Tuesday, December 17, 2013

And life goes on...

When you have to try to remember what was it like before some event happened or started, you know you've been in the deep of things.

I'll be honest and say I have no intention of thinking about goals for next year. Really, I probably wont finalize them until mid January. I do have intentions to review this year and the goals I set to do last year. So here's a brief rundown:

1. Drop debt by $6,500. Stretch goal, down by $7000 (or $500 extra in snowflakes)
I somehow ended up paying $8,059.93. I have no idea how I went over by that much, but I am not one to complain! I am pretty sure we can count this as done.
2. Save $1000 for vacations in April and/or June
Done and with $400 leftover.
3. Increase car savings account by another $2000, stretch of $2600... Not counting any possible bonus!
Just on the nick of time! I left this for the very last, but I just transferred the remaining $1300 on Monday, to complete the $2k goal. Total car savings: $4,000! 
4. Save $700 for Christmas 2013 before Nov 1, 2013
Done!
5. Use cash-only budgeting for at least 4 months. (Jan, Feb, Jun?)
Done! Not a fan. 
6. Save $475 $525 for Certification test AND pass test in December 2013
Heck yeah, done AND done! 
7. Keep track of expenses
This is a mix up. I cant find a way to report these things, but I've been keeping track on paper and on Quicken. So win?
8. Blog at least 13 times per month
Fail! My life is boring. Sue me. 
9. Lose another 13lbs, starting from 2012 minimum weight (150)
Bahaha, no. Wasn't eating near enough to stimulate my metabolism!
10. Read 13 non-study books
Over done. I lost count after 21. Maybe now that the test is over I can finish Sherlock Holmes! 
11. Cook and photograph 13 cookbook recipes
Not at all. In fact, I probably cooked the least this year compared to any other year. Ouch. 
12. Charity: Help 13 different causes
Done. I kept track of them via emails, but was much slower updating my sidebars. 

That's 8 greens, 1 yellow, 3 reds. In grades...
70% pass (8.5/12), 30% fail (3.5/12). After taking a horrible test, 70% is as good a pass as any. So... success!

Now to think about what I want for next year... I know I have 3 big saving goals: 1) pay for citizenship so I can go back to my home country to visit (can't renew my passport without exorbitant fees otherwise), 2) save for my wisdom teeth removal... yikes. 3) buy a car.

Sorry, fell asleep and hit submit without checking. But that's all for now!

4 comments:

  1. I love to see that you life goes back to normal :) I'm not a great fan of cash-only budget either.

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  2. Very, very good, Tanner! That's awesome! I'd say the three fails were the least important, at least to getting out of debt, so good going! And congrats again on passing THE TEST!

    What is your home country?

    Peace <3
    Jay

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  3. I think you did great! Look how much you accomplished on top of moving, taking care of your dad, studying and passing the test, and still getting out of debt. Plus your visit to chez Sluggy...I would say you kicked ass this year!

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  4. Looks like you did very well!

    I'm actually in the midst of cash budgeting now. In fact, I recently ordered a cash envelope wallet to help.

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