Goals 2016

[Robert not Bobby]

This is absurd, most of you know that you won't reach a fraction of those goals. But goals can be important...but don't beat yourself up if you don't come near to achieving them.

Isn't this a little early for new years goals (resolutions)...my goal is to try to be a better man and love my children more and show them by example. I think I can do that...and I have all sorts of wiggle room.

Keep them vague, you can convince yourself that you have achieved them.

[Jaguar]

I'm going to do what I need to do, not cause of 2016, but because I was in a car accident last Friday and I see just how quickly things can just change, and not for the better either.

Just fucking DO IT !!!!!

[Robert not Bobby]

JUST FUCKING DO WHAT Sugi?

Don't get too graphic...I'm sorry about your accident and hope all is better.

Just around the corner, maybe something wonderful is waiting for you....OK, I need to slap myself, I'm starting to sound too full of good cheer and love for all. It's this Christmas thing. I'm really a heartless rascal.

Well, not always.

[Shooby]

I am behind on Dd's 529. I really plan to aggressively fund that. I want to get a new mattresss. DH and I have a King set but really would like to get a new one. Probably gonna buy a new car this summer.

[Cookies Galore]

Goals:
1. Buy a house
2. Sub-30 5k
3. Don't fuck anything up

[milee]

Whenever Robert not Bobby posts I can't help but think he's the new version of Jack Handy.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Dec 20, 2015 20:40:51 GMT -5 milee said:

Whenever Robert not Bobby posts I can't help but think he's the new version of Jack Handy.

Here's who I think of:

[milee]

Dec 20, 2015 21:11:34 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

Dec 20, 2015 20:40:51 GMT -5 milee said:

Whenever Robert not Bobby posts I can't help but think he's the new version of Jack Handy.

Here's who I think of:

No, whoever that is doesn't appear to be half drunk or smoking crack.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Lol, he's one of Jeff Dunham's characters. His name is Walter. He's an asshat of an old man. 

[swamp]

Oh yeah, I think I want to do the sprint triathlon in my town in August.  I'm afraid I will finish last. 

[swamp]

Dec 20, 2015 20:05:58 GMT -5 Robert not Bobby said:

This is absurd, most of you know that you won't reach a fraction of those goals. But goals can be important...but don't beat yourself up if you don't come near to achieving them.

Isn't this a little early for new years goals (resolutions)...my goal is to try to be a better man and love my children more and show them by example. I think I can do that...and I have all sorts of wiggle room.

Keep them vague, you can convince yourself that you have achieved them.

Why is it early?   If you have a goal, you should or ably have a plan, and pulling a goal out of your ass when you're hung over on New Years Day probably isn't good plan. 

[swamp]

Dec 20, 2015 21:25:39 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

Lol, he's one of Jeff Dunham's characters. His name is Walter. He's an asshat of an old man. 

Walter is funnier. 

[Cookies Galore]

Dec 20, 2015 21:36:55 GMT -5 swamp said:

Oh yeah, I think I want to do the sprint triathlon in my town in August.  I'm afraid I will finish last. 

Do it! Finishing last is still finishing; better than DNS or DNF!

[lurkyloo]

--Max 401k
--Max Roth IRA
--Cook at least one meal a week that is not spaghetti, taco or broiled/grilled chicken
--Potty train DS
--Strike a healthy budget balance (weekly instead of biweekly is stressing me out for some reason)
--Maintain effectiveness at work, continue to meet less-official expectations (business development and outreach)
--Spend some time with DF, hopefully he'll visit
--Unpack the rest of the boxes from our April 2015 move

Before the end of 2015:

--Rollover tiny random old 401k into my IRA
--Get a Wegmans carddone!
--Move HSA to a custodian I hate less (may move to 2016 list)
--Bake a bunch of cookies and package them up for distribution to our awesome neighbors
--Clean house, which is a deceptively short two-word phrase...
--Finish sewing DH's pajama pants
--Come to terms with the fact that I'm going to wind up spending $300-400 over what I hoped to on Christmas and that's OK.
--Wrap a bunch of presents
--Agonize over whether I ought to go out and buy more $STUFF
--Drive 9 hours each way to visit DH's family and my dad, spend 4-5 days cooking, taking them shopping, trying to get DS to interact with them, and not strangling anybody.

