My oh my, what a year it’s been! As we wrap up 2012 and ready ourselves to usher in the new year, it’s important to take stock of the goals that were set in the beginning of the year. Before I dive in to each item, here are a few highlights from my year:

The Good:

• I punched Sallie Mae in the face & paid off all of my grad school loans ($17.5K!)
• I began my new job; transitioning out of one that wasn’t the best fit for me
• I re-financed my mortgage, effectively cutting my monthly payment by over $360
• I was absolutely spoiled with my travels this year and was able to take a boatload of trips. I’ll save those details for another post.

 

The Bad:

• I busted my monthly goal of $500 or less of miscellaneous spending SIX times…eek!
• I stopped paying extra on my mortgage after refinancing

 

The Ugly:

• I injured myself in the Chicago Marathon in October and wasn’t able to go on my trip to hike Mount Kilimanjaro
• Said injuries knocked me out of all biking and running for over 2.5 months
• I made the most frivolous purchase of my life by ordering a 2013 BMW (ridiculously excited about it, but I know it’s not a great financial decision despite it fitting my budget)
• I had a bout of blog burnout and completely abandoned this thing for over 2 months (ugh)

 

Goals Review:

1. Complete the Disney Goofy Challenge. PASS! I had such a fabulous time that I’m planning to do this again in 2014
2. Run 25/miles per week. FAIL. Being injured throughout the fall killed this goal. I was doing alright up until then but it was still a bit too sporadic to give this goal a pass or near-pass
3. Take my grandmother on her dream trip to Ireland as a retirement present. PASS! It was a beautiful trip filled with castles, cliffs and driving adventures
4. Continue to bike to work. CLOSE. I biked consistently until becoming injured in October–9 out of 12 months isn’t too shabby
5. Save $5K in long-term savings. PASS! I saved $10,785 on top of paying off $17.5K in student loans and fully funding all of the trips I took this year plus my refinancing
6. Post 15 times/month. FAIL. My 2.5-month blogging hiatus sent this goal packing
7. Pay an extra $9K to mortgage. N/A. I paid an extra $5,038 before refinancing. It’s no longer a priority now that I don’t have two mortgages and my interest rate is so incredibly low
8. Save $800/month for retirement. PASS! I save no less than $800 each month and a few were closer to $1,500
9. Add $2K to Kilimanjaro fund. PASS! This is a weird one because I didn’t end up going on the trip. But I did save the money and had everything paid in full prior to my injury. Thank you, travel insurance for helping me get every penny back
10. Buy a sweet camera. N/A. I no longer need to buy my own camera because I have a very, very nice one to use from my BF
11. Complete the Q&A a Day project. CLOSE. I’m about a month behind, but I fully intend to catch up before the new year. It sort of mucks up the point of doing this (a daily question every day for 5 years to see how your responses change over time), but I’ll be back on track for 2013
12. Draft my business plan. FAIL. Fail, fail, fail. 2013?

 

All in all, not bad at all. I’m very pleased with all of the financial milestones and accomplishments this year held. What clearly needs to become a focus for 2013 is keeping my body injury-free while still enjoying the high level of physical activity I’m used to. Look for next week’s post where I highlight the goals I’ll attempt to tackle for 2013!

 

How did you do with your 2012 goals?