2012 Goals Revisited.

I normally don’t look back at what I was able to accomplish, but things were so different this year, that the only way to analyze my progress was take a look at my 2012 goals.

Personal and professional:

•  Re-prioritize my career. I have been thinking a lot about my current postion and feel that a change is on the horizon. I need to figure that out and make the necessary changes in the first quarter. I quit my job in April and have been working as consultant since then.

• Organize 2 charity events/fundraisers. I feel that we need to use our skills outside of our day to day lives. Also I love fundraisers, and I love parties. And seeing how my friends and I love putting these on, I want to write that down, and make sure that it is a priority.  Did 3, and raised over 60K.

• Take my investment portfolio seriously. This means that I will have to learn a lot more about the markets, but thats ok. I love learning new things. This also will allow my brother and I to bond a bit more since he is a walking ticker board. I’ve been more active, but still have a lot to learn. Dated a stock broker for a few months which helped this goal along.
  

• Read 2 non-fiction books a month. I currently have 11 books sitting on my night stand and it should take me until June to finish them all. Average 1 a month, but read a lot of sites that I learn from, and took some courses.

• Work out 2-3 times a week outside of soccer. I play soccer twice a week, but that stopped producing results as my body is used to running now. I need to get back to the gym and weight train. Working out once a week since I’ve been on the road so much, but I’ve lost 6 pounds in the last 2 weeks. 

• Limit eating out to once every 2 weeks. This will be my hardest goal. Doing great when I’m home, kinda impossible when I’m on the road. 

• Reduce overall debt by at least $10,000. I feel that this is doable since I am still building a Emergency Fund. Killed this.

• Save $5000 in my EF and $2000 in Travel Fund. Had over $2000 in my Travel Fund, but spend it on, um, travel.

• Travel for fun. I want to go to South America this year for 3 weeks. My fun/vacation fund will need some serious attention for this to happen this year. The sad thing about working for yourself is that taking vacation becomes really hard. 

• Save at least 25% of my income. Currently I have automatic deductions for my company stocks, and my RRSP. I also have automatic withdrawals going to my ING savings account. So good so far.

• Make an extra $10,000 in freelance income. I made this last year, but I already know that 2012 will be extremely busy with work and I wont have time to pitch to new clients. I am joining the 30K Online Money Bloggers Challenge so it will keep me motivated. This is interesting to gage since all of my income is freelance. 

• Declutter my life and my house. I need to stop buying clothes and start throwing away items that I havent worn in the last year. I may be a hoarder. 

• Learn how to make one crafty thing this year. I’m pretty sure I made a dress. 

• Try to cook one new dish a month. Banana bread and pasta. That is all.

Blogging goals:

• Alexa score- under 75k – Currently at 82k, but I stopped worrying about this stat. 
• Blog a minimum of 3 times a week- Oh boy. Thinking of 3 different topics every week is very hard. 
• Get to know at least one other blogger by emailing or commenting a week. I’ve made some really good friends online, but those were a result of meeting them face to face. Conferences are awesome for that. 
• Guest post- 2-3 times a month. This is depend on how much free time I have, but I will be making it a priority. HAHA. That is all.
• Read and comment on at least 30-40 blogs a week. This should be easier now with my IPAD. Hit and Miss.
• Start a new blog. A few of my friends are thinking about taking on a new project together and I think the work load would be easier when split in 4.
  

  We launched Chic Darling. You should check it out. It’s awesome.

How did you do this year?