… About your New Years goals? ;) (Sorry, had to trick you to get you to read this!)
We’re almost two months into the year already, and I’m sure it’s getting harder and harder to keep up and/or *remember* your goals still, but you’ve gotta keep going! You loved them a handful of weeks ago and I’m sure nothing’s changed to not need them anymore!
If you recall, mine was “acting like an adult” more. Which included the following:
- Working out at least 30 mins a day
- Eating MUCH healthier.
I’m happy to report I’m still very much doing both of these above, just not as enthusiastically as I had been early on ;) Turns out neither of these are very fun… (especially the eating better part).
Working out: I don’t do it every day, but I’ve been pretty consistent with a Mon-Fri type schedule and giving myself the weekend to rest/recover… Turns out there’s a TON of awesome videos on YouTube to follow along with (my main goal is to just raise my heart rate since my blood pressure’s yucky – though it’s improving as the weeks go by!) so I’ve been able to stay entertained for the most part. I just can’t wait until the Spring to start doing stuff outside again!!
Eating healthier: This mainly includes less sodium and less sugar. Both I very much apparently love since most things I eat now taste bland :( On the flip side though, I’m finally used to coffee with no sugar which is quite surprising. I accidentally added some in when I was going through the routine (gonna take a while to kill that habit totally!) and I almost spit it out when I tasted the sugar. I used to like it sweet! And on a side note, Taco Bell has the WORST sodium levels in their food by far – I’m still in shock after checking it out last week (I was gonna treat myself but the numbers are scary!).
In better news though, MY LIVER IS A-OKAY!!!! Hooray!!! If you’ll recall some of the levels were off the charts last month so I had to re-take them again (and promise not to have alcohol or medicine in the mean time, ugh…) and they came back much MUCH better :) The doc says I can now go back to my regular routine of drinking/medicating in moderation (which I was doing anyways??), and that we’ll re-test it again in a few months just to double check. I’m still not certain why it was so bad last month and then not so much now, but the Doc isn’t worried in the slightest so I guess I shouldn’t be either. He thinks my newer – healthier – lifestyle is helping everything for the good, so hopefully he’s right! If it wasn’t so early in the morning right now I’d crack open a beer and celebrate ;)
In financial news, we’re off to a slow start here income-producing wise for the year, but I’m hoping it picks back up shortly. At least until my wife finally goes back to work after 5+ years of grad school (I don’t even remember what it’s like anymore to have dual incomes in house?). My friend and business partner Nate is on my back to track everything I do to see what I’m getting paid on an hourly basis, and part of me is afraid to because I’m pretty sure that the stuff I love to do is paying me the least, and the stuff I hate doing is giving me the most, haha… Which is somehow not that surprising to me ;) I think it’ll make for an interesting experiment/mindset to get into though, so I’ll let y’all know once I’ve sat down and calculated everything.
In the meantime, it’s nose to the grindstone while we wait for baby #2 to make an entrance :) My body may be nice and healthy these days, but we can’t take the eye off the prize! ($$$$ in the bank because he’s going to eat it all!). It’s going to be a helluva interesting year…
How are your new year’s resolutions going? Still up and at ’em or giving up until 2015 comes around? ;) Either way, I hope you’re experiencing nothing but joy in your lives, and I’m glad to play a small part of it here with you in the mornings… If I can ever help you out, please let me know.
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PS: Feeling a bit sappy this morning, pay me no attention…
[Photo by sanchom]
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Hello Jmoney i really don’t know why you feel sappy this morning but i do trust you would get over it so i decided to holla at your boy today.
i haven’t forgotten about new resolutions yet but i must say it has been easy. I would learn from my mistakes as the year proceeds.
Great to hear about your liver!
My 2014 plan is moving along nicely. Some things are taking more time than anticipated, but I’m working on it and can’t wait to announce when things are done.
I am great on the fitness levels. I have a great support system and am addicted to my fitbit.
My learning spanish is coming more slowly. I have been slacking off. I think it is hard to balance all the things in my life. Right now I am very focused on the fitness and spend my free time with that. (But I ran a 13 min mile for the first time in 19 years.)
Julia
Woww, congratulations!!! (I mean ¡Felicidades!) :)
The fitbit does wonders, I agree. Have only taken mine off a few times in 2 months only to recharge it. I love seeing those steps go up!
So far so good for me. I have one goal this year and that’s to replace hubby’s income with by side business. Last year my goal was to replace my income, and I achieved that last May, so we’ll see how quickly I can make this goal happen. 2 months in, 10 more to go.
