I’ve finally finished my list of 2013 goals and if all goes according to plan, this is going to be one hell of a great year! Here are some details about the things I hope to accomplish this year:
Financial Goals
- Save $1,200/month in long-term savings. Last year, my goal was to have $5K extra in my long-term savings, which averaged to about $416/month. I consistently hit above $800 with this and have budgeted for $1K, so I’m going to challenge myself to push it up to $1,200.
- Double miscellaneous monthly income. I’ve written a lot about my love of side gigs and extra income. Currently, I bring in $200-400/month in extra income. My goal is to double that for every month this year….
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Have at least one month where extra income is $1K+ But I really want to see one month where it’s over $1K!
- Fully fund trips to Kauai and Dubai. I hope this one isn’t misleading after writing that most of these expenses were paid for in 2012. For Kauai, I still need to buy my flight and for Dubai, I need to account for spending money only. These will be a challenge considering my other financial goals but I hope to cover everything with side hustles.
Personal Goals
- Run at least 30 miles/week. Now that I’m healthy again and cleared by my doc, it’s back to working out. This goal won’t be fully realized for another few months as I don’t want to risk another injury, but it’s where I hope to be consistently by April at the latest.
- Complete another ultra marathon. I ran my first ultra in 2009, a 50-miler, and I loved every minute of it (the pain after? Not so much). I have one in Maine targeted for May and if I’m able to pull this off, I have no doubt the goal of 30 miles/week will easily be covered given the training needs of a run like this.
- Complete Q&A a day project. This is a carry-over from 2012. I enjoyed this so much, and I recommend buying this book to anyone looking to have a creative outlook for reflecting on the changes/challenges/highlights of your life in any given year.
- Improve blog stats. I want 2013 to be the year of The Happy Homeowner. With that will come an immediate need to work on further developing this blog. I’m looking to increase , , , and link/SEO efforts. My monthly goals/updates will now include this new category.
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Cook my way through The Joy of Cooking. This is definitely a lofty goal as I’m a terrible cook. Baking? I’m all over it. Cooking? Might as well just blow up the kitchen before I even set foot in it. My weekly miscellaneous posts are about to get a whole lot more interesting…ha!
- Write my business plan. There is no excuse for this…it will happen before April as I have some interesting career/professional plans I’m currently investigating. Stay tuned for more details!
Household Goals
- Complete home office renovation.This will be a lot of fun because I’ll be doing this with my BF. He’ll be adding his own personal touches, so we’ll be splitting the bill which will help the financial side of things. I’m definitely looking forward to having an official work space at home, especially considering I work from home for both of my jobs from time to time.
- Cook at least 4 dinners/week. In an ideal world, the Joy of Cooking goal will help this become reality. If not, I anticipate a plethora of frozen pizzas and Lean Cuisines (perhaps fire extinguishers as well!) in our future….
- Complete kitchen renovation. While I’m not renovating the entire kitchen, I do plan to add an island. This will require some electrical work, new cabinets, bar stools, lighting fixtures and a slab of granite. Three years after buying my place, I’m so excited to finally finish the kitchen the way I want to! Future updates will include the specific budget for this but I’m targeting less than $3K right now.
Your goals are awesome and super aggressive
50 mile ultra run? I can barely do a half marathon!
I'm excited to see your home renovation posts. Would love to know how you are going to add an island to your ktichen.
2013 is going to be amazing for all of us!
Yes ma'am–another one! I had so much fun that I've wanted to do another for a long time. No time like the present now.
I'll definitely blog about the upgrades for both rooms–for my kitchen, it's pretty big with a completely blank wall right now, so it should work out well.
I love your goals! Good luck! I'm sure you'll do great in 2013.
Thanks, Michelle! Same to you!
I'm excited about doing an ultra also, but I'm going to wait until my kids are in college (September) to work toward that. For now, it's a half marathon this spring (and a possible Goofy-type experience at Seabrook, TX.), and the Marine Corps Marathon in October (helping my sister run her first).
Nice!!! Good luck with your training!
What is the goofy thing in TX?
It's really cool. It's called (I think) the Lucky Trail Marathon/Half Marathon in Seabrook, TX (just south of Houston). While a small event, it has a really loyal following that goes every year. I can see why after going for the first time last year. Saturday they do a half marathon, and Sunday they run a marathon and half marathon. Just like the Goofy, if you do the half Saturday and the whole Sunday, you receive another medal and other swag.
Better yet, it's on well-maintained, wide pedestrian trails. You see the ocean (Gulf) a decent amount and the volunteers are amazing (as is the wide variety of food at the end). Highly recommended.
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Wow—I'm definitely going to look into that! Thanks for the info
I've got Goofy slated for 2014 again–maybe I'll add this in there somewhere in between…
That would be one hell of a year! Best of luck, look forward to tracking your progress.
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Thanks, Kyle! I'm hoping 2013 will be butt-kicking fantastic
I love you financial goals, and awesome you were able to meet them last year. Not so much on the running though…more power to you. I could not imagine an ultra marathon, I'll do just about anything exercise wise as opposed to running. Our big goal for this year is to try to put a huge chunk of money into a SEP Ira. They have higher limits and thankfully our business is getting to a place now that we can get back to putting money away for retirement.
That's awesome about the SEP! Good luck this year!
C'mon…running 50 miles…NBD, eh?
I've always wanted to run a marathon, but right now it's on my "bucket list". Good luck to you!
Thank you! I tell anyone who will listen: ANYONE can finish a marathon–running isn't always necessary for the entire length!
One of my goals for 2013 is to save at least $1000 per month. I love it that you're going to cook your way through the joy of cooking. I'm going to try to cook one new meal per week. I'm not much of a cook, but I'm going to try harder this year. Good luck with all of your goals!
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That's a fantastic goal! Good luck this year!
One of my goals for 2013 is to save at least $1000 per month. I love it that you're going to cook your way through the joy of cooking. I'm going to try to cook one new meal per week. I'm not much of a cook, but I'm going to try harder this year. Good luck with all of your goals!
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Those are some impressive goals. When did you start running? I love to run, and have considered a marathon, but I don't know if that's a challenge I am ready to tackle. I started doing a sprint triathlon a year about three years ago. Maybe I'll try to add a longer one this year.
I've been running for almost 20 years now (yikes!), so it's part of my being at this point…haha.
Sprint tris! Love it–I can't swim to save my life so I always, always have extra admiration for those doing triathlons. Good luck this year!
Good luck on all of your 2013 goals. I also would like to run a marathon but I dont see that in my near future!
Thanks, Holly; same to you! How about a half marathon??
Ultramaraton! Wow! That's pretty impressive. I like your goals in the visual form. Pretty cool. Good luck with everything this year!
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Thank you–same to you!
wow, an ultra! I'm glad that 2013 is the year of your blog. happy to follow along!
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Thanks, me too! After posting my January goals for it, it's clearly apparent that I have a long, long way to go with increasing these stats…
I like that you've listed your personal goals here as well as your financial goals. I especially like that you didn't use the word, "resolutions" since in my mind, they imply failure. I recently posted my personal financial goals for 2013, now I'm thinking that I should post some of my personal goals for the year as well. Thanks!
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You're welcome! I agree about goals vs. resolutions… Good luck this year!
You never cease to amaze me HH. You remind me of an astronaut. The one human who has even surpassed the goal of flying and has gone to outer space. I feel like you are up there already and still going further.
Continue to succeed my friend. I'm always happy to read of your accomplishments and I hope 2013 becomes one of your best years ever.
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Rafiki! So happy to see you back here! Best of luck to you, too for 2013–it's going to be an amazing year!