Sunday, April 6, 2008

April Goals

Almost everyone has beaten me to their April goals...which makes sense since it is already April 6th. (Where did March go?) I've decided to actually list some goals and see if I can reach them by May 6th. (My month will start later..:)

This month is a bit more difficult as I have many birthdays to buy for. Since I'm an "emotional" spender, meaning I'll feel it necessary to give more than I should, I want to especially be cognizant of this.

April Goals:
1. Stay within a budget for each birthday present I buy. (No more than $300.00 may be spent for birthday gifts in April). Now I know what you are thinking...that's a lot of money for birthday gifts. But here's the run down...I have to buy for my sister, my daughter, and my two nephews (I already bought Ben's squeaky toys!). (That's the emotional part) So I have budgeted an amount for each of them, my daughter being the highest. (Of course).

2. Plan out a month worth of menus (to be posted soon!). Stick to cash when buying groceries. Don't deviate. This will be a HUGE money saver if I stick to it. Cash is hard to use, because I'm not use to calculating an entire grocery order.

3. Drive less. Perhaps even have a couple of no-drive days. (Harder to do with two kids in sports). Try to carpool.

4. Use less. (I've already bought the cloth napkins and terry towels. So far this is a good thing!) Use less laundry detergent, shampoo, less water, less dish soap.

5. Make a monthly budget and STICK TO IT.

6. Set up a Freedom Account. For all you Mary Hunt fans, you know what I'm talking about. For anyone who has not heard of her, a freedom account is a pool of money to catch all those expenses that we conveniently forget about...clothing, insurance, Christmas, gifts, car maintenance and such.

Other Goals:

1. Eat less, and exercise EVERY DAY. Continue with WW, and don't get discouraged when the scale is not cooperating.

2. Get lawn work done, and stop thinking about how nice it would be if I could just hire a landscaping company to finish our backyard....:)

3. Drink more water.

4. Review goals every day to see if I'm on top of them.

Well, I'll start small this month. Hopefully I will be successful.




3 comments:

Canadian Saver said...

Everything looks great!! You'll see, once you start with the monthly goals, you'll want to do them every month.

I laughed when I saw the lawn care, there won't be any mowing here for another couple of months!! It is great exercise though.

Good luck with everything :-)

Meg said...

Oh, Freedom Account... I like the sound of that. I haven't checked out Mary Hunt, I really think I should start.

Silly question, but is the Freedom Account something different from an Emergency Fund? I imagine it would be, but I just wanted to double check. :)

Sharon said...

Foxie,
Yes, the freedom account is for all the things you spend on, but aren't monthly expenses, i.e. Christmas, gifts, clothing, insurance, simple car maintenance... Emergency is for the car needing a new engine, emergency medical expenses, losing a job, etc.