2019 New Year Goals

I don’t normally do New Year’s resolutions.  I really think goals should be made, and remade, and met and new goals made.. all the time.  If I want to diet I start today.  Not in a week or month.  I feel the same about any goal.  So to have a resolution (or many) and wait until 1/1 to start them seems insane to me.  But there are a few things I want do make sure I do this year.  More of a mini-bucket list of goals vs resolutions.  I might add to this or amend it as the year goes on.  Hopefully I don’t forget about it.  The goals will be about me. They will include my kids, since they are a huge part of my life, but I want to do a lot more for myself this year too.

New Me… Inside & Out

I feel like I do stuff with and for my kids 24/7.  It is rare for me to do things without them except an occasional go to lunch or dinner with a friend.  A few months ago I started an oil painting class with the local Park & Rec with a friend and started a CERT class with the same friend.  This was crazy for me to be gone two nights a week, each week.  Kids were YOYO as my friend likes to call it (You’re On Your Own) for making their own dinner.  The CERT class didn’t end in November due to the Woolsey fires so they will be picking back up in January and our graduation will be towards the end of the month.  Instead of a painting class we are thinking of taking ceramics class.  I’m so excited about both of these and my own ME time (that isn’t sleeping, blogging or when I’m abandoned doing laundry or dishes).

• Take new classes.  Art, ceramic, painting, website design, photography, etc.  They can be for fun or educational or both.  Ceramic class has been on my bucket list since high school (since I was always taking academic classes and didn’t make time for something like a ceramic class).  Classes like photography will help me with my blog too.
• Explore more.  There are a lot of local  museums I haven’t been to and a ton I’ve been to but it has been a few years.  I want to see them all.  Even if I can’t drag the kids.  I can bring a friend or go alone.  I’ve always loved going to museums and I miss not going regularly (when the kids were little we’d do some sort of field trip on Thursdays as much as possible on our own or with other homeschool families).
• Exercise. Yes, this is probably on everyone’s list.  But I really need to get in better shape and lose 60 lbs.  Seeing I’m now having problems with my back is a bigger push and incentive.  This can be the gym, hiking, going to the park to play Pokemon Go (yes, I love playing it, I’m at level 38), or going for a walk around my neighborhood.
• Date.  I suck at dating and don’t make time to do it.  This will not be a priority at all but is still something I want to make more room for in my life.
• Try new restaurants.  There is at least a dozen in my city I have never been to and more in surrounding cities and in Los Angeles.  I want to say I’ve tried every type of cuisine out there and a lot of dishes from each one.
• Read more books.
• Learn more… this would be a part of all of this would list and more!

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Money… YES.. MONEY!

I want to discuss money.  It isn’t something everyone talks about.  But I’ve been a single parent over 14 years now (yes, wow!) and taking care of my kids.  I do get child support and am thankful for that, but it isn’t all my income.  I also run a family construction company and I also blog (duh, you knew about the blogging if you are reading this).  I’m trying really hard to do the baby steps of Dave Ramsey.  I want to get out of debt, be out of debt, have money in savings and be ahead!  Seems so easy but things are always hitting me.  At the beginning of this year I had a 2003 Mercury Mountaineer. I loved my car.  It was roomy, comfortable, high off the ground, seated 8.  But it was old, falling apart and got horrible mileage (14-16 MPG). From March to May I put over $3,000 in repairs in it and it still had problems.  I always felt like I was waiting for it to break down and die.  I had to rent a car for any long distance trips, like when my daughter had track meets in San Diego or when we went to Carlsbad and Indian Wells on mini-vacations for my blog.  I ended up buying a new(er) car.  I got a 2016 Nissan Sentra.  I am not happy about financing it but didn’t have another choice.  I didn’t want something really old and worry about repairs.  My car payment is $300 ($270 but I send them $300 a month) BUT I was spending $300 a month in gas for the Mercury and the new car is about $90 a month in gas.  So I’m spending $200 less in gas PLUS all the repairs.  One of my goals is to work really hard to pay this car off as fast as I can.

Pay off:

• Credit card $4200.
• Car: $14,000 (rounded off).
• House… too much, but it is in the Dave Ramsey plan.
• Pay off a few small credit cards.
• Save money for root canal and crown ($1100 needed).

Income:

• Triple blogger income.
• Will be losing child support for one child in June, when he graduates high school.
• Work more once daughter has driver’s license and I can be at a desk more and less of a taxi-mom.
• Publish some blogging books on Amazon.
• Have son off of my car insurance (costing me $240 a month).
• Find ways to cut bills, like utilities and internet, to reduce monthly costs.
• Use coupons more.
• Might add more as I go.

Blogging:

• Have a better to-do list and be more organized.
• Write more posts about single parenting and divorce.
• Write more posts about travel.
• Do fewer product reviews.
• Write more recipes.
• Have more passive income.
• Write books (that are on scrap paper and in my head).

Travel:

I really want to travel more with the kids before they get too old (and have SO’s, are in college, have jobs and can’t miss work, etc).  Until both are 18 I have to have my ex’s permission to bring them out of California (but this has never been a problem) and neither kid has a passport.  The first two are the ones I really want to start planning for, even if we don’t have money to do them for a year or longer.

• Take kids to Hawaii (can’t decided which island yet).
• Take kids on a cruise.
• Take kids to Alaska (possibly as a part of the cruise).
• Explore more of California, including central California (I’ve only been to Northern California and here, where I live, in Southern California and never to the middle of our state.  I would love for someone to mention a city in California and me be able to relate to it and know exactly where it is, what is there, the museums or sites to see, etc.
• Check off more of other states to explore.  So far the kids (sometimes daughter only for the junior olympics in track and field) have been to Arizona, Iowa, Michigan, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Colorado.
• Take Daeton to DaYton, Ohio, just so he can say he’s been there (he says he wants to wear a crown and say he is their king and they need to change the name of their city to be spelled Daeton).  Just a silly childhood thing of his- but it would create such crazy memories to actually do it.
• Take the kids south to explore Mexico, central America and South America.
• Go to Canada.

Home:

• I would like to finish decluttering all the rooms in my house then do some projects I’ve been putting off.  We painted my daughter’s room last year with a light remodel and she loves it.  I’d like to do more rooms.
• Paint front bathroom and remodel it.
• Paint living room.
• Reorganize whole garage.
• Put shelves up in son’s room for all his LEGO’s.
• Plant more fruit trees in backyard.
• Plant weeping willow and Crepe Myrtle trees in front yard.
• Plant more vegetables in backyard.
• Meal plan more, for the week or even a monthly menu so that I can spend less on groceries by buying things on sale and using coupons.
• Eat more meals at home with the kids (we almost always have dinner together and they are usually on YOYO for breakfast and lunch.  I’d like to plan it where we try to get these meals together too, even if it is just a cup of yogurt or a sandwich.  I think having them help make more family meals and we take turns cooking will help too.
• Buy a new desk for my blog.
• Buy a new kitchen table and chairs (or find a nice used set online, like FB marketplace or Craig’s list).
• Buy my daughter and myself new dressers (both of ours suck and the drawers get stuck).
• Buy a new dishwasher (or get one blogging).

More…

I’m not quite sure what else to add.  I feel like this list just got bigger as I was typing.  I’m sure more things will pop into my head.  Hopefully I’ll make a note and add them to this (ginormous) list.  I’m excited for the new year and all it has to offer.

What are your New Year Goals for 2019?  I would love to hear them and I might copy some of your ideas!