That’s a helluva good goal! Way to aim high!
Awesome news about your liver, eating healthier and exercising more. I need to get with the program and do the same, except the liver hopefully.
I, too, hope business picks up here soon, but at least your wife will be working again in the near future (next couple of years) so there IS light at the end of the tunnel. It’s a great feeling isn’t it? (we’re seeing the light with our student loan debt now)
As far as taste goes – use Thyme and Basil – those spices are like magic! You can definitely get away with less salt with those. Also, learn to love spicy foods if you don’t already and add hot sauce to things!
Haha…. going now to put this tips into my pockets.
Slow and steady so far for us in 2014. Hoping to kick up the debt repayment in the next month or two to keep our goal of pulling in our repayment by a few months.
Nice job on the goals! There are tons of great workout videos on Youtube, but if you ever get tired of searching through them, try FitnessBlender.com – they have A TON of great workouts and their website allows you to search for exactly what you need. You can also save your favorite workouts, which I love because I always seem to stumble on a video I like online.. then can’t ever find it again afterward!
Oh very cool, okay! Bookmarking now for my workout tonight!! Can always use more :)
Glad to hear your liver is healthy! I told you you were going to be fine!
So glad to hear that your liver is ok J! My wife and I have been l sodium for a number of years and it’s crazy how much sodium is in what we eat. My wife has also been doing the Youtube workout videos and she loves them, as do I since they’re free. ;) Our goals for 2014 are on target and just looking to stay consistent throughout the year so we can reach them.
My resolutions are going pretty well, except I just bought a car with cash without doing the math first, so now I’ll be playing catch-up on some of my savings goals. It was a dumb mistake.
I’m laughing about your shock at the sodium levels in Taco Bell!
Buying a car with cash is baller!! I’ve never once done that, or can even fathom it, haha…
I can’t wait for nicer weather so that I can start being more active outside as well. One of my main goals is to be more healthy, and I’ve been doing pretty fantastic at that :)
Nice weather makes life easier! Last weekend was beautiful in Dallas. I went outside, walked, really enjoyed it. I still haven’t published my goals for this year. Next week it’s set to go live. Work, work, work. Shake that moneymaker! Gotta pay the bills.
I’m a new reader but I love hearing about progress on goals. :) It sounds like yours are going great so far!
My financial goals for 2014 were to actually keep track of what % of my income I save (something I’ve never done before!) and, of course, to gradually ramp it up; I’ve also set a goal of keeping my food and alcohol spending under $500/mo. The first goal went really well in January but this will be a rough month due to life expenses and having a tax bill that is waaay bigger than I anticipated (ugh). I just added the second goal last month, but I’m on track so far for February!
Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog :) You’re welcome here anytime, my new friend.
My new year’s resolution was pretty simple: make positive progress every single day towards building the business I want to run. So far it’s mostly been a success, though there have definitely been some days with less progress than others. Weekends in particular can be tough to stay on track.
It sounds like you are really on top of it. I’ll tell you a secret, my new years resolution was to take one hour of personal time per day for myself – I have a baby who just became a toddler – and free time is extremely limited. Haha. As far as $$$ from having a kid.. At least while young you can save a lot of money buying used, asking friends for hand me downs, using cloth diapers (I gave up after about a year) but it still saves us a lot. I many thing used – I bought toys, crib, high chair, etc. I bought a new car seat and new mattress but with coupons. So I have save a lot. I budget 50 a week for my son and have tons leftover which I just contribute to his savings. And if you live in a large metro area you could try baby modeling for him – especially while newborn since hours are so short and they are in high demand for modeling. That’s how I started my baby his own Roth IRA. ;) think of all that compound interest.
baby modeling!! love it! man you are good over there :) and love the 1 hour of personal time too – I hope you’re getting it!
Honestly? I think I might be focusing TOO much on my personal finance goals. Yes, I think that’s a good place to start from, but when I take a step back, I don’t know that I’m growing as a person in other aspects.
My biggest financial goals this year are to max out both my 403b and Roth IRA contributions for the first time and to start earning money from my future side hustle. My retirement accounts are automated so I already set them up to take out the max–that was easy! So far, I am on track to become a licensed massage therapist this summer which is going to be my money making side hustle to do on the weekends. Hoping to bring in another 1K/month and learn more about being in business for myself. So excited for 2014!! Good luck everyone on your goals :)
Hot damn girl, work it!
(And, loving your name btw. I don’t know how to pronounce it but it sure looks cool! :))
So glad to hear your liver is looking good! Keep up the good work.
