invisalign to improve my TMJ (and it is WORKING). I demanded more in my relationship. I joined the national org for my business and have learned a ton. I traveled to Houston three times to visit my relationship. I maintained my blog and continue to learn. I am almost to the point of mastering a skill I’ve been working on for a while.
“I demanded more in my relationship”
best thing right thing :)
I don’t know how to whistle too! Is it something that can be learned? I resigned myself to thinking that I just can’t whistle.
I gave birth this year and survived post partum sleep deprivation. I think that’s pretty significant haha.
I still try, but it sure is getting old failing all the time haha…
My biggest accomplishment in 2017 was paying $55,000 toward my Parent Plus loans. I can barely fathom earning that much money in a year, much less spending that much on any one thing. Just think of all the things I could’ve paid cash for with that money! And I did it without depriving myself of anything, really. I ate well, I went to concerts, I bought new clothes and traveled.
More than anything it taught me that I am perfectly capable of controlling my money. It’s a lesson I’ll never forget.
Amazing!!! Even more so because $55,000 is like $75,000 when you factor in taxes and stuff from income! You did good! :)
Great idea J. It’s easy to forget our accomplishments, even those that are fairly recent. Also, I’ve been tracking my net worth monthly for about three years now. I don’t comment often here and have been meaning to thank you for inspiring me to do that.
In 2017, I:
– Asked for a raise (kind of terrifying), and got it!
– Increased my retirement contributions. I’ve been steadily increasing for about eight years and am finally set to max out in 2018, so this feels like a particularly big win.
– Traveled to someplace new.
– Paid extra mortgage principal every month.
Killin’ it!!! Way to ask for that raise for sure – that’s hard and most people don’t go for it, well done :) (And thanks for letting me know the blog’s been helping you!)