THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.
As the first quarter of 2018 ends, I thought it would be wise to check on the progress of my yearly goals. Unfortunately, lots of “fails”. Take a read, and help keep me accountable!
FINANCIAL
-
GROW NET-WORTH (EXCLUDING MY HOME AND 529 PLANS) BY 25%.
Fail
Through the first three months, I have increased my net worth by 1.7%. By this time of the year, I was hoping that I would have increased my net worth by at least 6% in order to stay on track. But alas, that hasn’t happened.
Now I realize that a lot of that has to do with the stock market being down 2% year-to-date. However, I was hoping that some of my side hustles, like my Reaching FIRE course, would offset some of the volatility of the stock market. The class is doing well, but definitely has not offset the difference thus far.
Hopefully, the rest of the year shakes out a little bit better than the first quarter.
-
SAVE 70% OF OUR TAKE-HOME PAY.
Fail
I have been stuck at the 65% mark for a couple of years now. It probably doesn’t help that I really haven’t made any changes to my budget, even though I am hopeful for changes. Silly, I know.
As most of you know, hope isn’t a plan.
I know that if I stopped eating lunch out during the work week that I could get over the 65% hump. I just love to unplug from the office. My lunch break out serves as my mental break from work.
REACHING FIRE
-
INCREASE PARTICIPANTS OF THE COURSE.
Pass
As many of you know, I created a course last year called Reaching FIRE. I put in a large amount of time to create this course from scratch. I piloted the class this past fall and received some great feedback.
People seem to really enjoy the course so far. It’s nice to hear that the course is making a difference in people’s lives.
I am going to teach the course again live at my church. I already have about a dozen signed up so far. If you’re interested in going through the course online, don’t hesitate to click on over.
BLOG
-
MAINTAIN VIEWERSHIP OF 100,000 PAGE VIEWS.
Fail
I have only achieved 100,000 page views once in three months. However, I am hovering around the 80,000 page view mark so far this year. First, I want to thank all of those who read and comment on the blog regularly. I love reading your comments and appreciate you taking the time to read my thoughts. 80,000 page views is really amazing, but I am hoping to utilize some more social media platforms in order to drive more readers to the site. We’ll see how it goes.
-
MAKE $1,000 A MONTH THROUGH THE WEBSITE.
Fail
I’m making about $500 a month through the website at this point. Admittedly, $1,000 was a huge stretch goal to begin with, so being halfway there already in the first quarter is pretty exciting to me.
I’m hoping that my Reaching FIRE course becomes more popular and generates more income. I also hope to do more one-on-one coaching sessions.
PERSONAL
-
WORK OUT 4X A WEEK AND GET A SIX-PACK.
Fail.
It’s been months since I have gone to my bootcamp. I am rarely able to go to the gym during the work week. When my bootcamp class stopped their 8pm class, I quit, since I wanted to spend time with my family in the evenings. The 8pm class was the only one that worked because it was after the kids went to sleep. After I stopped working out there, I attempted to work out at home. But unfortunately, I lack motivation. When I’m at home, I’d rather wrestle with my kiddos or catch up with my wife.
On top of that, my work office is moving locations. That a major reason why I haven’t joined a new workout class. I can see you all rolling your eyes and saying, “Excuses, excuses.” I know. I need to get better. Hopefully I’ll have something new to report in July.
-
TRY TO OBTAIN AN OVERSEAS POSITION.
Holding Pattern
I recently went on a work trip down in Australia and really enjoyed the overseas environment. I could see my family and me living down there. I’m sure many people in my office would say the same thing though about themselves. The competition will be tough, so we shall see what happens.
I’m going to go to a couple of other locations over the next few months. I plan to see if any other place feels “right”. While I don’t have something lined up just yet, I have a feeling that things will become clearer by September.
-
MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN 12 LIVES.
Fail
I don’t think I have made the difference in anyone’s life yet this year. At least, I haven’t heard from anyone that I have. Hopefully, when I teach my Reaching FIRE course live this month, that will change. However, through the first three months of the year, I have utterly failed.
-
PRAY WITH MY FAMILY EVERYDAY.
