Goals

My two favorite months are August and January. I love these months because they mark the beginning of the school year and the beginning of the calendar year. I just love the feeling of a nice, clean, fresh start.

I was really inspired by Dave Ramsey's podcast on January 4th, 2010. So inspired that I listened to it again today. Here are some of his points that really stuck out to me:


On average, resolutions last about 45 days - That's about to Valentine's Day.


So what should we do? Don't make resolutions - set goals! The difference is that goals are specific and determined. If you wanna "change your entire freakin life," not just 45 days of it, then make goals!


Goals should:
1.) Be Specific
2.) Be Measurable
3.) Be YOUR Goal
4.) Have a Time Limit
5.) Be Put in Writing


To read more about what Dave says about the importance of setting goals, read his Goal Setting 101 here.

My goals are pretty personal, but I will share parts of them here. All of my goals can be pretty much be put into five "BIG" goals (in no particular order):

1. Grow Closer to the Lord
2. Be a Better Wife/Mom
3. Take Better Care of Myself
4. Be a Better Steward of my Money
5. Be a Better Teacher

I realize that these are not very measurable, but I promise they will be. My plan is to make smaller, measurable goals that fit into these bigger goals. I am still trying to flesh these goals out. In the meantime, I will leave you with these quotes:

Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed." Cavat Roberts


"Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man." Benjamin Franklin


"Decide what you are going to do differently this year. Otherwise this is going to be just another year. What kind of wimpified existence is just another year??" Dave Ramsey

No More Jeep Payments!!

Have I ever mentioned before how much I really HATE debt?? If you know me personally, you know this is true. I just can't stand the thought of so much of my money going out every month to pay for things that I purchased forever ago! It is so stupid and I hate it and I wish that I had never borrowed money for anything in my life. But, I did and now I'm paying the Stupid Tax for it. Every month. 

But, things around here are changing. Although we are not perfect with our money, we do have a plan. A written budget each month that tells every dollar where to go. A debt-snowball, designed to help us pay off our debts in the fastest way possible. Yes, some months we really stink at it, but most months we do okay. I can definitely tell we are making progress. Thank you, Dave Ramsey!

We made some big progress this week when we paid off our jeep. It's exciting to have that weight off of our shoulders and to have an extra 200-something a month - even if we don't really have it in a way that lets us spend it, but in a way that lets us pile it towards more debt. It's a good feeling that makes you want to keep going. If it feels so nice just having that extra a month, imagine what we will feel like when we are DEBT FREE and get to keep a lot more of our money! (Even though most days it feels like that time is very, very far away.) It's also a nice enough feeling to make me never want to borrow money for a car ever again. Monthly car payments don't have to be something that I have to live with. : )