It's that time of year, where I look back & evaluate how I did with my goals. Altogether, I'm pretty pleased with how 2023 played out. It wasn't at all like what I expected, and I'm still happy with the decisions, the progress, the fun, & how we dealt with challenges.
Financial:
- Stick to our budget - we did "okay" with this. Some wins, some losses, but generally achieved our savings goals & things worked out well financially.
- Monthly freezer/pantry challenges - I had a few good months, but wasn't consistent. I was able to keep our grocery bill under budget, which was my ultimate goal, along with reducing food waste.
- Plan & execute "leave work" budget - plan was ready, didn't leave.
- Figure out college funding plans - mostly there. Waiting to see where Sam ends up & total cost.
- Earn $1500 side hustle - $1875
- Use up travel credits & status wisely - Yes, lots of wins:
- Redeemed a free hotel night for our Colorado college tour
- Used Southwest gift cards & credits for the Colorado tour
- Used Marriott points for December stay
- Used United upgrades for: flights to Newark + Dubai, flight to London, & received a few gift cards from coworkers as thank yous for sharing upgrades.
- Used a club lounge award on December Tokyo trip, and greatly enjoyed the perks.
- Save $24k in boys college accounts - we saved $29,000.
- Save $100k before I leave work. We ended the year at $270k added, given I stayed longer. We are planning to cash flow about 2/3 of college (rest from college accounts), so this money is now ear marked for those expenses.
Family:
- Plan one fun activity per month with the kids - we had several ski trips, college tours, a few fun dinners out, a trip to Dubai, family wedding & parties, etc.
- Help the boys with "life" stuff (license, college, SATs, etc) - huge progress on this. Everyone has their license, Sam has finished the college application process & gotten into some schools, and they've both taken the SATs.
- Have two dates with M per month - yes, plus a trip to Las Vegas & Hawaii together
- Schedule quarterly calls with M's family - we did two calls, and our trip to Dubai
Fitness/Health:
- Lose 15 lbs - I lost 7 lbs before France, but gained back 3 lbs, thanks to a very inconsistent schedule in Q4.
- Track calories, eat a balanced diet - I did pretty well for 75% or so of the year
- Close rings 330 days - I switched watches & no longer have this tracking, but I'd say I worked out 90% of days in 2023.
- Make the most of my fitness options - consistently used my Orange Theory membership
- Stay on top of my health - yes!
Personal/creative:
- Do something social with friends once per month - lots of fun walks, hikes, a pickle ball game, workouts, & coffee meet ups, a very adventurous relay, plus the fabulous trip to France.
- Invest time in my volunteer roles - not nearly as much as I wanted
- Experiment with fun activities, that may take a more active role when I'm done with work - I honestly made minimal progress on this.
- Continue to make kind deeds a regular part of my life - as always, this is a work in progress, but including these in my weekly wrap up really helps remind me.
- Enjoy the first few months of not working - Ha, no.
That's a wrap! How did you do with your 2023 goals? Any wins to share?
Great progress on your goals! I funded my grandkid’s 529’s, had enough in separate school account to fund the living expenses of my kid’s last year of law school (he has a full scholarship for tuition only,) and did ok with pantry, and walking, but had huge unexpected expenses that severely extremely depleted my regular emergency fund. I also kept working part time, but part time is 30 to 35 hours a week…Lol.. Oh well. Cindy in the South
ReplyDeleteThat is an awesome accomplishment to fund the grandkids 529s, and help your son with his last year of law school. I'm sure everyone is so appreciative of your help. Here's hoping you can rebuild your emergency fund & get a break from work in 2024!
DeleteOne of my goals this year was to get a better handle on not only grocery budget, but use. I know that you had a subcategory going on using hard to get rid of pantry and freezer items. How do you think you did in this area? Mostly I am asking because you gave me motivation to keep going and I did well. Cut my grocery budget by 30ish percent and didn't throw out nearly as much out.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your successes.
It's my second sub bullet, under "Financial", which I've marked as yellow. For months when I focused on this, I did great. Other months, I didn't even do a challenge, and things didn't get used as effectively. When I'm consistent, it really helps us reduce waste & keep our spending in check. Cutting your budget by 30% and reducing food waste is an awesome accomplishment! Well done.
DeleteYou had a really good year with your goals.
ReplyDeleteOurs was fine with the exception of TheHub's job, which has taken on a life of its own and left little time for anything else. Fingers crossed there is a change in the air.