It’s New Year’s Eve.
My last post was three days before I finally became DEBT FREE. Since then I have exhaled, replaced my clothes that had holes in them (except for the jeans that are supposed to have holes in them), raced a 100k, vacationed in Mexico (on a budget of course), became alcohol-free, and transitioned to a plant-based diet. So it’s been a busy few months!
As I ran over my lunch hour today I savored how good it felt to know that my goals in 2020 are all geared towards the future, FINALLY.
They are not focused on cleaning up past mistakes. I’m not hustling to pay off dinner I put on a credit card as a treat for a boyfriend three years ago. I’m not cutting things out of my budget so I can pay for a gelato I charged during a trip to Italy back in 2015.
I thought about how much brighter the future is now that I can focus on saving for it! For the first time in my life, I am excited to start saving! In addition to contributing 15% (or a little more) to retirement this year, I also want to save $20,000 cash in an emergency fund.
In order to hit that goal, I am going to dive further into frugality and stay true to my intention of spending money on things that truly bring me happiness.
Having my list of the ten things that bring me the most happiness has helped me to pause when I wanted to impulsively spend money. Most recently it helped when I was considering trying Botox for the first time ever. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I probably would not get $200 worth of happiness from it.
During today’s run, I felt very appreciative of where I am at. The fact that I busted ass to pay off all my debt while I had a “big shovel” (good income) to work with. I’m grateful that I took this on when I wanted to, not when I HAD to because of a job loss or market crash. I appreciate that this year I can focus on frugality because I want to, not because I’m in the midst of a recession or a divorce. I get to do these things. I get to do things every day that will provide opportunities down the road. I get to make choices now so I don’t have to worry about how I can afford to retire in 20 or 30 years.
Just over a year ago I declared three main intentions for 2019.
1 – Complete my debt-free journey. – Check.
2 – Running. I wanted to get faster and stronger. – Check.
I may not have followed through with the Eugene Marathon goal, but I made my way on to the podium at my 100k which I am very happy with!
3 – Relationship investment. – Check.
Don’t you just love those Christmas pants???
Gone are the days of making a list of 20 things to accomplish! Having three meaningful goals helped me move my life forward in positive ways much more easily than having a notebook full of them.
In the next few days, I’ll post about my three intentions for 2020. One of them you already know – aggressive saving. One of the other goals may surprise you since it totally surprised me and wasn’t on my radar at all until this past Sunday. Stay tuned!
Leaving It Better Than I Found It. 