Getting Your Year Into Gear - Family Goals

I'm not one for New Years resolutions but I do love to set new goals.  At the start of each year amongst all my planning and budgeting,  Darren and I talk about what we'd like to achieve over the next twelve months.

Sometimes we plan a few years in advance if the goal is a big one.  For the last two years we've been saving for a new car for me.  That's two years of saving with another three years to go.  My car is working just fine but it is almost ten years old and won't last forever.  When we get to our goal in three years time,  if my car is still running trouble free,  we'll just keep those savings locked away and start saving for Darren's new car.  To achieve my ' new car ' goal,  we've worked out how much we want to spend on a car,  when we might need it,  then divided it into a monthly savings goal.

Next year is our 25th wedding anniversary and we'd love to go to the Cook Islands with a short stop over in New Zealand on the way back.  We've decided to go all out and stay in luxury accommodation when at the Cook Islands.  This comes at a large cost so we've been saving for the last three years with another twelve months worth of saving to go before we reach our goal.

Home renovations and repairs are usually ongoing.  Each year we work out what needs replacing and what is the most urgent.  As we save,  we do our research along the way to find the best deals / brands and to make sure we are saving enough money in the allotted time.

Family goals could include children's activities and sports.  Your children might be involved in too many activities that it's harming the family budget or encroaching on quality family time.  Re-evaluating what's important and if it's working should be done before the new season / term begins.

Maybe this year is the year to start your children in sports,  clubs or a new hobby.  Ask around,  do your research and do the sums.  There can be extra costs for costumes,  competitions,  travel,  equipment,  camps or extra training.  Can your budget cope with this ?

Using the first couple of months of a new year to set your goals gives you a great chance of achieving them.  Talking about doing this or that one day is not a plan,  just a dream.  Dreams are great,  but making a plan to reach those dreams is far more satisfying.

Here are some of our previous goals -

Any excuse to post another photo of my new kitchen 2016

Brisbane holiday 2018

Darren's car 2015 - from memory

New lounge suite was 2018's goal.  Arrived last month

What are your goals for this year and how will your achieve them ?

Links to the other posts in this series -

Getting Your Year Into Gear - The Family Budget

Getting Your Year Into Gear - The Gift Giving Budget

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Goals For 2017

Over the month of January I've had time to think and plan our goals for 2017.  I always feel more at peace when I know where we are heading for the year.  Planning ahead gives me a better chance of succeeding and prolongs the enjoyment of reaching our family's goals.

Garden goals -

*  Plant the grape plants when the time is right.  We'll need to nurture the plants with the hope we can pick grapes next year.

*  Prune and nurture our mandarin tree.  It's been in the ground for 5 - 6 years and just doesn't seem to grow.  We feed it when we are meant to but to no avail.  Thankfully we have a few mandarins that look like they've set ( for the first time ).

*  Grow a few more veggies and plan succession planting.

*  Get the front garden into order.  It tends to be left for most of the year because we don't look at it as often as the back garden.  Plants need to be pruned and new plants need to be bought or struck to fill in the gaps.

*  Plant out the boysenberry bush in front of Darren's garden shed and put up a trellis of some description.

House goals -

*  Install canvas awnings on a few windows before next Summer

*  Paint all the timber door trims to match the new skirting boards.

*  Continue decluttering.  My goal is 500 items by the end of the year.

Budget goals -

*  Save for the canvas awnings

*  Continue saving for a new car.  Mine will need replacing in the next 5 - 7 years.  I'd like to pay cash when the time comes to buy.

*  Save for our next holiday.

*  Reducing our spending in a few areas without feeling deprived.  For example - finding ways to have free outings instead of spending money.

*  Investigate ways of increasing our income.

Craft goals -

 *  Research new craft items to make and sell in my Etsy shop.  These items need to be fairly light and flat so that postage is kept to a minimum for the customers.

*  Make new greeting cards to sell in my Etsy shop.  I'd like a wide variety that appeals to everyone.  Maybe I'll concentrate on more children's / teen cards.

*  Dedicate  X amount of hours per week to crafting.

Would you like to share your goals for the year ?

   

2016 Goals

As I mentioned last week, a new year means new goals and a new budget.  It's time to start afresh.  Have you had the chance to think about what you'd like to achieve this year ?

Here are my goals for this year -

*  Learn how to crochet.  If I can't find anyone to teach me,  I'll be looking up youtube.  I'd like to be able to crochet beautiful edges around face washers,  towels and tea towels etc.  Annabel's beautiful handiwork has really inspired me to learn.

*  I'd like to give more handmade presents.  If I learn to crochet,  this will help me achieve the goal.

*  To grow more veggies in succession.  For example,  to plant more lettuce seeds while I'm still picking from the plants in the veggie patch.

*  To find ways of increasing my income.  This year will see me losing most of my cleaning jobs.  Although I don't want to be cleaning for too much longer due to wear and tear on my body, I do like contributing the the household income.  Increasing my income might come through selling some of my crafts,  public speaking,  holding workshops or speaking at workshops.  I might even set up a shop  here on the blog.

*  Finish writing my book.  This is a big one but I will have more spare time this year.  No excuses !!

*  Set up some exciting new challenges for you to participate in.  Maybe even hold a Christmas present exchange later in the year.

* Continue to find ways to trim the family budget,  yet still live well.  I might need to do more research on frugal living.  There's always more to learn.

Making more

Growing more

Cooking more

What goals would you like to achieve this year ?