To-Do List......the February & March Updates

FEBRUARY

* Pay Bills   PASS

* Read 1 Book  PASS

I read this one.........

"Rivals Unto Death: Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr" by Rick Beyer

Not a big book but interesting about the love/hate relationship between Hamilton and Burr.  Sometimes they were friends and allies and at other times they were on opposite sides of an issue or down right enemies.  The term "frenemies" may have originated with these two.  If you didn't read the Ron Chernow book or you want more on this part of history then pick this one up.

* Organize Pantry  FAIL  Just didn't get to it.

* Hold Giveaway  PASS

* Mail Giveaway  PASS  It was mailed and received though I hear the chocolate didn't last long. lolz

* Clean out Inserts/Coupon Envie  PASS  

The stack of old expired stuff that got pitched.  Go me.

* Finish Editing Old Photos  FAIL  Didn't get to it all but I did a bit.

* Post about Old Trips  FAIL  Nope.

* Work on Genealogy  PASS  I was on fire in February with genealogy research!

* Re-Organize Toiletries Stockpile  PASS  The guest room/toiletries room got done.  I don't think I took a photo though(can't seem to find one anyway).  But with all the freebies I've got at R-A since then it's a big old mess again. sigh.

* Fill 6 more Giveaway Boxes  PASS  I didn't take a photo evidently but trust me, they are sitting stacked up on the floor of the dining room(well 4 of them that are left are).

* Roll/Spend ECBs  PASS  Yep, did that.

* Roll/Spend Bonus Cash  PASS  Yep, did that too.

* Clean my Desk  HALF and HALF  Cleaning my desk is an ongoing chore/project.  As soon as I pitch stuff and/or organize things it just accumulates more stuff.  I'll either keep this on EVERY To-Do list or just drop it altogether because we all know it's something that needs doing every danged month! ;-)

* Stay Warm  PASS  Yep, I managed to drop the heat a couple of degrees and donned a sweater or hoodie to keep warm without letting the electric bill get outta control!

* Eat down the Freezer/Pantry  PASS  We got down a level or two on the archaeology dig I call a freezer.  Of course, with new deals I managed to add back a new layer. lol

MARCH

* Pay Bills  PASS  Always at the top of the financial things to complete each month.

* Read 2 Books  HALF and HALF

Well I only read one book, not two.

"Hottest Heads of State Volume One: The American Presidents" by J.D. and Kate Robson

I totally misconstrued the title of this book when I bought it at Ollies(Good Stuff Cheap!).  I thougnt "hot" meant foul tempered, mean, rotten, etc. not "hot" as is handsome, a dreamboat or desirable as a mate.  lolz  My bad.

But still, it was a light, fun read full of sarcasm, which I like.  And I still learned a couple of quirky things from it.  It was fun and funny and a change of pace for me and parts of it did make me LOL.

* Have Financial Meeting  PASS  Hubs and I had two meetings in February.  The immediate issue was about taking a 401K withdrawal to cover some irregular bills like the taxes, etc.  That was the easy part.

Then we talked about what made sense for us in terms of starting to take Social Security.  Now since I'll be claiming on Hubs since mine would be much lower than half of his we need to figure when he should claim since I can't claim until he his.  If he waits until full SS at 66 years and 10 months that pushes my claiming back until I am 66 and 1 month.  We did some calculating and with all our savings(401K/non 401K)and our annuity we actually will be more than fine if he claims later this year(and then I can claim too).  Still stewing some stuff over but right now that's the plan.

* Organize Pantry  PASS  Yep, I finally got to straightening the pantry out.  Now I just have to straighten out the stockpile in the garage....again.

* Hold Giveaway  PASS

* Mail Giveaway  PASS

It got mailed out quickly and received in a timely manner and was much appreciated by the recipient.

* Clean out Inserts/Coupon Envie  PASS  No photo of this clean out but enough inserts got pitched as to fill up my small wastebasket. 

* Finish Editing Old Photos  HALF and HALF  I did edit a few photos on the computer but I worked more on scanning old family photos from my mom's scrapbooks to digitize them.  Here's an example.....

This is my maternal Great Great Grandfather(my mother's paternal Grandfather), Robert William Harper taken in 1950.  Born in 1881, Robert had a hard childhood with both of his parents dying before he turned 15.  He outlived his wife, 7 sisters and a daughter as well.  He was 69 in this photo and had written on the back "Looking good for 69.".  He died before I turned 2 so I have no memories of him.  I'll have to ask my brother who is 6 years old then me what he remembers the next time I see him.

* Post about Old Trips  FAIL  Nope.

* Work on Genealogy  PASS  See the item above on photos. lolz

* Roll/Spend/ECBs  PASS  I managed to extricate myself from the CVS merry-go-round in March.  No more ECBs to roll and I don't plan on going back(at least until Black Friday if their deals tempt me enough). ;-)

* Roll/Spend Bonus Cash  PASS  Yep!

*Clean my Desk  PASS  I did clean it good in March.

* Eat down the Freezer Pantry  PASS  We had a low spend month again in March and managed to eat from the freezer/stockpile a good bit instead of bringing more into the house(besides Ibotta deals).  Go us!

So now I am caught up at least for a few days until April ends. lololz

Sluggy

14 Goals for 2016

I have finally come up with my Yearly Goals for this Year.