...frankly, 2016 goals look pretty easy in comparison.  

[Deleted]

Dec 20, 2015 20:05:58 GMT -5 Robert not Bobby said:

Isn't this a little early for new years goals (resolutions)...

Um...you do realize it's almost the end of the year right? 

[Lizard Queen]

That's why this is a little too early--we have to get through Christmas first! (At least those of us that still have preparations to make.)

[Robert not Bobby]

Dec 21, 2015 10:01:48 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

That's why this is a little too early--we have to get through Christmas first! (At least those of us that still have preparations to make.)

Here here...don't get me wrong, I like planning ahead and having a strategy. But sometimes, you have to get through your family and that awkward uncle at Christmas before you can start planning how much of a better person, with better habits, you are going to be in 2016.

For me, new years resolutions are like giving something up for lent after fat Tuesday...I always give up
Brussels Sprouts, and I succeed.

I know, that's cheating.

[HoneyBBQ]

Dec 20, 2015 20:05:58 GMT -5 Robert not Bobby said:

This is absurd, most of you know that you won't reach a fraction of those goals. But goals can be important...but don't beat yourself up if you don't come near to achieving them.

Isn't this a little early for new years goals (resolutions)...my goal is to try to be a better man and love my children more and show them by example. I think I can do that...and I have all sorts of wiggle room.

Keep them vague, you can convince yourself that you have achieved them.

  LOL 

[HoneyBBQ]

Dec 20, 2015 21:36:55 GMT -5 swamp said:

Oh yeah, I think I want to do the sprint triathlon in my town in August.  I'm afraid I will finish last. 

Wait, if you're doing tris you have to bond with me first. I did my first in May of this year and I'm HOOOOOOOOOKED.
I signed up for a half IM in 2016...

which gets to my list:

Finish my 70.3 IM Victoria
Track expenses better using Mint
Figure out what to do with my kid for school (another year of pre K or private K ((yes, omg))
Do a lot more hiking/camping than last year.

[Cookies Galore]

Dec 21, 2015 16:20:06 GMT -5 HoneyBBQ said:

Dec 20, 2015 21:36:55 GMT -5 swamp said:

Oh yeah, I think I want to do the sprint triathlon in my town in August.  I'm afraid I will finish last. 

Wait, if you're doing tris you have to bond with me first. I did my first in May of this year and I'm HOOOOOOOOOKED.
I signed up for a half IM in 2016...

which gets to my list:

Finish my 70.3 IM Victoria
Track expenses better using Mint
Figure out what to do with my kid for school (another year of pre K or private K ((yes, omg))
Do a lot more hiking/camping than last year.

Awesome! Hubs is going to do his first half IM in 2016 as well!

[HoneyBBQ]

Cookies Galore

Which one??

[Cookies Galore]

Dec 21, 2015 17:22:30 GMT -5 HoneyBBQ said:

Cookies Galore

Which one??

I think he's doing the Diamondman Challenge in Bear, DE. Ooh, exotic! Lol. I can't remember what else he was considering, but I like the price on this one and it's in September.

[Deleted]

I've been thinking a lot about goals because I am in the twilight of my career. I will turn 62 at the end of the month. My plan is to retire in 2019 (65) or 2020 (66). This would be at the end of the academic year (May), not the actual year (December). 

Here are the goals I have come up with so far:

• Attend one of the state's retirement seminars.  Trouble is that I have to burn a personal day.
• Increase my RSA-1 contribution.  It will be small, but stocks are on sale.
• Increase the extra toward principal by what our payment goes down. 
• Renegotiate some our expenses.  I've been working on this for about a month, and I've been successful with the newspaper (dropped all but Sunday), landline through cable (reset the promo rate), and satellite tv (a year of $30 a month credits).  Cell phones are my next goal.  We just went out of contract with Verizon.
• Declutter with emphasis on selling what is saleable.  I just sold a Vera Bradley purse and wallet that I haven't used in over a year. 

None of these are unrealistic.

