Small and reasonable goals = more likelihood to move the needle on goals and gain happiness/satisfaction from achieving those gains.
Think about that when you are making a list of several resolutions. And remember that January 1 is just a date. You can set a resolution any of the 365 days of the year. Success at one is more likely to lead to success at another appointed “resolution”.
I agree @abasket that is one reason why I usually make resolutions at my birthday. There is less pressure, usually no one knows I am making them yet I still have the clean slate of a new year.
I don’t like saying “I want to lose weight” how am I going to do that? I think I am more successful if I say I am going to exercise for x number of minutes x number of days a week or only eat desserts on Sundays or eat vegetables before eating higher calorie food or whatever. Then I will be healthier even if I don’t lose weight.
What I am struggling with is the specifics of how to save the money I need to save to buy the car we need this summer. I don’t work outside the home right now, so I can not say we will just live on H’s salary and save mine. I also can not say I will stop buying coffee on my way to work or any other mindless expense that comes with working. We have to figure out how to lower our normal household expenses. Unemployment is double the national average here and I have been looking for a job with no luck. So, lowering expenses is the way to go until a job appears.
@bajamm, you seem resourceful - I think you’ll find a way to save the $$!!! Some ideas…
– one or two meatless dinners a week.
–sell some unneeded home items on FB Marketplace (or ebay or craigslist) - people will buy the craziest things!
–vow to buy no new clothing - make do with what you have !
I have 3 main ones:
@Bajamm lowering expenses is hard! I have been looking at ours and it is a challenge with a lot of things that I can’t reduce (insurances, my husband’s prescriptions etc). Have made a good start by reducing our phone expenses almost 65% - wish everything else had that much potential savings!
Start using a pedometer again and get a minimum of 10K/day.
Weights 3x/week (already started back to that last week when I brought my kettle bells out of the basement and put them next to my desk).
Write every day, even if it’s just a paragraph.
Be a better dad. We have three girls and it can feel like I’m on the outs a lot of the time but that’s my problem not theirs really isn’t it?
I want to change my morning habit of checking email, texts, news and then running to running and then checking devices. I used to do it that way, was injured and couldn’t run, fell out of the habit.
I am going to track my expenses. I am retirement eligible, but I don’t feel like I can retire until I have a good idea
What my expenses are. All kids are now college grads, and they are relatively self-sufficient (finally). So this year I should get a good idea how much my expenses will be “normally.”
I hope to continue to get stuff out of the house/make what we keep neater.
I’d like to find something new to do on a regular basis. It may be volunteer work, it may be spin class, or it may be actually cooking for enjoyment with my husband.
Best wishes, @romanigypsyeyes.
Happy New Year, all!
My resolution: kill more blackberries. Die, invaders, die!
I’m not too keen on resolutions, but I did like the happiness list.
I would like to continue what I got back to while we were in Hong Kong - hiking regularly and getting to the gym three times a week.
I also really like the idea of organizing finances, passwords etc and decluttering our attic and basement storage areas.
Work wise, I want to look more into bullet journaling and keeping better track of billing for clients. I also want to limit the kind of jobs I take.
Learn to use my instant pot to make healthier meals. (try new recipes)
Walk more.
Read one book a month.
Take a class.
Take a vacation.
Now that D has graduated and is working focus more on being the best version of myself.
Declutter my life.
Socialize more. Focus on quality not quantity.
Attend more local events.
Keep up with my neighbors.
Learn more about money management and saving.
Manage stress. Work on good sleeping habits.
Enjoy the present but also think about the future.
Read this list often to make sure I am doing these things.
Hit the unfollow or unfriend button more on Facebook instead of seething and being annoyed at all the political posts.
I’m hoping I will be able to spend less money on animal care in 2019. Today, I added up vet and end-of-life-care bills for my dogs in 2018: $3,900 (which doen’t count the cost of the amputation, which the rescue organization paid for). So far, the new old dog has been reasonably healthy, aside from an issue the past week with a cyst.
Take a family vacation, incorporate some other type of physical exercise into my routine (yoga, some class, just something not in the basement), read more books, less time on IPad. Declutter.