It seems that everywhere I look bloggers are posting their resolutions for the year 2010 and I realized that I did not make any resolutions. Last year I had a few Simple Goals For 2009 and I have decided to adopt that strategy again for 2010.

My goals last year were

  • Simplify
  • Live
  • Learn

and I think that if I honestly look at what I accomplished for the year I only really worked on ONE out of the three. This means that I need to extend those goals to 2010 so that I can keep improving on Simplify and catch up on Live and Learn.

Simplify

I simplified my budgets last year and tweaked my spending and created a zero based budget to the point where automating my finances made me bored.

I have been working on purging items that I have not used in a long time as well. This includes clothing that I have not worn in YEARS especially. I grew up poor and was taught to hold on to everything because you don’t know when you can use it again. That is part of the reason why I buy in bulk and stock up on so much toilet paper. However, I still have clothes from 10 years ago…that I last wore 10 years ago….just sitting in the closet. I have no idea why I am holding on to some of them because they no longer fit………………..

Live

I took my mother’s death a lot harder than I thought I would and even though I was not overly emotional I was indeed drained of that joie de vivre that I should be experiencing. I was bored with a lot of things and generally unimpressed with people in general so I did not want to go out or do anything fun most of the time.

I will continue to mourn my mother but I cannot let her passing zap me of my energy and prevent me from doing the things I want to do. There is really no need to depress myself and become a hermit once I leave work.

Learn

I started a new program to further my career and because it is so time consuming I have not made time to learn SQL or HTML like I said I wanted to last year. I have just been so overwhelmed with classes that at the end of the day I was mentally drained and not in the mood to learn anything else unless it pertained to my courses.

I need to break out of that mindset and generate more energy to get my mental juices flowing so that I can gain some new knowledge that I did not have before…and not just to pass a test.

I have decided to add in a few more goals for 2010 as follows:

  • Reduce
  • Leave
  • Magnetize

Reduce

I need to reduce the debt that I carry because I am tired of carrying it.  I used my credit cards to pay for my education and I have been slowly chipping away at the debt for as long as I have been blogging but it is time to get rid of it. I have been using my sub account in ING called the snowflake account to put any extra money that I get (e.g. Pinecone) towards my debts but something always seems to come up and I use the money.

I also need to reduce my weight because since I had my surgery I have been gaining weight and I am sick not feeling like I look my best. I am not overweight by any means…..but if I keep gaining like I have been then I might soon fall into that category.

I need to reduce my waste as well because I sometimes find myself throwing away food because it has gone bad. I refuse to eat anything past the expiry date printed on the container but I was also taught to shop in bulk. These two values sometimes conflict because I will buy 20 packs of yogurt but then not be able to eat them all before they expire. I will need to go back to my Sunday only shopping day to reduce the amount of ‘stuff’ that I buy….and throw away.

Leave

Last year I had a very bad experience when I went home and I was very angry for a while. I have not forgiven the person who hurt me, but I have decided to leave that anger behind and work on just existing in peace with myself. I am not at the point where I can extend an olive branch but it is doing me no good to have anger festering inside so I am leaving what happened in 2009 there…and shall not speak of it again.

I am also working on my feelings towards other people who may not have wronged me but I still have some underlying tension. I need to leave EVERYTHING that happened in the past in 2009 and look forward to a better 2010.

Magnetize

I reviewed a book last year called 101 Ways To Magnetize Money and I think I need to revisit what I read there. The book was really an excellent read and very easy to follow. It is sort of a financial feng shui guide and I started to follow some of the tips given and did see money being magnetized into my life.

I not only need to magnetize money but all sorts of GOOD into my life and I think that this will make me a better person overall. In this vein I will be looking at yoga for dummies so I can practice a little bit of yoga at home to keep me relaxed because I have been very stressed out. Over the Christmas break last year, my best friend treated me to a professional massage and I think this is something I can also use my Splurge Fund to help me out here every few months.

I need to PRAY more because I have been slacking on that sometimes as well. I missed a few Sundays of church simply because I got up late. I need to treat going to church just like going to work…set that alarm and DO NOT hit snooze!!! I guess God thinks in terms of ‘better late than never’ as well as we do.

Speaking of church….since I ordered new checks specifically for the purpose of making my church donations I need to write out four checks every month and put them in my church purse so I have no reason to forget my offering money again. That task needs to be scheduled on Google calendar just like everything else that I do.

I know these may seem too broad for most people but this is how I choose to work on improving myself and my blog for this year. There are more small changes that I will be making in my life that have not been spelled out here but I will still be working on them as the year goes on. Come along with me on my journey as I look for even more ways to save money, reduce debt and live a better life.