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Earlier this year, I posted a lengthy and semi-unrealistic list of my 2019 New Years goals. I then proceeded to never speak of it again for nine months, even though I was actively working on them the whole time. I’ve actually made some progress too!
Today, I’d like to share with you what I have and haven’t been able to accomplish so far in 2019, and what I’ve been doing to work on each one. A lot of these have been slow to achieve, but I was able to cross them off the list with consistent effort over time.
No, I am not a patient girl, and I’m always putting pressure on myself to get things done sooner than is possible. However, I think it’s because of my eagerness to achieve that I keep coming back each day, week, and month to chip away at these things.
So what all have I crossed off my goals list so far this year?
The Current Status of My 2019 Goals
Pretty Up the Yard – Done
Since my husband and I moved into our house right around 2 years ago, we’ve sighed at our eyesore of a yard every time we pulled into the driveway. Last year, our big project was the kitchen, so all of our funds went towards the tear out and complete overhaul of what was initially there.
This year though, there were no big projects on the agenda, as we were still recovering financially and paying off our kitchen. Therefore, we were finally freed up to focus on the back and front yards, and when I say “we” I mean my husband. Yep, he deserves the full credit. It’s okay though, because my hubby loves working on the yard. I just pop in every so often to help pick out plants. You know, the fun part!
Now when we step into the back yard, we see better grass, rose bushes, and a couple hydrangeas. We even tried our hand at growing vegetables this summer, and came out with a few cucumbers and peppers. Not bad, eh?
Pay Off Our Kitchen – Done
When we remodeled our kitchen a year ago, my husband and I applied for a 0% interest credit card to help finance it. We were very aware that this credit card was only going to be 0% interest for 18 months, and I absolutely REFUSE on principle to pay credit card interest. Therefore, we set a timeline for paying it off.
We actually already have a household budget that tracks what money we bring in and spend monthly. After adding in the new credit card payment, we adjusted our other expenses accordingly. Thankfully, we were in a position where all we needed to do was reduce our savings each month.
Each month we made the calculated payment as soon as we received our paycheck so that it got paid before it could be spent on something else. In September, about a year later, that sucker was gone, and the Citi Simplicity card that we were using is now decommissioned (ie. cut up or shoved in a drawer) for good.
Pay Off Our Living Room Furniture – Done
The strategy here was similar to the one employed for paying off the kitchen. Also, I misspoke in my original post, saying we were paying off living room furniture when it was actually bedroom and dining room furniture. Not that it changes anything.
We bought this furniture when we moved into our house two years ago. Until the beginning of 2019, we had only been paying just about $25 dollars over the minimum payment each month.
As of January, we increased our monthly payment by $100 dollars, aiming to pay off the furniture by the end of the year. Then I received a promotion and raise at my job and March, and we increased this payment by another $100. This meant we could aim to pay the balance off in September, along with the Citi Card.
Fast forward nine months later, and this bad boy is gone for good too!
Pay Off My Car
Even though my husband banned me from trying to pay my car off in 2019, we’ve still made great progress on it. By the end of 2019, we are projected to only have about $3,500 left to pay. If all goes right, we should have it paid off by August 2020.
Complete the Cleveland Brewery Passport
Truth be told, we did not complete the 2018-2019 brewery passport. We didn’t commit to it until April, when there was only two months left to hit up most of the 30 breweries. Ultimately, we threw in the towel.
However, we have restarted our attempt to complete the passport for the 2019-2020 year. Now we are being smart by starting our attempt in September rather than April. We’ve actually already completed about a third of the passport. If we keep this pace up, I’ll think we’ll definitely finish on time.
Finish Furnishing Our Living Room
While we did not exactly “finish furnishing” our living room, we did buy a new extra large chair. I love the new chair and the pillow of Paris, which is the newest addition to my map-themed décor.
Be Able to Do Crow Pose
Nine months later, I still cannot do crow pose. I haven’t exactly been working on this one at all either, and don’t really specifically plan to this year. Plus, I haven’t even been to yoga in months, so there’s that…
Write One Blog Post a Week
Writing one blog post per week hasn’t exactly been happening this year, although I’ve been trying my best! I was super consistent for about two and a half months before it became tax season at work. That time of year is insane, and makes it very difficult to keep up the blog consistently, with my job requiring longer hours.
That being said, I have kept striving to be as consistent as possible, and I’ve managed to post about 3-4 articles each month! That’s not even including the multiple guest posts I’ve done this year. Even more importantly, I’ve posted much more than my first year of blogging, which is a major win.
Read One Book a Month
Well, I called it. I definitely haven’t been reading one book a month. However, I have read some books this year (mostly on vacations), and they are shown below. Yes, I have been on a bit of a Rachel Hollis kick this year…
Have More of a Home Office Set Up
I’ve always had jobs that allowed me to work from home at times, but never had a good area in my house to do it. This year, we finally made it an official goal to purchase some monitors, a keyboard and mouse for a home office. We actually did it, and now it’s so much easier for me to work from home when I need to!
Get to Level 2 in Italian and French
I hate to admit it, but it turns out that trying to learn two languages while working a full time job, growing a blog, and trying to plan trips is wayyy too much! Unfortunately, I had to stop learning Italian, but I did continue with French and actually managed to learn a lot. I think I actually know more now than I ever did in high school.
I have not officially tested my French language learning level. However, we recently spent 2 days in Paris and even ventured outside of the city for a wedding. There were definitely a few encounters with people who did not speak English, and we were actually able to get by with my limited French. It’s kind of crazy to me that I’ve actually been able to teach myself so much of a language this year!
I had to take a break for a couple months after our return from Paris to focus on a hectic season at work. However, I do plan to continue learning French once work gets less busy, and really, really want to go back to France and practice some more!
Buy a New Camera Lens – Done
In March, after my promotion and raise, I finally felt ready to purchase a new camera lens (they are so expensive!). I went with the Sigma 16mm F1.4, and love it so far. I will admit, I am still trying to learn how to use it to its full capability. However, I’ve been having fun playing with it, and used it for a lot of my Italy and France photos.
• • •
It turns out there are not many on this list that are completely “done”. However, I’ve made progress on basically all of them, which is what I mostly care about. Progress not perfection, right? I’ll still be working on a few of these goals during the last few months of the year, particularly publishing one blog post each week and learning French. Crow pose and reading 12 books is still looking unlikely, but you never know!
Do you make New Years goals each year? What have you been working on during 2019?
