2023 promises to be an interesting year. I'm planning to leave my job at the end of May (slightly extended due to some comp changes at our company). I'll likely use vacation days to get through the end of June. I'll enjoy the summer, and then think about what the future holds. We also have quite a bit of travel planned in 2023: Dubai with M's family, my sister's 50th birthday trip, and potentially some college tours. 2023 will also be the year that Sam starts applying to colleges, and Nick kicks off the end of high school/college searches. I can already tell that we will be busy!
I'm planning to have some yearly goals, but keep things flexible for monthly goals, particularly as I expect to try things out, and do some experimenting, after I leave work. I want to encourage myself to experiment, and not be overly rigid. We'll see how I do, as, after all, I really do love a plan. :-)
Here are my draft goals for 2023:
Financial:
- Stick to our yearly budget (track monthly)
- Monthly freezer/pantry challenges
- Plan & execute "leave work" budget
- Figure out college funding plans
- Earn $1500 side hustle
- Use travel credits/status wisely
Family:
- Plan one fun activity/month with the kids
- Help the boys with "life" stuff (license, college, SATs, etc)
- Have two dates with M per month
- Schedule quarterly calls with M's family, and/or send videos/pics
- Lose 10 lbs
- Track calories, eat a balanced diet
- Close rings 330 days
- Make the most of my fitness options (work, gym)
- Stay on top of my health (doctor's appointments, regular check ups, etc)
Personal/creative:
- Do something social with friends at least once/month
- Invest time in my volunteer roles
- Experiment with fun activities
- Continue to make kind deeds/"for others" a regular part of my life
- Enjoy the first few months of not working
What about you? What are you hoping to accomplish in 2023?
What a great list. I’m going to add several of them to my list of goals. I’m staying on top of my health with doctor visits now, but will continue that into the new year. I’d also like to lose some more weight and continue to eat healthier. I hope you meet all of your goals in 2023.
ReplyDeleteVery exciting. Note that early decisions often need applications by end of September/ early October so you'll maybe want to get some campus visits even this spring so he can get a feel for the campus. Many will let him sit in on a class.
ReplyDeleteRetirement looms, how exciting! And all those trips, it'll be a very full year! I assume it's just you leaving your job at this time, M won't be yet?
ReplyDeleteAre you likely to range very far afield from CA for college visits? We were just explaining the idea of colleges a bit to JB tonight so I'm interested to see how this search goes for y'all!
If you'd asked me five years ago, I'd have said that only CA colleges were on the table. That's also how we saved for college. Unfortunately, Sam's first year of HS was during COVID remote learning & was incredibly difficult for him. That really impacted his GPA, which also meant his 10th grade class selections were impacted as well. His overall GPA is okay, but to get into a UC, you really need pretty exceptional grades. His SAT scores will be an advantage, but UCs don't consider them. All this to say, most of the people we know aren't convinced their kids can get into UCs, as they take a limited amount from each HS. Unless your child is in the top 10% of any given school, it's very challenging. Both of our kids stand a way better shot at a public school in WA, OR or CO, which is what we're currently looking at. We will also have them apply to a couple of UCs. But, it comes down to a tradeoff between a pretty undesirable CA state school, vs a much "better" public school elsewhere.
DeleteJust me leaving work for now. M still wants to work for another 5-6 years.