[whoisjohngalt]

Dec 20, 2015 23:45:19 GMT -5 lurkyloo said:

--Max 401k
--Max Roth IRA
--Cook at least one meal a week that is not spaghetti, taco or broiled/grilled chicken
--Potty train DS
--Strike a healthy budget balance (weekly instead of biweekly is stressing me out for some reason)
--Maintain effectiveness at work, continue to meet less-official expectations (business development and outreach)
--Spend some time with DF, hopefully he'll visit
--Unpack the rest of the boxes from our April 2015 move

Before the end of 2015:

--Rollover tiny random old 401k into my IRA
--Get a Wegmans carddone!
--Move HSA to a custodian I hate less (may move to 2016 list)
--Bake a bunch of cookies and package them up for distribution to our awesome neighbors
--Clean house, which is a deceptively short two-word phrase...
--Finish sewing DH's pajama pants
--Come to terms with the fact that I'm going to wind up spending $300-400 over what I hoped to on Christmas and that's OK.
--Wrap a bunch of presents
--Agonize over whether I ought to go out and buy more $STUFF
--Drive 9 hours each way to visit DH's family and my dad, spend 4-5 days cooking, taking them shopping, trying to get DS to interact with them, and not strangling anybody.

...frankly, 2016 goals look pretty easy in comparison.  

I don't even know why you need to bother with the rest of the list.  You have accomplished THE most important item!!!

[zibazinski]

Get through 2016 as best I can. While trying to be happy as I can.

[ZaireinHD]

Dec 20, 2015 20:32:34 GMT -5 Shooby said:

I am behind on Dd's 529. I really plan to aggressively fund that. I want to get a new mattresss. DH and I have a King set but really would like to get a new one. Probably gonna buy a new car this summer.

too funny

I can't begin to say the ideas / thoughts that came up reading this one!

Best Wishes Shooby!

[zibazinski]

Shooby, you post like I think!!

[Lizard Queen]

Dec 20, 2015 16:01:17 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

Dec 20, 2015 10:45:43 GMT -5 @tbird said:

Basically - my goal is the same as 2015 - just make it through the year.

That's what I was going to say! 

I suppose I should do a couple.  I don't want to be too ambitious, as I'd probably not do most of them anyway:


Get a job.  Keep looking, enroll in Quickbooks class if still nothing in a few days


Spend <= income.  Time to actually use that YNAB I bought over a year ago, and keep up with it!


Establish better/healthier habits.  I do need to start exercising again.  should that be my January goal, or should I leave it for February?  January--declutter every day, and focus on eating more veggies/fruits!  Maybe focus on exercising in February when the gym will no longer be crowded with people.


Finish/follow through on things.  January--Finish reading my books before starting on new ones.

K, now that we've survived the Christmas marathon, I can flesh out my goals a bit.   Updated above. 

[swamp]

I think I'm also going to aim for $1,000 a month into the brokerage account. this ties into my retirement goals.

[shanendoah]

My three main goals are really about re-establishing good habits I have let lapse.

Main Goals
1) Start tracking expenses again, and make a spending plan. (I did this for 11 years, and then stopped 2 years ago due to job loss/depression. I have created a new spreadsheet and have a good start.)
2) Stop random snacking/re-establish good eating habits. (When Pop Tart joined us 2 1/2 years ago, I had lost over 60lbs and was less than 20 away from my goal. I maintained the weight loss for 2 years, until my surgery this summer, when we had some medication issues, and I started gaining again. I have also fallen out of some of the good habits I had established. I need to go back to them. That might mean tracking everything I eat again.)
3) Walk/exercise more. (Again, this fell off when Pop Tart joined us. I need to start again. I got a fitbit for my birthday, and I know the tracking of steps helps motivate me, so hoping to get back into my walking just to walk practice again.)

Financial Goals
4) Fully fund a 2015 and a 2016 ROTH for C
5) Save $100+/month in Pop Tart's launch fund (goal of $1,250/yr)
6) Get Term life for me - enough to cover the new mortgage if something were to happen

Physical Health Goals
7) Go vegetarian for 3 months. (C and I have done this before. Pop Tart is really interested in doing it. It will take some planning, but is completely doable.)
8) Take a Yoga class with Pop Tart

Mental Health Goals
9) Take a Mindful Meditation class (possibly with Pop Tart)
10) Maintain my once a week writing night

Education Goals
11) Complete necessary training hours to renew foster license
12) Attend professional conferences for work
13) Attend FinCon conference for me