Most of them are similar to or a continuation of 2015's Goals.

FINANCIAL

*  Save $40K of our income this year.  I did it last year so I am going to try to get to this amount in 2016.  Unless Hubs ups and retires during the year or we get hit with some other financial catastrophe this should be feasible.....a stretch and not easy but possible.  I just have to resist spending on "wants".  Easier said than done, right?  ;-)

*  Attempt to sell some stuff we need to get rid of.  There are some items we need to let go off that are like new or in very good shape that could bring in a few dollars so I need to get back into selling mode.  This could bring in potentially enough to fund a few months of groceries and I will earmark anything sold for that.

*  Take care of all the paperwork/bills/financial stuff in a timely manner this year.
Track spending monthly so we can adjust/correct any overspending/bad decisions asap and not come out the other end of 2016 with financial messes to clean up.

HEALTH

*  Continue with my exercise program, add to it, and do it every month.  It's a well ingrained habit, in that, even on days when I don't feel so well I still get on that bike and pedal way.  I need to add other components to this.  Maybe I'll see about paying a trainer to push me if it's not too expensive?  Because left to my own devices I will slack off if not held accountable to someone. 8-(

*  Do more Gardening than in 2015.   I think we will dig up where the pool use to be and use that as gardening space this year.  It's already cleared and it's in the middle of the backyard so gets sun most of the day making it perfect if we can fence it off from the rabbits.  More produce grown=more produce eaten=better health.

*  Do some canning.  Other than making some peach jam last year I didn't do any other canning.  I had no tomato crop so I couldn't make my relish(thankfully I still had enough so we won't run out before I can make some this coming Fall)or can any tomatoes.  I have plenty of jars so I just need to get the produce and do this....no excuses.

*  Lose 20 pounds.   While I am exercising on a regular basis since last March and we are eating better/less and feeling better overall I still need to drop some weight.  I have various health issues that keep me from doing more and medications that keep me from losing but I need to do something to make this happen. sigh.  Perhaps at my next dr. check-up I'l pick his brain on what I can try that is alluding me.

PERSONAL

*  Paint 12 Items in my Ceramic Stash.  After ignoring the basement for so many years I am facing up to all the unfinished product down there now.  If I don't get anything else done this year I NEED TO PAINT this stuff!!!  And after I do I get to have to problem of doing something with all this newly painted stuff.  Unless I can talk 12 friends into coming to see me this year and then I will have presents for all of them to take home. ;-)

*  Sew and COMPLETE 6 Projects.  I completed 8 sewing projects on my plate last year.  I still have a couple "already started" ones and I will start some new projects to get my 6 done.

*  Complete 1 crochet project.   I have the yarn and the hook I just need to sit down and do this.  Last year with the cataract surgery and all the eye problems this wasn't even feasible so it's back on the list for this year.

TRAVEL

*  Go on at least 2 trips for pleasure.   I am feeling like more of a homebody at the beginning of this year so I am not feeling that travel bug as much so I am thinking of ramping back the travel plans for 2016.  Only time will tell if I keep to this smaller amount of travel.   Perhaps no Family Reunion Trip this year and there will be no trips to find a kid an apartment and then back to move them.....so that's 3 less trips to make in 2016.   Maybe no trip to LA this year or we will fly out?  We have talked about going back to Maine this year as we haven't been in quite a few years and I really love Maine.  Perhaps I can stop in MA on the way and visit some family?
And then of course there is the invite to come see Kim in ID.  If Hubs retires unexpectedly this year we'll have the time to do that trip.  8-)

HOUSE STUFF

*  Have 2 House Repair/Improvement Projects completed. 
There is still the bathroom redo/repair on our plate that we put money aside to complete this last year but never got around to doing it.  Plus we need to figure out which other Project we can tackle in 2016.  I am thinking window glass replacement as we have at least 5 glass seals that have broken.  Plus we need new window screens for most of our windows.  Not things we can do ourselves but things we can put money toward and get ticked off the repair list.  We just need to wait and see how much Hub's bonus will be this year to see how much we have to work with to pay for the 2nd project.

*  Get rid of 6 boxes of possessions plus some larger items that need disposing of.  I still have some "stuff" to get rid of in the house, even after sending 11 loads to Salvation Army last year.   I need to figure out how to dispose of most of my ceramic molds from when I had a ceramic business.  And I need to help Hubs go through the shed this Spring/Summer too.  I don't usually go in there but I took a peak back in the Fall and I can easily see many items we don't need to hang onto like old pool stuff and bicycles from when the kids were smaller.  I am sure there are many more things we can pitch or recycle in there too.

BLOGGING

*  I will try to blog 6 days a week as this is pretty much how much I do now.  I have my regular weekly and/or monthly posts--Monday's Weekly Meal plans/results, End of month Savings Challenge.  Food Spending/Budget, and Monthly Goal Update posts.  

So that's my list of 14 action areas for 2016.
Now to turn these Goals into Reality, how do we proceed?
After all, a Goal without a Plan is just a Wish.

You can't hit a target if you don't name that target first.

Make a plan to reach your goals.  I plan to incorporate my Goals into my Monthly To-Do List which is posted on my blog side bar to the right.  


Wish me luck! 8-)

Sluggy