2026 Goal Check In

 The year is winding down, so I thought I'd take a look at my yearly goals & my progress so far: Overall, I'm pleased with my progress so far, but there's still plenty to do!

Financial:

• Continue to pay for both boys college expenses - on track
• Earn $2000 in side hustle - I'm at $2972 for the year, but I may remove the $700 or so from the credit card cash back, as I'm not sure that qualifies as a side hustle. Regardless, I've achieved the goal. 
• Stay on top of food waste with monthly pantry or freezer challenges - I've done well with this
• Make an anonymous & meaningful donation to someone in my community - I pivoted this & made a sizable donation (and got a company match) for Guardian Scholars, which is the program I've mentioned that helps foster students transitioning to college.
• Optimize points, perks & miles for travel. Track value - yes, I have a post ready to go for this & it's about $21k of value. 
• Set a savings goals & be more intentional about spending - yes, and pretty well on the second half of that
• Monitor credit card expenses to determine value - yes, I've been tracking this
• Find 3 expenses to optimize - yes, I've done really well at this. 
• I cancelled my Oura membership ($6/month)
• Cancelled Kindle Unlimited ($12/month)
• Had Nick switch his music subscription to a student account (saving $6/month)
• Adjusted our auto insurance to save about $600/year
• Moved money around to get the best savings rate
• Figure out when I'm going to leave work - YES!!! 

Family:

• Continue to help the boys navigate college & life - yes
• Monthly dates with M - yes!
• Travel:
• Plan & have two fantastic & reasonably on budget international trips - they were fantastic, but less budget than I would like! M & I went to New Zealand & I went to Greece
• Plan a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park - yes, although just a day trip
• Go on four local hiking trips - We did several day hiking trips & maybe 6-8 training hikes for New Zealand, so yes
• Continue bucket list travel planning - this is going pretty well, although we are on pause for our next "big" trip, while we wait to hear about lodging. 

Fitness:

• Lose 10 lbs - I've lost just under 20 lbs, and have been on a micro dose of a GLP-1 since mid-May.
• 125 days - strength train, No S, & meditate - 79 strength workouts, I'd guess maybe 100 days of No S, although it became not a focus with the GLP-1, 16 meditations
• Average 12,000 steps/day - 11,659, and it will take a lot to get this to 12k by the end of the year!
• Try a new workout- I tried a few new workouts when I joined the YMCA, but it was pretty pricey for my usage & I cancelled my membership. 
• Track protein, fruit & veggie intake - yes, I've been much better about this

Personal:

• 100 language lessons - definitely not, I abandoned this pretty early into the year
• Declutter 500 items from the house - I'm already at 724 for the year
• Take a class - no
• Get together with friends - yes, a girls trip to Greece, a trip to Las Vegas & Zion with other friends, lots of hiking, lunches & work outs, dinners, etc.
• Try something new & uncomfortable - I hiked part of Angels Landing & hiked through the Virgin River, went on a 5 day hiking tour of New Zealand, explored new countries, resigned from my job .  . . plenty of things getting me out of my comfort zone
• Say yes to adventures - yes! See above
• Host at least 4 events at our house - we've done zero!
• Master a complex cooking technique or one difficult recipe - nope
• Offer to have 2 networking chats with new grads - yes! 

What about you? How are you doing with your 2026 goals? Any last minute stretch goals you are hoping to complete? Let us know so we can cheer you on!