Financial:
1. I have set up my 401 (k) deductions to max out by (almost) my next-to-last paycheck of 2009. I could have averaged it out for all 24 checks (we get paid on a twice-monthly system) but figured I’d rather have 1-2 paycheck buffers in case of several scenarios that include my taking several weeks of unpaid vacation this Summer.
2. I have set up the Vanguard account for the Hubs & I with an initial deposit but we haven’t finished selecting which Mutual Funds we want to contribute towards. That should happen when Hubs is back in this weekend.
3. I’ve made the Refinance call. Now just waiting for the paperwork to finalize. I stuck with Wells Fargo for several reasons including Zero Closing Costs. Given that my mortgage amount is relatively small – its now in the 5 figures all the other banks I approached were adding on 1% over & above the going average rate. Talk about Zero Advantage Loans…
4. We’re getting the documents together for our Dallas home refinance. Hopefully we should be able to accomplish this by end Feb.
5. The Budget is an on-going task. While I have been fairly good about putting receipts into the envelope I haven’t figured out how to account for last month’s Utilities and Bills. And lets just say that this weekend there was a nasty incident between me and my card. MC insisted on purchasing way too much food for the Super Bowl party. I tried to fight it but lost. The result ~ a bunch of unhealthy food in the refrigerator. I plan on bringing it into work this week & making my coworkers eat some... Spread The Fat I say :)
Health:
6. I had my Health Exam last week and Dental exam by the end of Feb. Vision should be ok for now since I went for my eye Exam back in November. A little bit of a shock with the Health Exam was my Bone Density Test. In this you basically lie on a bed while a scanner passes over your body analyzing the density of your bones. While I am within ‘normal’ parameters for the moment the graph trend indicates that I’m likely to develop osteoporosis in my mid 60s if I do not take action. Luckily age is on my side so if I start stepping up my Calcium and Vitamin D intake I should be fine. Plus, the Doc suggested I do weight training and increase my Cardio to help build stronger bones. Great ~ just what I need ~ the Doc joining my exercise bandwagon!! I’ll post my Health check-up numbers if there are any surprises once I get the results.
7. I LOVE MULTI-VITAMINS!! Actually, not really but I have been taking them. I’m one of those people who HATE taking medicines of any kind (one of the reasons I intensely dislike getting sick) and Vitamins usually come in fairly large capsules. I recently switched to the Nature Made brand however and with smaller size tablets they’re a little easier pill to swallow…
Losing Weight:
8 thru 11 - I have to admit this is one area in which I’ve been slacking off a fair bit. I have been (mostly) keeping my Food Diary though updating on the weekends is hard since I tend to munch too much and then feel guilty about it and then munch some more and then forget what I’ve eaten since I occasionally ‘forget’ to bring the Diary home from work… it’s a vicious cycle!! I have been hydrating a lot – too often sometimes – and mostly getting 7 hours of sleep a night. The exercise on the other hand has been hard. Since my Trainer quit on me I haven’t looked for a new taskmaster as I thought I’d see if I could go it alone…. No such luck yet. Apparently I really need someone to kick my butt!! I have finally unearthed my workout DVDs though. So I plan to give it another week. If I haven’t done some form of exercise at least 3 times this week then I will try & find another ass-kicker…. The good news though ~ despite my exercising (or lack thereof) I’m down 1.8 pounds for the month. Just another 10 to go….
P.S. So all my bloodwork came back great to normal. Cholesterol levels are all within the Good to Excellent range, no diabetes risk, no Thyroid problems. So now it’s just me against the Scale….. Round One Begins *Ding!*
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Monday, February 2, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Resolution 2009
Yes, I know it is more than 3 weeks into 2009 but given that yesterday was a monumentous day for the United States & the rest of the world I figured this would be the perfect day to list my goals for 2009. So here goes:
Financial
1. Max out my 401 (k) ~ the IRS limit has increased to $16,500. Given the current Economic situation while it is tempting to not contribute at all I’m trying to remember that my contributions will buy me a whole lot more than in years past. Once I have this set up it should be fairly routine to check balances every 3 months and adjust future contributions.
2. Set up a Vanguard mutual fund and automatic contributions. While it is impossible to time the market reading all the financial advice out there indicates now is not a terrible time to start investing. Again, this should be routine once set up.
3. Refinance the mortgage on my Phoenix house and continue paying down the mortgage. The good news is that with my friends as tenants I know the house is being looked after and the basic mortgage is being taken care of come what may. However since I was on an ARM I do need to refinance with minimal closing costs before the ARM expires in April. While my contribution to the Principal varies each month depending on how much I have spent otherwise ~ in general I’m going to aim to paydown $250 each month. That will accumulate to a healthy $3000 for the year – not too shabby.
4. Refinance our Dallas home and start paying down our mortgage. Since we’re looking to stay put in this house for at least another 3-5 years refinancing makes sense particularly since we can shave just over 1% point from our current rate. Paying our mortgage down is something the hubby and I need to discuss. We know we want to accomplish this but we haven’t talked numbers as yet.
5. Ideally we’d like to get a handle on our Budget. In general, we do spend less than we make and yes, we do save a fair bit but at the end of the month we’re still not sure where the money’s going. I recently picked up a multi-pocket folder for stashing receipts from target for 1$. My goal for the next 2 months is to stash every bill/receipt in the folder at the end of the day. Hopefully that should give me some idea of where our money’s going.
Health
6. Preventive Health Measures – Schedule Annual Physical, Dental & Eye Exams for 2009.
7. Keep the bottles of Multivitamins readily visible so that we remember to take them every single day. While we do try to eat nutritionally rich food its hard to have every meal be a balanced blend of vitamins.
