Here's what we accomplished in February:
Financial - generally good. We stuck to the budget on our family trip, handed off all of our tax paperwork to the accountant, and came up with a plan for funding our taxes. We also stuck to our general monthly budget.
Family - we had an awesome family ski trip, complete with lots of skiing, ice skating, & laughs. M & I even managed to get a drink together while the kids were finishing out the day skiing. We also had a dinner out together. We found Sam a study skills tutor, and that seems to be going well also.
Fitness - I've continued to my fitness challenge (closing my rings every day, & doing 90 minutes+ of cardio), but my tracking of calories & eating has fallen by the wayside. I haven't gotten on the scale in the last few weeks, but my pants suggest that I've gained a few pounds.
Personal/creative - I got together with friends twice, and continued to volunteer.
Onward to March goals!
Financial:
- Stick to our budget
- Talk to our accountant about a DAF for charitable contributions, & adjustments for next year
- Come up with long term budget/FIRE plan
- Progress towards $1500 side hustle goal, gift card goal, & Fetch/iBotta goals
Family:
- Plan one fun activity with the kids
- Support the kids with various planning (permit process, job applications, tutoring, etc)
- Have two dates with M
- Schedule a call with M's family
Fitness/Health:
- Get back into healthy eating routine
- Close rings daily
- Lose 2 lbs
Personal/creative:
- Do something social with friends at least once/month
- Invest time in my volunteer job
- Come up with post-work plan & options
- Journal 10x
What about you? How did you do with your February goals? Did you set any goals for March? How are you doing with your progress this month?
We got the research trip out of the way and daughter loved DC, do well see. Other goals were not met, grocery challenge, but doing well over all with not random spending.
ReplyDeleteGlad you were able to do the DC trip, and that your daughter loved it!
DeleteRegarding DAF, Vanguard Charitable has been pretty seamless for us. The only annoying thing is that it can't be used for donations smaller than $500. Also, use your lowest cost basis stocks to fund the DAF to maximize tax benefits.
ReplyDeleteWe ve been funding it every other year to maximize the standard deduction. good luck! overall, it is nice to use the daf to decouple the timing of donations to the actual tax benefits.
Thanks for the information - I will likely use Vanguard, as I have a work retirement account there. Good to hear that it works well for you.
DeleteYou had a good month.
ReplyDeleteI went off the rails and bought an electric canner this week. I have never pressure canned before so I guess we will see if I do it well or put a slightly used pressure canner on Facebook marketplace
Oooh, intrigued to hear if you like the electric canner!
DeleteYou have been very busy, but seem to have done all the important things with the kids and that is really what counts most.
ReplyDeleteThe kids are at peak activity/driving right now, or so I tell myself. Soon I'll have drivers, and hopefully less running around on my own. ;-)
DeleteYour goals are great! I have had many things come up lately that have sidetracked me also regarding exercise, full retirement goals, family, budget, etc. so in a state of transition that I had not expected (in this way) but had built a couple of safeguards in my plan so will see which way I will go. I had a plan A, I am on my way to plan C, so may have to go all the way down to plan E…. Lol. Cindy in the South
ReplyDeleteI hope you are able to achieve all of your goals, and so happy you put safeguards into your plans. Life is always throwing up unexpected curve balls, isn't it?
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