My 2010 Goals

Yes, yes, I know it's March already, and I'm just now posting goals for the year. Honestly, I've been dragging my feet a little on posting my 2010 goals. Mostly because we've been having a hard time deciding on what they would be, and because some of the ones we started the year off with have already changed.

For those of you who are new, we are self-employed in the real estate industry. The last few years have been a roller coaster, to say the least, but God is good and my husband is incredibly creative and resourceful. Over the last few years we have learned to live on a budget, spend less money, use what we have, and get rid of debt that we thought we'd always have (like a car payment). Hard times can be a great teacher, and I'm so thankful for what we've learned!

First, I've been evaluating my grocery budget. I've had it set at $250 a month, using the cash envelope system for about a year and a half now and have become quite comfortable with it. Actually, more like bored with it. I've also been doing some research lately about chemicals in our food and household products. I've decided that I would like to move towards using more natural and organic foods and other products around the house. I've always purchased organic milk and red meat, but my goal for this year is to be able to fit organic and locally grown (no antibiotics, steroids, etc.) chicken, ground turkey, veggies and all dairy products into that $250 a month budget as well. Hmm, yes it should be a challenge!

With that being said, I also know that many of you are like me and want to purchase more organic products. Watch for lots more posts highlighting the coupons and deals on organic items as they come along. We have also made an Organic & Natural Living category for quick access of coupons, informative posts and deals on that subject.

I'm going to keep the other budget areas (household at $300 and eating out at $250) the same as before. Yes, to many people, $250 for eating out may seem like a lot, but we are coming up on 11 years of marriage and going out together on the weekends is very important to us. It's something we look forward to every weekend and more importantly, keeps our marriage fun!

A few of our other financial goals for the year are:

1. Pay off husband's truck by August. It's something we've been dragging our feet on since we have a 0% interest loan, but we will be adding a monthly payment to our budget around that time so it would be nice to have the truck payment eliminated to help offset the new payment.
   
2. Start a retirement IRA


3. Pay off a business credit card. My husband recently moved his office out of our home. I loved having him coming in and out during the day, but with three kids, it's just impossible to keep them all quiet enough for him to carry on his business phone calls. Getting rid of the credit card debt will help offset some of his new office lease payment.

I plan on sharing an update half way through the year on how we are coming with these goals. Hopefully you have made a list of goals for the year for your families as well. I've been amazed at how simply thinking through and writing down a list of goals, from simple to far fetched, motivates and helps to give a plan of action for the month or year.

Erika