1. Break free from debt-now this has been on my list for awhile and will be on there for several years still, but every year we get out of one new debt! This is huge people and has helped us have a small amount of breathing room! For 2015 we have TWO get out of debt goals. They are both huge and will take a lot of time and energy to meet! But I know that we are able to accomplish more than we ever thought possible when we have God on our side.
- First Debt- Medical for Noah. Although this is the least amount that we have paid on a child because we payed a small amount each month while pregnant to the Dr, we still have a significant hospital bill to tackle. I don't really have a prize for this one, but just knowing we don't owe any medical debt is a huge relief we were without it for a couple months before we had him and it felt so GOOD to not owe any money on our children!
- Second Debt-Van payment. This debt is HUGE in comparison to any other one we have ever tried to accomplish in a year. We are aiming high this year to make sure we can live the life we want and break the chains of living in debt! To give you an idea of this goal, without disclosing the full amount-we have "owned" our van for a little over 2 years. We took out a 6 year loan to help us pay for it because we in no way had that kind of money-but we had to increase our vehicle size to accommodate our ever growing family. This means we have just under 4 years left of payments on this vehicle. We have done some financial planning and have cut a significant amount a month in insurance prices, so we will be throwing all our extra money towards this debt. We will live more frugal than normal for the next year because there is nothing worse than not meeting our goal :) Although if we don't meet it, we will just maybe make the goal a bit longer we just won't get the awesome prize we have planned for this one! Our prize/reward-next year(as in 2016) when we get our income tax money we will buy a camper so we can take family trips! I'm so super excited about this prize/reward so it makes me want to go hard core for this goal. I am even going to make a chart so we can keep track of how much money we are throwing at it each month! WOO HOO to family vacations!
2. Spend intentional time with my children each day. Teach them something new. They are constantly learning, and are so curious. I want to make sure over the next year I am igniting their curiosity not blowing it out. I want them to see a zest for life. I also want to teach them compassion and caring for others. We are going to come up with some "extra" projects in the next year to help our children learn how wonderful it is to give and help those in need! I am really looking forward to this goal!
3. Spend intentional time with my husband. My husband and I talk, but it is not often intentional and we will both feel the need for adult time, but not really have the "time" for it. For this year, we are scheduling time for it! We are going to try and give ourselves at least 30 minutes everyday to spend with just each other. That way we can go through our daily events, plan for the future ones, talk about our day, and our dreams. Make new goals and really connect as a couple. We are all we have out in KS since our family is all out of state, and we have always relied on each other quite heavily, but I want us to really start having fun together. I also want us to plan regular date nights. With crazy work schedules, and four small children we often find it hard to get away and have time to ourselves. But this coming year we are going to make that a priority. Because when we are relaxed and connected life just runs smoother.
4. Spend intentional time with GOD. This one is often missed, something I am not proud of. Usually I brush it off as well, I have four small children and a husband that all need my attention. I don't have time to give to God daily. Maybe a couple times a week, but not daily. This is the wrong attitude. When I spend time with HIM, my days go so much better. Why do I put this off? I have NO idea. But it is going to stop. I am going to be intentional about meeting with HIM daily, and putting him first in my life.
5. I will be a better time manager. I have a make shift schedule all planned out. I am an organized person and like an organized life. But I live a lot of life by the seat of my pants. The kids have their routine, but I don't really have one. This has led to a lot of time wasting and it has to stop. I want to be able to be free from the demands of my house, but I can't do that if I am constantly wasting time and not actually doing anything. I am going to do the timer trick and set it for 15 minutes each morning and each afternoon(during nap time), and see how much I can get done in that set amount of time. That may seem like not a lot of time. But I tried it today just to see what I could get done. I was AMAZED at all that got done when I knew that was all the "time" I had to get that one specific task done. There was no time wasted. What do you do to help you stay focused, and not wasting time? I love suggestions!
These are my top 5 goals. I'm sure I will make other ones through out the year, but these are my main ones. I am going to assign specific tasks to each one of these to make sure I am meeting all of these goals to the best of my ability this will ensure I am staying on task and have a way to measure my progress. I will keep you posted-I am hoping on at least a monthly basis.
I found this quote and love it!
What are your goals? Together we can achieve great things. Let us make this world a better place!
