New Year = New Beginnings

Hooray, it’s 2019! A new year = new beginnings and I’m excited. I was about to write how I was sad that last year has gone so fast when I came across this quote:

“Those who make the worst use of their time are the first to complain of its brevity.” ― Jean de La Bruyère, Les Caractères

It’s a good reminder for all of us to make the most of each day and give thanks at all the opportunities that come before us. It’s true that on days when I get a lot done, I don’t wish I had more time. Instead I feel satisfied with a fulfilling sense of accomplishment.

I listened to a podcast a few months ago about time management and the speaker was talking about how people who fill their days with events or activities such as meeting up with friends, going for a walk outside for fresh air, or sitting down for a family dinner have a more fulfilling sense of time versus people who choose not to do much of anything at all. Funny, right? Filling your day with more things sounds counterintuitive to feeling less busy, but studies show it works.

“Time is a created thing. To say ‘I don’t have time,’ is like saying, ‘I don’t want to.” ― Lao Tzu

What Will You Do This Year?

I’ve always loved making lists of goals and resolutions at the start of a new year. In the past I used to make huge laundry lists of things I wanted to do, but I’ve learned that a bit less and more specific lists lead to greater success. What do you want to accomplish this year?

Having entered bear market territory in December, setting some financial goals is a wise move. 2019 is not the year to splurge to no end; it’s a year for dialing back your expenses, diversifying, and hunkering down while we ride out a likely dark and gloomy financial storm for the next one to two years.

Here are some posts you can check out if you want to get some goal setting ideas.

• Tips For Creating Smarter Goals
• Get Rid Of Bad Habits Once And For All
• Personal Finance Goals For Freelancers
• 100 Bucket List Ideas To Get You Off The Couch

My Goals For 2019

There’s always a laundry list of things I want to get done each day. As a full-time stay at home mom it’s a challenge though because my son is the top priority and he makes sure I don’t forget it too haha. But hopefully I can get through a lot of my goals below with enough patience, persistence and time management.

Tier 1 Goals

• Be the best mom I can be and have FUN each day. Take more pictures and videos (easier said than done with an active toddler).
• Complete a book editing project while simultaneously learning how to use Adobe Acrobat Pro and the latest version of Microsoft Word
• Work on “trust funding,” i.e. transferring title of my biggest assets into a Trust I setup in 2018. I also need to gather my old will and related docs and destroy them to avoid confusion.
• Actively work on writing projects each week to update and produce more pages, articles and reviews
• Try to invest twice a quarter and pay down extra principal on my mortgage
• Be more supportive and patient. Continue to work on communicating clearly.
• Attempt to create a sleek digital course.

Tier 2 Goals

• Give Untemplater more love. Writing on Untemplater used to be my priority when it came to writing. My project work has shifted this, but I still want to try and write more posts and pages on Untemplater as time permits.
• Find a regular weekend babysitter. Keeping regular part-time help is harder than it sounds, but worth it.
• Replace our hot water heater. Not a fun project, but will be worth the time and cost I think.
• Stay on top of updates for my laptop, watch, phone. And backup my files and pictures on and off the cloud.
• Create photo books of 2018 and 2019. So time consuming, but so worth the effort once they’re done.
• Organize 2 hallway closets, the kitchen cabinets, some old file boxes, and the garage.

It’s been a crazy week for me and doesn’t really feel like New Years yet for some reason, but maybe that’s because every day still feels like Christmas. 🙂

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” ― Mother Theresa

If you’re looking for more personal finance content, have a listen to a great personal finance podcast by Financial Samurai.