Life just seriously flew by, everyday I look at my goals, my bank accounts and making sure I am on track to where I am going. It may be super slow but now I can see a small curve and a clear path better than a few years ago. I read somewhere that if you only do 1% of anything will get you better.
Save 1% per month - turns into 12% savings at the end of the year
Lose 1 pound month - turns 12 lbs at the end of the year
Eat 1 less junk per day - makes you 12% healthier at the end of the year
You get the idea.
So I tried to apply this concept and that's why maybe I only post 1 blog per year LOL , 1 per year won't hurt as long as you see my progress :)
If you read all my goals the last few years you'll probably get dizzy. I even got confused myself, I wanted too many things at the same time, too eager and ended up getting overwhelmed and broke down, so I ended up swinging back & forth into debt. So here's a brief summary of what I really end up doing in those past years:
2013 - paid off old collections, personal loans
- started yoga, didn't really know what I was doing
- family trip in Arizona
2014 - paid off old student loans
- consistently doing yoga every Saturday
- family trip in Lake Tahoe
2015 - paid off cars - replaced one old car with a new one (i know)
- switched to advanced yoga classes, consistently every Saturday
- maxed out IRA, contributed 6% on 401K
- family trip in New York, Washington DC and Maryland
2016 - paid off credit cards, one left to go
- started Ashtanga yoga - I'm in love! - started the half Primary series
- planning to max out IRA, 401K on hold
- saving for house downpayment
- family trip in Mont-Tremblant, Canada
As you can see, I kept a balance in every aspects, the savings in first 2 years was left off to jumpstart debt repayment, we had so many small debts that it was overwhelming. While paying off debt, we still traveled as a family, we got to enjoy some time together and kids was able to see new places, I made sure to include this as our goal every year.
I also made sure I have my own personal goal that I can see myself evolving, Self care is very important because at the end of this journey, you look back and you realize that all you did was too shallow and have no meaning, and all your time is lost. I want to live a full life of no regrets and financially independent of course.
3 months to go till 2017 and I have only $2000 saved for down payment, still a long way to go but I am in a much better place now that where I was the last few years.
My goal for 2017 is:
2017 - save for downpayment on a house
- max IRA and open a Roth IRA, 6% on 401K
- yoga - to do the full Ashtanga Primary series
- travel - Whistler, Canada?
Wow, my longest post as of yet. Patting myself on the back. *good job*