Fail
It’s really bad that I haven’t prayed with my wife in awhile. I don’t know what I have been thinking. On the plus side, we pray with our 2-year-old each night. But, there is definitely room for improvement in this area.
Through the first few months of the year, I am failing on basically every goal. I am actually excited about that in one regard, as I have a lot of time to improve over the rest of the year. On top of that, it means I didn’t make goals that were too easily attainable.
Those were hard goals to get to. I admire what you did. You didn’t let fear of failure limit you while setting those goals. And you didn’t really find excuses to say why you didn’t get there. Instead,you said that you still have months left to make progress.
I made three goals this year. I am trying to lose weight. Instead, I gained some by mid-Feb. Have been maintaining it since then. I have started trying to lose again. So far, a fail.
I made a promise to myself to write on my blog regularly. That is going well.
I also decided to buy nothing for a year.There were times I was tempted to give up., But in general, i have been successful.
BusyMom recently posted…Our March 2018 Expenses
Wow those are some great goals that you put together. I have to admit I would really struggle with the buy nothing for a year. There are times that I think I really NEED that but in actuality it’s a want 🙂 Great job on your goals so far!!!
My Q1 was similarly full of fails. Oh well-it’s a new quarter! Crazy market movements are why I don’t make net worth increase goals. I make goals instead for how much I contribute, because that’s inside my control.
That’s probably smarter to move away from Net Worth in the future and towards savings goals next year. That would definitely allow me to share what I actually control, like you said 🙂
You are doing great even if you didn’t PASS on all your goals. Some of them are quite a stretch:)
Same as you, I did well in some (dividend $ and health) but not so good on others like blogging! I guess it doesn’t matter how many pageviews you get, you always want (need) more?
Caroline recently posted…FI Or Not, You Already Own The Most Valuable Asset There Is!
Hahahah…that is definitely the truth 🙂 The goal with 100,000 page views as it allows additional revenue streams down the road but I guess we’ll see how it turns out 🙂
80k views/mo is pretty awesome! I’m sure you will get to 100k soon. It’s just a matter of time. Your blog is doing great!
I have many goals for 2018 too, and many of those aren’t doing so well. I have a clothing ban for this year. I haven’t bought any new clothes yet, so I’m pretty happy about it 😀
Ms. Frugal Asian Finance recently posted…4 Reasons Why I Buy Cheap Clothes
Wow a clothing ban for a whole year. That’s amazing. I don’t think that I could do that. I like to buy a couple of pairs of shoes each year just because 🙂 One of my guilty vices.
Congrats on creating such a highly visited blog! Tom
Tom @ Dividends Diversify recently posted…You Gotta Eat
Thanks Tom…it’s been growing over the past two years and I can’t wait to see where it potentially can go 🙂
We’ve had one fail, one that is a holding pattern and the rest are on track. Don’t give up! It is only the first quarter. There is plenty of time to get these things done!
Budget On a Stick recently posted…Meatballs
Thanks Budget on a Stick!!! It’s definitely one quarter in and there’s plenty of time to turn things around 🙂
Just a heads up:
A) thanks for sharing
B) your original goals post inspired me to do one of my own. And the act of writing them down and publishing my goals to the ‘world’ has held me accountable and pushed me to achieve more. Ip-so fact-o, you’ve changed 1 life this year. And if we’re getting aggressive, my wife and daughter have indirectly benefited (unconfirmed) – That’s a loose 3 lives so far this year… Nice work
Mike @MikedUp recently posted…My best job; My worst job – and what I learned from each
Wow thanks for the feedback Mike!!! That’s awesome to hear that you’re sharing your goals with the world based off my goals list 🙂 I really appreciate it!!!
Those are some tough goals to accomplish. I believe if anyone puts the energy of wanting to do something, they will eventually succeed.
Hang in there.
