Image by Magitisa on Flickr
As it was for many people, the year 2009 was a particularly trying one for my family and the people around us. While my wife and I both managed to keep our jobs, we each had to endure the stress of layoffs at our respective companies as well as experience pay cuts in order for our companies to stay afloat. Over the summer, we lost two separate family friends to suicide, something I would never wish on anyone else to experience. We also were unfortunate in that we experienced flooding in our home and both of our vehicles in late September like many other families in the metro Atlanta area. Beyond the flood damage itself, the above average rainfall that the area has received this year, has led to three trees falling in our yard since the September flooding. Luckily, the damage from those fallen trees has been for the most part minimal, with only a chain link fence needing any repair at all.
With the turbulence of 2009 fresh on my mind, and with a second child due in just over two months from now on March 1, 2010, I realize that now is the time to start ensuring that my family is prepared for just about anything that may occur over the next twelve months. To help do this, I have created a list of goals for myself that I hope to have achieved by this time next year. Below is that list along with the steps I plan to take to achieve them. My plan is to chart my progress towards each of these every three months or so and to update them accordingly. I wouldn’t call these my New Year’s resolutions, as each of these items have been on my “to do” list for a while now, but this will be the first time that I have gotten serious about working towards most of them.
My Goals:
- Build an emergency fund
- Learn basic Spanish
- Lose 60 pounds
- Pay down all debt except mortgage
Let’s look at each one in more detail, after the jump.
- Build an emergency fund
This should be number one on anyone’s to do list that doesn’t have one set up already. As much as I hate to say it, I’ve spent too much time neglecting the fact that my family does not have a true emergency fund. Sure, we have money in savings and investments that could easily be converted to cash in the event we were to have another flood or lose a job, but neither of those things should even be considered as a source for these types of needs. While some analysts suggest that you should set aside the equivalent of 6-9 months of your yearly salary, for most people (myself included) this is simply not possible. For those of us that can’t set aside that amount, I think 3 months worth is a good goal to strive toward, and it’s the amount that I plan to have in place by this time next year.
Here is how I plan to accomplish this goal. Feel free to copy this method of goal planning and adjust it for your needs.
In the Next Three Days: Identify how much money needs to be saved
In the Next Week: Determine savings program and research best location to store funds
Every Two Weeks: Contribute 5% towards goal via automatic transfer
In the Next Six Months: Review progress and adjust contribution as needed
- Learn basic Spanish
While it doesn’t happen frequently, every once in a while, I will get mistaken as someone of Hispanic descent, and although I do have Hispanics in my extended family, I am not. Every time it happens, however, I feel guilty for not even knowing basic phrases. I took Latin in high school and college, and obviously have no real world application for that knowledge. I also want to be able to make sure that my children have a strong background in both English and Spanish as the Spanish language becomes more and more prevalent in American society.
In the Next Three Days: Research options for learning
In the Next Week: Enroll in a class or purchase software/book/etc.
Every Two Weeks: Talk about and/or practice what I’m learning with a family member or friend
In the Next Six Months: Review what I’ve learned, and make plan for continuing education
- Lose 60 pounds
The year 2001 was a particularly rough year for me. At the time, I was both extremely stressed and depressed. I went to school during the day, worked a full time job from 5 pm-1 am, and was the Editor in Chief of the school’s weekly internet publication (pretty much another full time job). My girlfriend of three years and I had also separated that year. As a result of everything going on around me, I fell into some really bad habits—drinking heavily, smoking and using drugs. Many times I did these things alone, which made matters that much worse, but the worst habit that I picked up during that time was stress eating. In less than a year’s time I had gained about 40 pounds, and in the eight years since then, I’ve picked up even more. While I’ve tried a couple of times to get rid of that weight in recent years, I haven’t stuck with a regular diet or exercise plan for more than a couple months at a time. With baby number two on the way, it’s even more important for me to make sure that I’m healthy enough to be there for my kids as long as possible.
In the Next Three Days: Determine a regular exercise routine and identify a monthly weight loss goal
In the Next Week: Identify and make a plan to minimize (or eliminate) detrimental foods and behaviors
Every Two Weeks: Review exercise and diet program and adjust accordingly
In the Next Six Months: Reward myself for my progress thus far and make long term plan to keep weight off in future
- Pay down all debt except mortgage
During that 2001 year that I mentioned, I maxed out a Discover card to the point that they closed the account and took the card away from me. In April of last year I finally finished repaying that debt, and it was like a giant weight was lifted off of my shoulders. Along with the physical weight gain, paying that credit card bill was a monthly reminder of just how rough things had been for me that year. While I’ve opened several other credit cards and debt accounts since then, and none of them have reached the level of spending that occurred with that card, I’m sure that same feeling of relief will occur when I make the last payments for each of those debts as well.
In the Next Three Days: Find out exactly how much debt I have outstanding
In the Next Week: Prioritize which debts to pay first from highest to lowest interest rates
Every Two Weeks: Make payments
In the Next Six Months: Review credit report and ensure all paid debts are properly updated
Tags: Personal Development
