OUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

It’s about that time of year again! Time for New Year’s resolutions. I LOVE goal setting and usually start thinking of New Year’s Resolutions around Thanksgiving. I typically set lots of goals throughout the year, but New Year’s is a time where I like to really reflect on how things are going and whether I feel like I’m moving in the direction in life that I want to be moving in. Some years, my hubby and I, rather than setting specific goals, simply choose a theme to focus on throughout the year, such as “happy and healthy.” Sometimes we do both.

Anyway, just wanted to share our New Year’s resolutions and theme, in no particular order. Hopefully it helps you in your own goal setting. [Read about how to set New Year’s Resolutions you’ll actually stick to here] Also, if this time of year is TOO CRAZY and you haven’t had time to reflect on your goals… don’t stress about getting it done by January 1st. Wait until you have a quiet moment to reflect and if that comes before January 1st great, and if not, start the following week, or later. The beautiful thing about goals is that you set them according to your own time table, and not anyone else’s.

OUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS: 

Simplify our budget.

I am really excited to simplify our budget this upcoming year. I am not a person who speaks numbers. I also struggle when I am bogged down with too many details. I’ve been working on a budget where I’ll be experimenting with new (to us) budget methods, including tracking all of our spending by hand in a really simple way. I’ll be sure to share everything I’m doing along the way. I also want to implement ways that make sharing money between us (as spouses) easier. We all know sharing money with a spouse can be hard, especially if you’re not on the same page. [Related: How to Get Your Spouse On Board Financially]. This year will be all about learning to simplify simplify simplify.

Pay off $162,000 of student loan debt ($13,416 per month). 

I know that $162k seems like a weird number but this is how much we need to pay off per year to be student loan debt free by 2021. This would represent the most money we’d pay towards student loans in a single year so far. It’s going to be a stretch for us but I’m hoping (obviously) that it’s achievable. We’ve paid off over $200k of student loan debt at this point which feels great but honestly we have a long ways to go so I am hoping we can really buckle down next year, find ways to increase our income, and control our spending even better so that we can meet our goal.

Buy a dental practice. 

This year (2018) we decided that we were ready to take on ownership of a dental practice. So in addition to making aggressive student loan payments, we’ve been saving up for a dental practice. (We discuss this a lot in our monthly newsletter). We’re doing this for a few reasons, the most obvious being so that we can increase our income. Danny went to business school and has felt like he’s been missing out on his passion for business a little bit the past few years, so he’s really excited to take this on. We’re also looking forward to being self-employed even though there are obviously pros and cons with that. Danny has loved his associateship at the dental practice where he currently works. And even though it’s been wonderful, it just feels like it’s time to move on to other things. Always bitter sweet.

Stop comparing our journey to others.

Another thing we’re focusing on this year is to do better at not comparing our own journey to other peoples’ journeys, whether it’s money related or otherwise. I feel like social media can be such a positive thing but sometimes it’s easy to get really wrapped up in how things appear. I saw a meme today that said “the grass isn’t greener– they’re just using a filter.” And it’s so true. We don’t really know the struggles or experiences other people are actually having. And since no two life experiences are identical… can’t really compare them. So that’s another thing I’ll work on this year. I’m not sure how I’ll measure that, but it’s at least something I want to be conscious of this upcoming year.

Our theme.

We haven’t fully settled on our New Year’s theme but I am leaning towards “peace.” I want to seek ways to be a more peaceful loving person and have more peace in my life. It seems like as the years go by, I get more and more responsibilities which inevitably leads to more and more stress. Instead of filling my life to the brim with stressful things, I’m going to look for ways to seek peace.

And those are our New Year’s Resolutions so far! What about you? Do you set New Year’s Resolutions? Are they overrated? Drop a comment below.

P.S. If you haven’t set your New Year’s Resolutions yet, I made this free New Year’s Resolutions printable to get you started!

P.S.S. If you are looking to really get started knocking out your debt (student loans or otherwise) make sure you grab a copy of our FREE Debt Payoff Starter Kit here. It’s perfect for starting out the new year on the right foot financially speaking!