Thursday, March 2, 2017

February Goals Wrap Up - how did we do?

February was a madhouse, with the house purchase, the financing debacles, and the many, many, many projects! I'm not sure we nailed everything, but here's a quick look.

1) Financial - Figure out our housing situation, and get it all resolved (i.e. moved, job changes as needed) before school starts. 
  • Set a move date. - yes, 3/18, barring any issues with the flooring installation. 
  • Get our San Francisco house rented (we are limited on what we can do, other than keeping the house clean & ready, and making it available for showings.) - We did have someone who signed a contract, and then their project fell through & they backed out. Unclear how that impacts our liability, but still working on this. Our realtor has a solid lead, so we've introduced him to our land lord. 
  • Build a brand new budget for our lives, with our new costs & expenses - eh, we've done most of this, but I'd like to finalize a few areas. As a result, I've carried over to next month.
  • Find one alternative cost cutting option  - not only did I use newspapers & other items around the house (think, spare towels, etc) to pack, but I also used boxes from our neighbors! Plus, I ran several errands & lots of trips to the new house either on foot or biking. I'm hoping to replace a car errand trip at least 2x/month in the future. 
  • Determine if we're doing any work in the house, and sources of funding - done. I'll do a full update on this, but we ended up doing a lot. The house is looking pretty good!
  • Build new cash flow model - Ditto above - we've done most of this, but I'd like to finalize a few areas. As a result, I've carried over to next month
  • Sell another $100 of items on the Facebook swap site. - Crushed this goal. I made $749.03 by selling things. The majority of this came from two necklaces. But, I also sold two yoga blocks, a scarf, & 20 kids books. 
  • Continue to declutter so we can pack less! - I continually review everything we have, whenever I'm packing. I'd estimate I've donated another 100 or so items as part of the packing process. That doesn't include the huge amount of things I've recycled or shredded. 
  • Pack - I committed to having pretty much everything (that we wouldn't need over the next few weeks) packed before I left for my business trip. I did really well, and am in good shape. I also tried to keep the house still looking okay, for future showings. So, I'd say I achieved this at 90%.
2) Family - Spend more time together as a family!

  • Do a minimum of one fun activity/month with the kids. This can be family puzzle night, cooking dinner together, board games, going out somewhere, etc.  - We haven't done much/if any of this in February. We have spent a lot of time together as a family, but I don't think any of us would describe it as "super fun". ;-) It's involved loading a trailer for the landfill, picking up carpet staples, etc. The family that works together . . . ;-) 
  • Be more present with the kids & M - play games, minimize computer time, exercise together, etc. - We've definitely exercised together a lot - trips to & from the new house. We've minimized computer time, so I'm giving us a pass. 
  • Have two dates with M per month (one lunch, one evening) - Yes! We went to lunch for my birthday, and had a quick dinner at home for Valentine's Day. Both sans sitters. 
  • Figure out adjusted travel plans for 2017 - I roughed something out, but haven't made any progress, due to the move & timing of our other house sale. 

    3) Fitness/health - Lose 20 pounds, bringing my weight to 133. This may sound familiar, as it's also a carryover goal from last year!
    • Run 12 miles in February - I've run 4 miles. I injured my soleus (not running, but hiking) & wasn't able to run for a week or so. Also, general business. 
    • Eat five servings of fruit & vegetables (combined) per day - I'm closing out the month with just over 3. This is not awesome & I need to work on this. I am doing a much better job of cutting back on sweets. I had a bad spell there for a few weeks, but have cleaned things up. 
    • Complete 800 minutes of cardio - lots of construction work & a long hike got me to 825!
    • Complete 6 strength workouts. - 4 official strength workouts, but lots of time with a hammer, screwdriver, mallet, etc. 
    • Complete 6 stretching workouts. - I had 3, and one was a super long studio yoga class. I need a lot more of this!

    4) Work/career - Improve my work life balance.
    • Keep better perspective at work/reduce stress - I've managed this by looking for a new job. It's a new perspective, for sure, but comes with its own stress of course. 
    • Work from home 2x this month. - yes! I've also been using a few comp days to get things done around the house. 

      5) Personal/creative - Spend more time on myself/creative pursuits.
      • Bake bread, and try a new recipe. - I tried a couple of new soup recipes, a delicious baked spaghetti, & also made yeast rolls a regular part of our menu. Yum!
      • Do something social at least once per month. - I went on a long hike with a friend. 
      • Volunteer a minimum of 1x/month. - Yes, I volunteered at the boys school on my day off - my birthday. 

      All in all, I'm super excited with my progress this month. There were certainly areas that could have gone better, but we accomplished a lot as a family. Woohoo! What about you? How was your February? Any big wins to call out? 

      4 comments:

      1. Things are moving forward - all very positive. I would say you killed it!

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      2. I am with Cheapchick. You've done well and you are in the middle of moving chaos while doing well! Kudos!

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      3. I think that productive family time is probably more beneficial thank just doing something fun. Kids learn the most by seeing how we do things and handle the stress of it. I also think that kids are natural workers and we slowly make them lazy over time.

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      4. Look at all that green!!! Way to go!
        I hope March is treating you really really well too.

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