" A goal without a plan is a wish" - February Goals: (Part II)

I can't believe February has come and gone! Yippee!! I think it's even going to hit over 50 degrees today and I'm sure everyone in Indiana is as excited as I am about that! Part Two of my goals may not have gone quite as well as Part One (Fail!) It would be much easier to not blog about this and move on to the next, but I'm not going to achieve every goal perfectly every month. Life happens. I'm glad I'm reviewing these monthly because I now know what I can do better in March and the rest of 2014 :)

In Part 1, I discussed my progress in my career, wifey, and fitness goals. Part 2 is going to focus on my spiritual, personal growth, and budget goals. Let's dive right in!

Spiritual Goals



1. Attend church weekly

I only attended church one time in February. Although one is better than none it's not good enough. I have been having a mental struggle with myself every weekend when it comes to going to church. (I'm about to be super honest here so if I offend you, I apologize, I'm just being honest about my feelings.) The thought of attending mass feels like a chore. It's like something on my list I have to do and cross off before moving to the next item. I don't like that. I want my experience to be something that moves me.. makes me think about my life and how I can improve it, etc. Barry and I have been discussing this topic and know we need to make an honest commitment to our faith. I hope to make some great progress in the coming months.

2. Nightly devotional with hubby: (5 nights a week)


This has yet to begin. Whoops! We do have a daily devotional book but I'm going to the library this weekend to find The Love Dare, a couple's devotional book that we can do together. I think this is a great way to reconnect as a couple after a long day and to continue to work on our marriage. My goal (that Barry doesn't yet know about lol) is to put the phones down in the evening and reconnect daily. I think it's so easy to just "go through the motions" day in and day out and before you know it a month, a year, or several years has just passed by in the blink of an eye. I don't want an average life or an average marriage. I want to push daily to get better in every aspect of my life and my marriage is more important than nearly anything else in my life. I can't wait to dig into this devotional with my hubby :)



Personal Growth


1. Read 2 new Leadership books a month (24 in 2014)

This month started off great in the reading department! I finished my first book in the first couple days of February called "Inside my Heart" by Robin McGraw, Dr. Phil's wife. I was ready for a change of pace from all the financial books I was reading and this was perfect. It was an easy read and was a wonderful book about her passion in life: raising her two boys.

                                                                 

I was working through a couple of other books that I just couldn't get into before I had to take them back to the library. My goal in March is to read three new books: one leadership, one on finance, and one for fun!

2. Volunteer once a month



My volunteer efforts also didn't happen in February. I had a goal to volunteer at Gleaner's at least one time every month, but the time I was set up this month, of course it snowed and they were closed. Not a great excuse, as I should have rescheduled, but I didn't. I have been in the works of volunteering at St. Christopher's in their nursery to help with the babies during the 10:30am service. I thought with all the stuff going on with our trying to have a baby, this might be helpful. Well, anyone who has struggled to conceive knows, you have good days and bad. I haven't yet been able to sign up but I am still keeping this in the back of my mind.

I would love more suggestions for volunteer ideas, especially as the weather is getting warmer! Some ideas I had were: Mini Marathon volunteering and/or dog walker at the Humane Society. Next month I'm so excited to volunteer at the Dave Ramsey event on April 24th! I will be able to watch the entire event for free just by volunteering to help set up and clean up after the event. Dave Ramsey has changed how we look at our money, debt, and what type of legacy we want to leave. This event will be amazing!





3. Make someones day, everyday.


I've learned that this goal is by far, one of the hardest and easiest. I love to go out of my way to make someone's' day better. This is as easy as giving someone a genuine smile and a "Hi, how's your day?" or giving someone a compliment. Just the other day at work I saw an older woman walking down the halls at Marquette, where I sometimes work. She had on a bright pair of snow boots that were very cute and stylist. I complimented her and she said, "Thank you! That made my day!" :)


I think my moment of the month was after finishing up a balance class at Marquette just last week. A gentlemen that I haven't seen before took my class, and sat right in the front row. . At the beginning of class he asked my name and said, "Can my balance get better if I come to class regularly?" I answered, "OF COURSE!" He was content with my answer and we started class. At the end of class, after focusing very intently on every move we did, he came up to me and said, "Do you know that you are the first person in a long time that told me I can actually get better at something." I was just silent. He continued and said," My hearing is getting bad, my eyes are getting worse, and everyday tasks seem to get more and more challenging. I have hope again that if I work hard, I will get better at my balance." That made MY day.. maybe my week :) Just another reminder that I love what I do and that I'm able to impact others lives in such a positive way.

 Budget Goals:

1. Hit our budget/debt payment goal every month.

At the end of February we hit a pivotal moment in our Debt Snowball plan. I received two emails from Sallie Mae stating a couple of my student loans had been paid in full! Now that is motivating! Sticking to a budget is very challenging, but we are working very hard to do so every month without giving up our social life or all our hobbies. February threw us a curve ball with our taxes so we did not put the full amount on our debt that we typically do. Our debt snowball is actually on hold right now as we save towards redoing our kitchen and driveway. We purchased nearly all the materials for our kitchen remodel last year, but didn't get to the project. This should be complete in a couple weeks! (I will post before and after pictures!) Our driveway has been something we have talked about replacing for over a year and this winter really did it in. It's cracked all up and down the sidewalk, porch, and actual driveway. This is money we both hate to spend, but know it needs to be done. I guess that's the fun part of being an adult ;)

I would love to hear from you all! What are you 2014 goals? Do you follow a written budget? What are you reading? What are you looking forward to this spring?

-xoxo-
Sarah