I’m smoking my quarterly goals this year so far. Part of my success has been that my goals were realistic and attainable, the other part has been that this year has been good to me so far. A few things that have worked to my advantage:
- Job security. In the past, our income has fluctuated tremendously and January has always been one of our lowest income producing months. However, due to my job security (for now) and a few big projects Mr. LH has taken on, we’ve had a steady flow of income which has helped pay down debt and save money.
- Smaller goals. Instead of saying, “I’m going to be debt free this year!” I’ve broken my debt repayment into small chunks. This quarter, I’m focusing on paying off $3,000 in credit card debt. Mission accomplished!
- Realistic tasks. My ebook is finished and I had it converted to an ePub file. I submitted it with BookBaby.com which then submits it to other sites like Amazon. This week I’ll be promoting the book, Newlywed Financial Bliss Ebook, and giving away free PDF versions, which is originally how I wanted to sell it. Whoo hoo! Finally DONE!
- Working on building good habits. I decided to save a weekly amount on top of what I already save each month. I’m using the 52-week savings plan in reverse which is helping me build a weekly savings habit. So far, I’m on week 6 and have saved an additional $297.
Now the only quarterly goal I’ve fallen behind on is working out 3-times a week to The 30-Day Shred. Unfortunately with the new projects, I’ve had less time to spend shredding. I’m still able to squeeze in two days a week, and soon I’ll be able to get back up to three when things get a little quieter.
My progress this quarter has motivated me to set my next quarter goals which will include increasing retirement savings and investments. I’m already plotting out a few ideas, like increasing my monthly contribution toward my mutual fund and saving for a possible rental property. Early March I’ll be ready to share my second quarter goals.
How are you doing this year so far?
5 Comments
Way to go! I think that setting realistic goals can actually help people be more productive, and what you’re saying supports that. It’s better that setting much bigger goals that are probably not attainable and could cause frustration if not reached.
Congrats on the eBook being done, that’s also cool. Just an idea – describing your process of writing and launching the book would be an interesting future post.
@Tie the Money Knot – My quarterly goals are really working out well- much more manageable. As for the eBook, I’m happy it’s finished. Now I just have to promote it!
Wow, you are doing really well. Congrats! I am definitely making progress with my goals.
Way to go, especially on the credit card debt! Can’t wait to see how you do on next quarter’s goals!
@Melissa – I’m really looking forward to setting my second quarter goals. I’m focusing in on getting rid of all credit card debt which I should be able to accomplish by June 30th and re-booting my 52-week savings plan, which means I’ll save even more than I thought!