2014 goals
It's 2014? That'll probably sound weird to me until at least March.
I'm looking forward to the new year, despite the fact that it doesn't quite feel right yet. I've been enjoying reading everyone's goals too and have some of my own to throw out there:
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Finances
Put at least $2000 toward mortgage prepayment - Last year, we put an extra $1550 toward the principal, and I'd like to beat that! :)
Save for daycare - I'm not pregnant. And I know it's impossible to fully prepare to be a parent - but this is something we can start now. Hopefully it'll help us get used to the added expense way before we have a baby. Childcare estimates seem to run about $150/week in our area, so this amounts to setting aside $300 per paycheck.
Personal
Finish my degree - Should be done in May! Woohoo :)
Read 50 books - I read 53 books in 2012 and 65 in 2013, so 50 is reasonable. (I track it over at Goodreads.) Setting my goal higher than this (I tried for 100 in 2011) seems to backfire on me - I just went for short, easy books rather than reading more books of higher quality. So 50 it is, and if I sail past it - oh well! :)
Marriage
Travel at least twice - We're planning a week long trip to California for our anniversary in June, and I'd like to plan another trip (most likely a long weekend?).
Learn something new together - We took a cooking class together in 2012 (that we still talk about!) and talked about taking a photography class this year, but it didn't happen. So onto the goal list it goes! One possibility is a surfing lesson while we're in California.
Read a book together - Mr. G isn't a huge reader, but he does enjoy audiobooks. So he's listened to several of my favorite books (like Unbroken) which I really love because then we can talk about them, rate them, and if it exists, watch the movie version together. Mr. G's now working on the Harry Potter series (I love them!) and I'd like to continue this practice when he's finished Harry Potter.
I'd love to hear about your goals for 2014. :)
I'm still working on my resolutions (I'm a bit late haha) but will be posting them sometime this month :) Finshing my degree is definitely on there, and also living as cheaply as possible, as my scholarship ends in March!
ReplyDeleteWhat degree are you studying?
Administration/Management. The only piece left is completing 150 practice hours with someone in management and writing about the experience. I will be SO happy when it's done!
DeleteWe are reading a book aloud together this year. We used to do that a lot when we were first dating but we haven't for a few years. My husband is really excited about it (we're reading one of his favorite books).
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear others do this too! What book are you reading?
DeleteGreat goals Amanda! You're book reading totals are amazing!
ReplyDeleteI won't be learning to surf lol, but Cali is a 2015 goal (I like to plan early lol!)
Good luck.
Thank you! Cali in 2015 sounds wonderful - we should plan our trips further in advance too. More anticipation that way! :)
DeleteI suck at goals, so I don't really have any. But, CatMan and I read together every day, and I LOVE it. Mostly we read in Spanish - actually he reads to me and I look up the words we don't know. It's really fun to do it together, and to just have the shared experience... sometimes it's like we talk in secret code referencing things in Spanish from something we've read. He also reads to me in English sometimes. It's really wonderful because as someone bordering on dyslexia reading has always been really hard for me, but this way I get to both enjoy the reading as well as the shared experience. So maybe you could read aloud to your husband? Or maybe that's what you meant when you said read a book together...
ReplyDeleteThat's so sweet :) He's listening to Harry Potter on CD on his way to/from work right now, but that's because they're narrated by Jim Dale who's excellent - he does every character in a different voice! But in the past I read aloud Bunnicula and one of the books from Judy Blume's Fudge series to him so we should do it again.
DeleteI'd not really considered reading aloud (other than small snippets) with my partner. He's not a reader, so I wonder what he thinks of it... very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI love that you have goals to focus on your relationship - I certainly don't. But I do try to make him the centre of things, and consider his wants and likes. I also love your reading goal - I've been so slow reading with the books I have lately - I mean, they are a bit drier than novels, which means I keep preferring blog reading over the books. Do you persevere with books if they are 'hard' or dry til they're finished or do you skip to something else?
Reading is such an big part of my life that it started as me wanting to share that passion with him. And my husband loves the storytelling aspect, just not the actual reading, so read alouds were a good fit for us. I don't finish books that don't keep me interested - I gave up on one yesterday when I was only about 30 pages in because it was awful. It helps that I don't buy books anymore. If I don't like one, there's no guilty feelings or forcing myself to finish to get my money's worth. I just return it to the library and get a different one.
DeleteI actually stole the idea of marriage goals from Crystal:
http://moneysavingmom.com/2013/12/12-goals-2014-come-share.html
and I love the idea. :) Those goals are kind of our way of saying our marriage is a priority to us :)
Great goals, Amanda! I'm excited for you that you'll finish your degree. Rom used to read a lot but the Internet has rewired his brain so he really struggles now! He likes audio books and podcasts. I read 60 books in 2013, but about 20 of them were graphic novels and browsing books (photo heavy) so the traditional books came to about 40. I like your savings plans, too!
ReplyDeleteThanks Dar! I can commiserate with Rom - I used to easily read 100+ books a year before I had home internet access, but now I spend so much more time online reading shorter pieces. It's tough to switch between the two!
DeleteI was sure I left a comment but it might have gone to spam! Anyway: love your goals and that reading tally of 100 books is very inspiring. I also like the idea of relationship goals - it can be easy to take things for granted once you have been together for quite a while.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear about your commenting troubles. I'll check the spam folder. My comments get eaten if I use the Google Chrome browser, but they're fine when I comment using Safari. Weird.
DeleteSo true about relationships! Mr. G and I have been together for 7 years now and we are definitely guilty of taking each other for granted. We made a big effort around Thanksgiving to thank each other and it's still sticking. Makes me so happy when I give him his dinner plate and he thanks me for cooking! :)
Like Fiona, i thought i wrote a comment before, but it seems to have disappeared in the ether.
ReplyDeleteGreat goals. Well done on the degree.
We have Stephen Fry's readings of Harry Potter. He is brilliant. His accent perfect, as is the voices he gives to the characters. We listen to them when we go on road trips.
I'm so sorry about the comments - thanks for checking back and leaving another one! Thank you for the kind words :)
DeleteI just checked out a clip of Stephen Fry reading Harry Potter on youtube - he's wonderful! I am so impressed by how both he can switch from one character to the next so effortlessly.
Love all your goals Amanda! Finishing your degree is definitely one I can relate to having finished mine off this past year. It. feels. so. good! But also leaves a bit of a void that I've definitely been trying to fill with other goals. You are one organized lady saving for daycare already! Will you have unpaid time off in the beginning that you'll need to save for as well?
ReplyDeleteThank you! Some of my friends got pregnant unexpectedly or right away when they started trying and I want to be prepared in case that's us! Yes, any time I take off from work will be unpaid (hubby too). We have enough in our emergency fund to pay the mortgage for nearly a year, so we'll be pulling from that while I'm home.
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