January Goals
1. Max out Roth for 2009. Not quite--I didn't realize I would not get paperwork aside from my tax papers, but now I know what I've already contributed and can add the $1100 and change to max that out. It's going to happen this week, for sure.
2. Meet with my thesis advisor, pick a topic, and map out a research and writing schedule. Well, sort of. This seminar is actually in an online class structure, with peer review and stuff, so it's not as self-directed as I expected. I'm participating in the classwork, though.
3. Book plane tickets to Costa Rica/Los Angeles and request time off work. Not done. I'm watching ticket prices but haven't seen any deals.
4. Not buy any new clothes. Half fail. I did buy new clothes (two pairs of yoga pants and a pair of jeans) but I didn't spend "real" money on them--I used a gift card that I got from credit card rewards points.
February Goals
1. Set up a new budget now that I know my monthly income. My income went up by a few hundred dollars a month again, since I'm not maxing out my flex spending account this year, so I have to rejigger my budget.
2. Set up automatic Roth payments for the rest of the year ($227.27 per paycheck!). Also max out the Roth for 2009 since I didn't do it last month.
3. Do my taxes. I'm still waiting on some paperwork but I started entering what I know and I'm getting a refund this year! I'll have to pay state taxes, but a change in the tax code for this year will get me the Lifetime Learning Credit, which gives me a really big refund from federal. Very cool!
4. Pay for and attend yoga and dance classes. Working out on my own just doesn't happen. I'm no longer taking school classes that conflict, and I've found a new, close, and reasonably-priced yoga and dance studio, so it's time to just fork over some money and go to classes!
5. Keep up the trend of spending more on groceries than eating out. I was very happy to realize that happened last year, and I want to keep things heading that way.
New monthly feature: New Year's Resolution Recap
1. Max out a Roth IRA automatically. See above!2. Pay down at least half my student loan debt. Still in school, but I've got a plan!
3. Give to charity. I gave something for Haiti this month but I still want to set up a plan for the year.
4. Finish graduate school while maintaining a 3.86 GPA and turn in my thesis early. I wonder how possible this is going to be now that I found that the seminar is peer-reviewed and structured and not a self-directed study. At any rate, I can keep my GPA up.
5. Read more than 100 books. Well, we'll see. I'm reading a lot for work and I went to I think five book club meetings in January, so I'm certainly working on it.
6. Cultivate a more positive attitude. So so. Actually, I've struggled with this sometimes but I try to keep it in mind.
7. Take the stairs whenever possible. About 70% success. I've made a point of telling people that I'm doing this so they keep me accountable. And I've seen a big improvement in my stamina climbing those four flights which is very cool.
8. Seven minutes of yoga per day. Such a total fail I don't even want to think about it.
9. Develop a regular posting schedule for my "real name" blog. Meh. I've done a few posts but I just haven't had time to focus on it.
10. Make less of an impact. Trying. Peanut and I make a point to carry reusable bags to the grocery store and I've also just started declining bags when I forget to carry them. I keep forgetting to take my reusable mug to work, but I'll make a point to do that tomorrow.