Jumping Into the Fray With Some Goals (Even If They’re a Little Late)
I set out goals for myself each year in writing, because I find that just the act of writing them down helps me to achieve them. (Of course there are other things that help too, but making them and then writing them down are the first steps.)
This year I’m experimenting a little though by aiming for fewer goals. In part this is because many of the items I’ve had as goals in previous years have become a habit (such as tracking expenses and contributing to my 401k.) I’ll continue to do those things without having them listed as goals. The other reason for fewer goals is because I want to try and focus more.
Here are my (primarily financial) 2010 goals:
- Finish funding my 2009 Roth IRA
- Fully fund my 2010 IRA
- Pay a minimum of $35 extra per month toward mortgage, and send additional as well
- Increase my income by at least 100%
- Reduce minimum regular expenses to $1800 or less
- Practice moderation
- Try something different every month this year
- Build up to exercising 2-3 times a week for at least 30 minutes each time
Looks like several of these are merely “mindest” things–meaning, you put your mind to it and do it (exercies, doing something differet, moderation).
With the financial ones, it seems like an aggressive list–I wish you luck!
Seems like if you increase your income by 100%, then all the others should be possible.
David, “practice moderation” is a mindset thing, that’s for sure. The rest are all specific goals, although they should probably be fleshed out to be more SMART.