1. Walk at least 500 miles this year (10 miles down and 490 to go)
This week, I walked outside (in the freezing cold!) and did Bodyfit by Amy videos on YouTube (in the comfort of my nice cozy home). **Only 490 miles to go:)
2. Eat at least five fruits/vegetables every day
This past week I ate at least five fruits and vegetables for six out the seven days. (The other day I only had four) On an interesting note, the serving sizes of fruits and vegetables are way smaller than I thought they were. For instance, a large banana is two servings, a large apple is two servings, 1/2 cup of cooked veggies is one serving, etc. This discovery has made this daily goal a lot easier to check off so far. **Oh and I have noticed a dramatic change in my energy and mood levels over the past few weeks since I upped my veggie intake, so that is wonderful.
3. Learn Spanish this year
So far I have used Duolingo for 115 minutes this week. **I haven’t really started any of the true lessons yet because I have been slowly testing out of each level that I already know. I am surprised I remember so much from over 20 years ago!
4. Take a family outing each month
Not yet
5. Have more family game nights
This week we played Apples to Apples Jr. and Pass the Pigs. (I won Pass the Pigs by a landslide)
6. Buy more used items and keep track of the savings
This week I found a pretty sweater and a cute t-shirt at the thrift store for $3 each.
Total spent: $6
Estimated total saved by buying used for the year: $16
7. Finish my 2019 NaNoWriMo novel (~35,000 words) and publish it before November 1st.
12,482 words and counting…
If you want to check out my novel from last year it is Murder at Kelsey Hall and is free right now with Kindle Unlimited on Amazon.
8. Complete one home improvement or project each month Accomplished!
I have been on a decluttering kick lately so I am counting that as my project for this month. Every year I go through each room and closet in our house and physically lay hands on everything we own. This way I know what we have and what we need to get rid of. (I usually do this following the Christmas season due to the influx of new items we receive as gifts. Somethings just need to be rehomed before we reach hoarder status….)
This month, I cleaned out under our stairs (so creepy), reorganized our laundry room/utility room, cleaned out every closet, and straightened out my pantry. I got rid of a lot of trash and made a huge donation to the local thrift store. Now all I need to do is find somewhere to take our broken electronics and we should be good for the year.
9. Make a spiritual checklist to do with my kids each month
For January, we plan on:
Attending the Mary, Mother of God mass on New Year’s day
Attend one daily mass
Pray the Rosary on the way to mass each week
Go to an adoration
Go to confession
Clean the sanctuary
Wash the altar linens
**To sweeten the pot, I promised my kids that if we completed the whole checklist we will go for doughnuts to celebrate….they were very happy to hear that:)
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FYI: I decided to replace my sinking funds goal with the spiritual checklist because we plan on just funding the sinking funds with our tax return and that felt like cheating to me. Besides our spiritual life is more important (and more interesting) than our financial goals by a long shot.
Have you kickstarted your goals for the year??
The Thrifty Educator 