Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Goals for a New Year

At some point, I quit making New Year's Resolutions, since they seemed too easy to break. And once they were broken, it was hard to try to go back to them. Instead I started setting goals for myself for the year; that way, if I fell down, I could just get back to it. Without further ado, here are my goals for 2014.

1. Be more consistent in my workouts.
Too often if 2013 I let those pesky side effects keep me from working out. (Really, who wants to work out when they are exhausted and feel like they're going to throw up?) This year I'm trying to cut the excuses and just do it. (And yes, that phrase makes me think of the old Nike commercials.) Right now my workouts are 36 minutes, three times a week, in addition to regular ballroom classes. I'm thrilled that this year Husbandido has agreed to join me twice a week, in deference to his expanding waistband. (He was none too happy about needing new pants.) While he's happy for me that my weight has been going down, he's not so happy that his has been going up.

2. Be a better correspondent.
Over the past couple of years, I've gotten really bad at staying in touch with friends and extended family. As I was going through old letters that I hadn't responded to, I realized that roughly two years had passed since I had last written a real letter to my great-aunt. I got to be close to this particular great-aunt while I was a single, cat lady grad student, and aside from a disagreement after my grandmother died (Thanks, Dad. [My father dramatically downplayed the emotional and verbal abuse I suffered from my grandmother, which led my great-aunt to think I was making a big deal out of nothing.]), we have stayed pretty close. I'm trying to better at keeping in touch.

3. Try to reduce dairy and sugar, while still keeping hydrated.
I've been trying to reduce my dairy consumption, but so far it's just left me drinking less, which isn't good. I absolutely refuse to completely give up dairy, but I'm trying to cut back on how much I consume as well as choose "better" options. According to my doctor, harder cheeses are better than soft cheeses, and Greek yogurt is better than regular yogurt. I do like almond milk, but I need to get better at keeping it in the house. 

4. Pay off debt and rebuild our emergency fund.
2013 out-emergencied our emergency fund, to the point that we ended up taking on some additional debt. We paid a 2% balance transfer fee to give ourselves until 10/1 to pay it off without interest, but I will be much happier when it is gone. I would dearly love to have a nice, fat emergency fund, but I think I may need to start small with how much I aim to save. In the meantime, we also have to ensure that we're saving enough to cover the property taxes, since we use our savings account as our own personal escrow account. 

What are your resolutions/goals for the New Year? How are you holding yourself accountable?

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