CJ recently posted…How To Be Happy At Work | 3 Important Lessons
Thanks CJ, I totally agree that it’s just a matter of being focused and determined, at least with the goals I set 🙂
Honestly, charging more than $7 for your course would help.. You said you don’t feel right about charging a premium for financial information but given the time you spent putting the course together, if you don’t charge enough, then people might not think it’s worth it and you aren’t getting your money’s worth either… just some food for thought
Erik @ The Mastermind Within recently posted…What Makes You Happiest and Why Money Matters
Thanks as always for the awesome feedback Erik!!! I am definitely toying around with the idea and will be making some alterations in the not too distant future 🙂
Great post! Don’t worry so much about the fails as how you are going to get to goal (which is what you are doing kudos). For one goal, I will give you an actionable step (again hehe). You need to switch your mailing list to a teaser style rather than the full article. Sometimes I don’t remember to click into your site, because of the fact that I have read your full article via email. In fact, I only ever click over when I want to comment (sorry). When you move to teaser, your page views will go up!
Heather @ bizewife | livelihood redefined recently posted…Our First Month Making Money With AirBnB
That’s great feedback Heather!!! I just need to figure out how to create the teaser format through Mailchimp 🙂 If you have any tips please share 🙂
I wish I did! I don’t use MC (don’t ask…I haven’t set it up yet).
Posting your misses is a really big win. Now here’s to a lot more green in this next quarter. You got this!
Thanks Amy!!! I am definitely excited to see if I can reach these goals by the end of the year. We shall see 🙂
Hey, 65% savings rate is still amazing! But I understand the drive to keep boosting that, too.
I’d say you definitely impact plenty of lives for the better through this blog and the Reaching FIRE course, so give yourself a Pass on that goal! (With 80K page views, you have to know people are paying attention!) Maybe it’s not through direct interaction with someone, but it’s still positive!
I enjoy reading your progress in these updates. I need to get back to focusing on goals and reporting progress on my blog as well. I’m so interested to see where your overseas work journey goes!
Mrs. COD recently posted…Reflections on Quitting My Job, Two Years Later
Thanks Mrs. COD!!! I am really looking forward to how the year shakes out where the year will take us 🙂
You have a lot of goals! It might be worthwhile and Gretchen Rubin them by focusing on one goal at a time, for a month or two. You know where you stand and where you want to be! So work at closing that gap.
Lady Dividend recently posted…Alternatives to Owning a Car
Thanks for sharing Lady Dividend!!! That’s great advice and I’ll definitely need to do some focusing on one goal at a time if I really want to reach them 🙂
The fails will turn into passes really soon! All the best for the next 3 quarters!
SMM recently posted…Finances And Weather
Thanks SMM!!! I’m really hoping I can convert them to passes. It’s hard when I’ve been traveling so much recently 🙁
Some time life is like a boat, and once we notice the drift, we can correct our course.
I like that you do know the reason for not hitting your target.
I’m not great at setting aside time to meditate, and especially at night if I’m tired it becomes a nap. I started doing a guided meditation for 10-15 min in the morning instead of a round of the snooze button. (I of course have an alarm for after in case I fall back to sleep). It’s been something to look forward to in stead of ‘ungh really need to get up now’.
For the lunches, as the weather improves, what if you try for just 1 day a week? You can still get out & have a sandwich on a bench. Or even try the cafe on a different floor or in a different building, if April continues to be soggy.
Best wishes as you continue your goals this year!
Those are great suggestions Jacq!!! I definitely want to try to bring in lunch once a week. See how it works out. See how that works out 🙂
I wouldn’t say that you have failed your goal for impacting 12 lives. Look you have 80,000 viewers every three months and not everyone comments yon your blog. You don’t know how many people you are impacting and influencing that don’t reach out to you and let you know about it. I’m sure the number is significantly greater than 12. That’s a guarantee.
In terms of other goals, your financial goals are difficult for a reason. Net worth, like market value goals, can be difficult to obtain because you are the vitctum of the broader market. You can only control so much there. And it sounds like your other goals will fall into place once you establish and find the right routine. The workouts will start to happen, you will find the perfect time to pray, and you will slowly start checking off each of your goals. Despite the “fails” I see a lot of progress here. Keep on pushing MSM.
Bert
Dividend Diplomats recently posted…Bert’s Recent Buys – PG and SBUX
Thanks Bert for the encouragement!!! I definitely agree that I need to adjust the net worth for next year to something I have more control over. Not much I can do with the market swinging wildly 🙂