Losing Weight
Yes, this gets its own heading even though it is tied into Health. Watching all the new diet and fitness oriented TV shows out there has made me realize that achieving a healthy weight is extremely beneficial to my stress levels, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and all around well being. In an ideal world I’d love to lose about 20 pounds ~ that would however involve a whole lot of sacrifice on my part. Since I’m not quite at the mental stage to aim for that I figure I’ll start with 10 pounds. These goals should help me get to that number by my April birthday.
8. Keep a Food Diary. I’ve struggled with keeping this up but have finally found the perfect solution – a cute graphic book that fits into my purse that I take everywhere!! 3 weeks into the New Year and I’ve only missed (1) day.
9. Drink lots of water ~ Drinking water keeps you full longer, has ZERO calories, and most importantly is relatively Free. I have to admit that I do occasionally get bored with drinking plain H2O so I will have to get some of those Crystal Light sachets to add to my bottle…
10. Get 7-9 hours of sleep every night. Scientists have proved what I’ve been saying all along ~ I need my sleep. Women who get less than 7 hours of sleep a night are more likely to gain weight and have a harder time losing… enuf said….
11. Exercise 3x30 minutes a week. I do take my dog out for a daily walk (sometimes even twice daily) but that definitely doesn’t make me sweat. I need to start some serious Cardio and/or Strength Training. Right before the end of the year I was working out at least twice a week with a trainer at my local gym. Unfortunately she left the gym & I’ve yet to find a new trainer. Without a commitment to meet someone at the gym (friend, trainer or workout buddy) I find it much harder to succeed & I suspect I’m not the only one. Self-motivation isn’t exactly my cup of hot chocolate :)
11 GOALS ~ Whew!! I think I need a chocolate chip cookie to comfort me…. Nah, just kidding….. I’ll keep updating these Goals through the year though so watch this space. Let's hope I can win the Cookie War!!
Financial
1. Max out my 401 (k) ~ the IRS limit has increased to $16,500. Given the current Economic situation while it is tempting to not contribute at all I’m trying to remember that my contributions will buy me a whole lot more than in years past. Once I have this set up it should be fairly routine to check balances every 3 months and adjust future contributions.
2. Set up a Vanguard mutual fund and automatic contributions. While it is impossible to time the market reading all the financial advice out there indicates now is not a terrible time to start investing. Again, this should be routine once set up.
3. Refinance the mortgage on my Phoenix house and continue paying down the mortgage. The good news is that with my friends as tenants I know the house is being looked after and the basic mortgage is being taken care of come what may. However since I was on an ARM I do need to refinance with minimal closing costs before the ARM expires in April. While my contribution to the Principal varies each month depending on how much I have spent otherwise ~ in general I’m going to aim to paydown $250 each month. That will accumulate to a healthy $3000 for the year – not too shabby.
4. Refinance our Dallas home and start paying down our mortgage. Since we’re looking to stay put in this house for at least another 3-5 years refinancing makes sense particularly since we can shave just over 1% point from our current rate. Paying our mortgage down is something the hubby and I need to discuss. We know we want to accomplish this but we haven’t talked numbers as yet.
5. Ideally we’d like to get a handle on our Budget. In general, we do spend less than we make and yes, we do save a fair bit but at the end of the month we’re still not sure where the money’s going. I recently picked up a multi-pocket folder for stashing receipts from target for 1$. My goal for the next 2 months is to stash every bill/receipt in the folder at the end of the day. Hopefully that should give me some idea of where our money’s going.
Health
6. Preventive Health Measures – Schedule Annual Physical, Dental & Eye Exams for 2009.
7. Keep the bottles of Multivitamins readily visible so that we remember to take them every single day. While we do try to eat nutritionally rich food its hard to have every meal be a balanced blend of vitamins.
Losing Weight
Yes, this gets its own heading even though it is tied into Health. Watching all the new diet and fitness oriented TV shows out there has made me realize that achieving a healthy weight is extremely beneficial to my stress levels, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and all around well being. In an ideal world I’d love to lose about 20 pounds ~ that would however involve a whole lot of sacrifice on my part. Since I’m not quite at the mental stage to aim for that I figure I’ll start with 10 pounds. These goals should help me get to that number by my April birthday.
8. Keep a Food Diary. I’ve struggled with keeping this up but have finally found the perfect solution – a cute graphic book that fits into my purse that I take everywhere!! 3 weeks into the New Year and I’ve only missed (1) day.
9. Drink lots of water ~ Drinking water keeps you full longer, has ZERO calories, and most importantly is relatively Free. I have to admit that I do occasionally get bored with drinking plain H2O so I will have to get some of those Crystal Light sachets to add to my bottle…
10. Get 7-9 hours of sleep every night. Scientists have proved what I’ve been saying all along ~ I need my sleep. Women who get less than 7 hours of sleep a night are more likely to gain weight and have a harder time losing… enuf said….
11. Exercise 3x30 minutes a week. I do take my dog out for a daily walk (sometimes even twice daily) but that definitely doesn’t make me sweat. I need to start some serious Cardio and/or Strength Training. Right before the end of the year I was working out at least twice a week with a trainer at my local gym. Unfortunately she left the gym & I’ve yet to find a new trainer. Without a commitment to meet someone at the gym (friend, trainer or workout buddy) I find it much harder to succeed & I suspect I’m not the only one. Self-motivation isn’t exactly my cup of hot chocolate :)
11 GOALS ~ Whew!! I think I need a chocolate chip cookie to comfort me…. Nah, just kidding….. I’ll keep updating these Goals through the year though so watch this space. Let's hope I can win the Cookie War!!
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