It must be true. The older you get the faster time passes by.
I remember as a kid how a thirty minute drive to the next town felt like forever. I complained the entire ride. Now I blink my eyes and a year passes by. Crazy, isn’t it?
When I was looking back at my goals from last year I saw that my “word for the year” was focus. It’s kind of ironic because I’d say it ended up being more along the lines of laid-back. Yep, if I could pick a word for 2015 it was definitely, laid-back.
I spent more time just being and enjoying and less time focusing on doing and accomplishing. And I’m okay with that. That’s not to say I didn’t get anything accomplished because I did. I just felt like I made major strides in not stressing myself out over trying to be everything to everyone. It was kind of nice.
2015 Goals Update
So, to reflect back upon 2015 these were the two main goals I set for myself:
Earn $60,000 for the year. January through November I’ve grossed $58,747.04. December’s income looks like it’s going to be a bit over $5,000 so I can consider this one a success!
Save $20,000 to go toward a down payment to buy a house in 2017. When I started the year I wanted to have a very large down payment if Jamie and I were to buy a house. In spring of this year we just happened to get the first opportunity to buy what we’d consider our dream home and went for it. Luckily, we were able to come up with 20% down to avoid paying PMI but not quite the massive down payment I had hoped.
That’s okay though, even though there were some hiccups, I feel like we’re living on our own little slice of paradise and could not be more thrilled to be here.
In the middle of the year I set another goal:
Pay off the mortgage early. We were fortunate to be able to put an extra $20,000 on the principal of the mortgage after selling Jamie’s previous house. (Which also didn’t go too smoothly!) Now I’ve got to keep the momentum up and get this thing paid off in 8 years or less.
Other positive things I’ve done:
- Increased retirement contributions
- Set up monthly dividend stock investments
- Started saving for animal barns
- Set up monthly contributions for the girls’ college savings account (Fairly small contributions, but every dollar counts, right?)
2016 Goals
To be fair here I can’t really list out all of my goals because I’m still undecided on some of them. For one, I don’t have an income goal yet because I’m still not sure what direction I want to go and what I want to do. (Indecision at its best!)
I do have some other goals worked out though:
- Put (at least) an Extra $15,000 on the Mortgage
- Produce 50% of my own food (starting Spring/Summer)
Those seem to be the only two goals I’m super confident on at this point. (Although I’ll still keep my current saving and investing routine going because hey, it’s working!)
I’m sure as the year progresses I’ll find some more meaningful goals. I’ll be sure to share when I do.
How did your 2015 pan out? Any big 2016 goals?
Congratulations on a great year Alexa!! I had a good year with the blog so I am happy with that. Right now I am still not sure about 2016 goals either. We will get there just don’t have them yet… 🙂
I’m so happy that you had a good year with the blog 🙂 Hopefully this next one will be even better!
I have spent the year trying to make motherhood and my small business work together. I’ve finally found out some ways to still earn good money and also take care of my daughter as I want to. I’m sure 2016 will be a good year, at least from this perspective/
Wishing you Happy Holidays and may all your wishes and dreams come true.
Thank you, Ramona! Trying to work from home with a little one is tough. (I’m sure it’s worth it though!) It gets much easier when your kids get just a little older 🙂 I hope you have a fantastic year as well!!
Well done! My 2015 was okay. I spent most of it spinning my wheels. After a long talk with my husband that is my goal for 2016: to stop spinning my wheels. I’m looking forward to seeing how growing your own food goes. It is something that has been on my “to do” list for a long, long time.
That sounds like a worthy goal to me. I think with little ones at home it’s hard NOT to spin your wheels!
I love that your word for 2015 ended up being “laid back.” That is what I want for 2016!! 2015 was anything but laid-back for me, and I hope this year will be different!
I just posted my goals, too, but they include saving more, traveling more, resting, purchasing a rental property and losing some weight, haha 🙂
Happy New Year to you and your family!!!
I’d love to buy rental properties eventually too. Goo luck with all of your goals!
Great job Alexa! You do seem more laid back then when you started your blog. You know what works so you don’t have to try every little thing you think of. You can be more strategic now. ; )
Well done, I have several plans for 2016 and most including savings
It’s funny how things don’t always go as planned, but they still work out well in the end. Great job on your 2015 goals. I can’t wait to see how 2016 goes for both of us!
These goals sound great so far. My goals are a bit much and overwhelming but motivating as well. I was just thinking about how I’d love to produce more of my own vegetables. I’m looking forward to reading post on how that goes.
Congrats on meeting your financial goal!
I can totally relate to the getting older and time flying bit. Now that I have children – twin toddlers – time is fleeting. And with my freelance writing business booming, I never HAVE time. Figure that out 🙂
Love your blog (quite viewer) and can’t wait to see what you have in store for 2016.