31 Days Left

Way back in January, I posted my goals for 2010. With just 31 days left in 2010, let's take a look at how things panned out. My goals are in red and my progress is in black:

1.Create a newlywed map. I meant to buy a map on eBay but got sidetracked in February... and then it just sort of didn't happen.

2.Plan monthly date nights. Real dates. Every month. This did happen... yey for us.

3.Go grocery shopping once a week, with no extra trips for "one or two things". Huge fail. I love the grocery store. I can't stay away. Also? I never buy enough ice cream on Sunday to last through the week.

4.Menu plan. I already know the first few weeks will be a huge pain in the ass, but it will be worth it. I did this on the blog for a while, and then kind of stopped. I always make a loose plan for the grocery store though, so I'd say this was a success.

5.Aquire one of those 10% WW key chains. This will be a 2011 goal. The 60 lbs I put on during pregnancy need to come off :-) I'm down 40 and have 20 to go!

6.Vacation: North Carolina August 2010. It was awesome.

7.Get rid of the crap in our house. Really pare down all of our "stuff". Take everything else to Goodwill. Success. When we were cleaning out the second bedroom to turn it into a nursery, I was making trips to Goodwill every single weekend. There's probably more we could get rid of, but overall, this was a huge success.

8.Take LOTS of pictures with our Canon Rebel. Complete a 2010 photo book. Done and done. Well, I'm working on the book, so it's not actually done... but it will be.

9.Get rid of our CCCS debt. I want it gone now. DONE. October 8, 2010.

10.Beef up our savings account. We'll be exactly where I want to be come Jan. 1!

So it looks like the only thing that I really didn't do was #1... not too shabby for a year's worth of goals. Oh, and Secret Goal #11? Accomplished.

March Recap

Remember my New Years Goals? Yeah.... me too. I skipped my recap for February, but I'm back on the bandwagon for March. Let's see how I'm doing, shall we?

Weight Loss
Still in my size 4 jeans (from the GAP!!!) so that's good! I lost a couple pounds in February and have been maintaining in March... and realistically, that's good enough for me. I can probably cross this one off my list.

Debt Reduction
OMG we are knocking this one out of the park. I've redone the budget in a way that gets Ryan's CCCS paid off in September and mine done in November. Part of it was lowing some of our monthly bills (cable and car insurance) and part of it was sacrifice (maybe we don't need so much "fun money' every month). When we started CCCS there was literally NO LIGHT at the end of the tunnel. Now? I need sunglasses (for the light at the end of the tunnel - get it?). It's amazing. Even after a TON of set backs this year (um, $500 car repairs in January, huge IRS bill, and 2 new tires in February) I'm feeling great about our situation and cannot wait to send in our big payment in April (and May, etc). Paying off our debt is going to be one of the greatest accomplishments of our lives. I am literally counting down the days.

Misc. 2010 Goals
Menu Planning & Once a Week Grocery Shopping - It got kind of sketchy in February, but we've been doing a much better job on this in March. Our grocery bill has gone down about $50 each trip, which has been saving us nearly $200 a month. This is really working for us.

Getting Rid of Crap in the House - This was a big WIN in March (even though the latest carload of Goodwill stuff is still sitting in my car....)

Take Lots of Pictures with the Rebel - Yes. Happening.

Beef Up Our Savings Account - This is one where we haven't made much progress (other than the same old monthly contribution), but will be shortly. Ryan's expecting a payout on vacation days and a check from a lifeguarding class he took... we know the money is "in the mail" but don't have it in hand yet. As soon as it gets here, though, it's going directly to savings and the new number in our account will make me smile lots.

Date Night - Outback Steakhouse. It's our "someone got a new job" tradition, and since Ryan got a new job, we celebrated with obscene amounts of bloomin' onion, salad, and steak. It was delicious (both for dinner and reheated for lunch the next day). It was also nice to go out and eat at a table... we're guilty of sitting in the living room at the coffee table every night. Whoops.
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Wow, when it's all there in black and white, it really looks like we're doing a good job keeping up with the goals we (I) set back in January. We're only a quarter of the way through the year and looking at my recaps, I'm feeling good about what we've accomplished... even though it's nothing major like buying a house or something. But it's the small things that get us through day to day life, right?

January Recap

The original reason for even starting my blog (on Jan. 1 2009) was to keep track of debt reduction and weight loss. On January 1 of this year, I made a new list of goals - shockingly (or not) debt reduction and weight loss topped the chart again. What's different this year? I'm going to do a monthly recap to make sure I'm staying on top of my goals so that each and every one gets accomplished.

Weight Loss
This one has been slow going, but I'm still doing Weight Watchers and have lost a total of 8 pounds so far (since November, so it's not really that impressive). However, I'm now in size 4 jeans... I have never worn size 4 jeans in my life. Not even in college. I'm thrilled with my progress on this one! My goal for February is to lose a total of 4 pounds.

Debt Reduction
The little ticker at the bottom of the page is set to count down the percentage paid on our CCCS accounts starting with the total left in November 2009. In the past 3 months, we've paid 19.4%, leaving a total of 80.6% still to go. To be done in November, we need to pay at least 8.96% each month moving forward, so I'll need to figure out how to shuffle to budget to accommodate that. I think I can send in a double payment on my account this month. Keep an eye on the ticker!

Misc. 2010 Goals
Menu Planning & Once a Week Grocery Shopping - I rocked it in January, doing a menu each week and shopping just once! I missed yesterday because we spent Sunday in the emergency vet clinic with Marley so this week is a free for all. Back on the train next week, though. We've been saving a ton of money buying just what we need and not a ton of extra crap "because it's on sale". This has been pretty key in the debt reduction part of things... it was the random trips to the grocery store each week that really killed us.

Getting Rid of Crap in the House - I took a total of 3 trips to the Goodwill store this month, each time with a car load of stuff. It was mostly clothes, but also some random "stuff". An old iron, a few laundry baskets... stuff that was just taking up space in our little house. The closets aren't as jam-packed any more, but we still need to pare down some more. I know there's stuff in here we don't use, and we just need to get rid of it.

Take Lots of Pictures with the Rebel - Mission accomplished. I took a shit ton of awesome photos in January... not I just need to get them on to the computer so I can share them with you!

Beef Up Our Savings Account - This is an area we're really lacking in because our drive to pay off debt is so strong. In theory, we're paying more in credit card interest than we'd be gaining in interest if this money was sent to a savings account.... however, it's a little disconcerting to look at my bank statement and not see our savings going up every month. To be fair, we ended up with a boat load of emergencies (new alternator, emerg. vet bill) this month and didn't touch our savings at all to pay for them, so that was awesome.

Date Night - Pazo in Baltimore. The restaurant was beautiful, the food was amazing, and the little chocolate cupcakes with whipped cream and salted caramel were to die for. Great dinner. A+ on that date night.

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So that was January in a nutshell. I still have no idea what's for dinner this week, so I'll put something together and get it up tomorrow morning. Happy February!