Yay, you’re back! Good to see you again! ? Okay so last time, we established our ‘end’ goals; now we need to figure out how we’re going to accomplish them. Most of you have heard of setting S.M.A.R.T goals right? No?!? Seriously guise…
Well, for those who haven’t S.M.A.R.T. goals are Specific Measurable AchievableResults-driven and Time-bound. Yes, alladat! Need more explanation…? Okay basically, our goals need to be simple and clearly defined, …measurable… lol, stretched enough so they challenge you yet easy enough to accomplish, should be measured by outcomes, and lastly, they need a timeframe. Got it, now? Good. So now we set our goals and figure out what steps we need to take to tackle the larger goals we’ve chosen. So one by one, little by little starting with the smallest goal on our list.
Of the goals on my list, here are the smaller goals I’ll begin with:
Create my budget. – I’m starting with this because I cannot accomplish anything without a budget. The budget will be my next post and I’ll go into detail on how I made it, what it looks like, etc. (Yes I’m going to share my *semi* actual budget with you guys because this is all about me being transparent…..*deep sigh*… don’t judge me!)
More money at the end of each month. Here I will set limits/rules on everything; pray for me because this is going to be A LOT.
No more than $200 a month on groceries; by groceries I mean food. That’s $50 per week to spend on food from farmers markets, Trader Joes, MOMs etc.
Pet supplies are semi-exempt from this because Rue (my dog) has to be taken care of but I will say that I usually don’t spend any more than $100 on him per month, so I’ll use that as a guide.
Entertainment – this is going out with friends, happy hours etc. no more than $100 per month yes this sounds crazy but when you’re a homebody it actually works out just fine, haha.
Gym membership – this is crazy because I have a gym in my apartment building (long sad face) it’s just not good enough; $32 a month.
Rent, utilities, the internet, gas, and emergency fund are all exempt from any real limit because they HAVE to be paid. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
My travel fund and expenses are a luxury… ‘if I ain’t got it, I can’t spend it’ – with exception of my trip this month, more to come later.
Tackle my debts – in order to help alleviate some of what I owe, I am vowing to commit part of what is left over at the end of the month to my Amex and student loan bills. I’m counting on you to keep me honest here.
Pack lunch… that’s it; I have to pack lunch. I do have a really bad habit of buying lunch so I’m going to stay honest with myself here and keep a “cash/other” category. Meaning: when I buy lunch, take cash out of my account, park at my job etc. that is where it goes. I’m hoping this will help me be more cognizant of what I’m spending on food outside of groceries and other things. This category will only get $150 a month that sounds like a lot but…yeah…we’ll address that later.
Shopping……*really deep long sigh*…. So.. this is a tough one… I don’t want to add it to my budget because I don’t want to be tempted. Me: “ooooo I got munneeyyy” My bank account: “HAHAHA you thought”. I’ll just be sad at the end of the month with no money left over……….. okay lmao that was too much but, whatever. Very limited shopping (after my vacation that is).
Finally! I almost feel like this post is tad redundant but, necessary… I’m really serious when I say I want to take you guys on this journey with me. Therefore, it is important to completely and thoroughly think through each aspect. Be on the lookout for the next post which will feature my budget, how I created it, what tools I’m using, and more!
With all these ducks up here, you’d think they were my favorite… they’re just really cute and explain my life oh so well… I’ll explain one day haha
Did you write down your goals? Follow along with me! Which goals are small and achievable? Can you get them done quickly, feel accomplished, and can confidently move on to the next? Comment below!
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