My resolutions have had some major wins and some stinky losses, but on balance I feel really good about how I’ve done so far. Here’s to keeping keepin’ on!
I still use that 7 minute workout video sometimes, J. The songs are flipping hilarious. My wife is home now and we did the workout last night, and she fell over laughing at the “way my booty go….” song.
Best of luck with the healthy goals, buddy. If you find a good youtube workout, send it on over.
HAH! Good! I don’t even know what the words are anymore in the song – my body’s memorized the rhythms so I know exactly how many seconds are left until it’s time to hear the 5-sec left part! Haha…. I can do 75% of the routine no problem, but man that wall-sit one kills me…
Glad to hear things are moving in the right direction!
I’m trying to be healthier in 2014 if at all possible. I eat okay most of the time, but I still have a tendency to eat too much of the things that I really love. Have to work on that!
I wrote a post about my favorite YouTube exercise video: http://www.richmondsavers.com/healthier-living-with-just-a-7-minute-workout/
It’s the video version of that popular ‘Scientific 7-Minute Workout’ from the New York Times a while back. If you’re looking to get your heart rate moving, this is a great full body workout!
When I was in shape I’d go through it twice in a row, as the entire video is 9 minutes long with transitions and such, but now I’m rather tired the first time through!
Yes!!! It was because of your post that I found the main video I use!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6etLKswjq8
I found it while researching more about that 7-min idea off your site – so thanks!
Great job! I’m a bit behind on most of my new year goals, but I’m still chugging along and making some progress so I’m happy!
I can’t imagine coffee without sugar or more importantly CREAM! I basically use coffee drinking as an excuse to load up a cup with cream. Real healthy.
Do you have specific workout videos you’re enjoying on YouTube?
My goal was to write down every cent I spend and so far I’m sticking with it quite well. It’s pretty much a habit now which is great.
Damn good habit indeed! I literally found a cent on the ground yesterday, so that would have been a fun entry to enter on it ;)
And yup! Here are my two favorite videos so far:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6etLKswjq8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5NuC9n-3r8
So happy to hear about your liver!! And like other commenters, can you share your fave you tube work out videos? (maybe write a blog about it? :-) ) With all of the snow here in NY, I have had few opportunities to get to the gym, and I am looking for home alternatives.
Done! Look one comment above :)
I use others, but those are my faves so far… one’s more hardcore than the other, haha…
Our goal is to become debt-free. Since we started at the beginning of January, it feels like time is going by so slow! Can’t wait for that day until we’ve paid off our student loan and car payment which will be in November 2015 according to my spreadsheet and current debt snowball =P.
Just 1 year away – you can do it!!!!! :)
Glad you got a clean bill of health! :-)
All of my goals were money-related, and it has been a slow year:
1. Max out both Roth IRA’s for 2014. That’s $11,000 overall. We only have about $2250 so far.
2. Get the car fund up to at least $10,000 by the end of the year. It’s at $4400 right now.
3. Invest or set aside at least $1,000 a month ($12,000 over the year) for a SEP IRA, another rental property, or a child fund. None yet.
4. Budget appropriately for at least 3 vacations – a cruise in January, a summer vacation of some sort probably in July, and the Board Game Geek Board Gaming Conference in November…those will be our minimums. We’re probably looking at about $4000. We’re at $175, lol.
Board game conference??? That’s AWESOME!!!
In addition to my New Years Resolutions I decided to make mini-goals for every month to help me get from January to December with some progress. I noticed something interesting. I printed out my January goals and achieved most of them. My February goals, however, I kept on my desktop, which has not worked out as well. Apparently it helps to see goals listed out in my physical space every day.
That is interesting. And a damn good idea too, print that sucker out!
I didn’t set any goals this new year, so they’ve been really easy to meet! haha. I did carry over my goal of saving 50% from last year, and so far so good with that one!
Geez, yeah – I’d say so!
Before the year start, I listed all the things that I will be doing and things that I’m going to improve this year 2014. I listed 3 categories and lots of subcategories under those 3. I see how disorganize my life and plan was. haha.. :) But great news for I am on track and little by little achieving my to do lists for 2014. Good luck on you resolutions1 :)
Glad to hear your liver is still rockin and rollin boss. My resolutions were more long term goals, so yeah, I’m still working on them… but not nearly as hard as I should be. Ugh. Thanks for reminding me I have even more to do now. I’ll get there though. Keep on keepin on!
One step at a time, brotha :)