As the end of the year quickly approaches, most people’s thoughts turn to the holiday season ahead. We’re definitely looking at that, along with preparing for Frugal Baby #2 arriving and the new year beginning. It’s also a time to reflect on the year that has passed. How fast is 2017 going so far?! A bit too fast, I think.
But what about the goals I set myself at the beginning of the year?
I’m slightly rubbish at this, because I set these goals, then promptly forget about them. Which kind of defeats the point! However, I thought I’d have a reflect on these now, but just over a month to go. Am I going to meet my goals?
My Financial Goals for 2017 are:
– Put £12,000 into savings
– Overpay our mortgage by £300
– Have 220 NSDs throughout the year
– Earn £3,000 in side income
– Receive £300 in dividend payments.
At the moment of writing, I’ve put £7,779.30 into savings, which is clearly nowhere near my goal. In fact, unless a miracle happens, I won’t meet this. I have been thinking about my savings for next year, taking into account my reduced income during maternity leave. I’d hope that we would hit £9,000 by the end of the year, but we shall see.
Overpayments this year have been quite sporadic, to be honest. Whilst I continue to build my dividend income stream, overpaying takes a back seat. However, I have just checked my spreadsheet for this year and I’ve actually overpaid £340 so far this year, which is over my target! Surprisingly pleased by this.
NSDs seem to have also been hit and miss this year. I have definitely found them more difficult to come by. I do believe that No Spend Days can make or break a budget. At the time of writing, I’ve had 164 NSDs so I definitely won’t meet this goal.
I think I was very optimistic about the £3,000 in side income goal, when I didn’t have a clear plan as to how I would do that! This year I have made £1,244.45 in side income, which isn’t too bad! This is before tax, national insurance and expenses are taken into account, so the amount I get to keep is much reduced. If I want to build on this, I need to have a clear plan as to how I’m going to increase it for 2018.
When I wrote that I wanted to receive £300 in dividend income, I thought I was being optimistic. However, if you read my dividend income reports, you’ll know that I have smashed this! At this point in time, I have received £463.36 in dividend income 🙂 very, very pleased with this.
My Personal goals for 2017 are:
– Start a capsule wardrobe
– Decorate our bedroom
– Be more kind to myself
– Stop worrying about things I can’t change and focus on the ones I can.
Ah, the capsule wardrobe. I wrote a post about this during the year which has proved quite popular. However, I haven’t implemented this at all! I think being pregnant and dressing differently has made me feel like it isn’t the time to start afresh with my clothes. Definitely one for 2018 though.
We have decorated our bedroom! It’s so much better now and much more my taste than before. There are a couple more things I would like to add in there, but as we’ll have a newborn in there before too long, I don’t know if it matters particularly at this point 🙂
Being more kind to myself and to stop worrying about everything is something I am actively working on. However, it’s so tough at times, especially when you’re the last in a long list of priorities. Time is an issue with this as well; it takes a lot to balance everything without it being overwhelming.
My business goals for 2017 are:
– Officially launch Frugal Cottage Coaching
– Begin second project (revealed later on…)
– Grow my Twitter followers to 3,000
– Grow my Facebook likes to 500
– Grow my Instagram followers to 800
– Grow my Pinterest followers to 1,000
– Earn between £300 – £500 a month online by the end of the year
I have kind of launched Frugal Cottage Coaching. I have published my first course – Reduce Your Food Spend course – in October and am pleased I have done so. I need to do more research on marketing and advertising but slow and steady is fine by me.
Is it really bad that I can’t remember what this second project is? Oops.
My Twitter followers are currently standing at 2,022 so it’s unlikely that I’ll hit the 3k goal by the end of the year. Facebook likes are up to 555 so I’ve hit this! I find Facebook so tricky to navigate and grow, so I’m pleased with this. Instagram is something I intend to work on next year, but my Instagram followers are currently at 565 so slowly increasing. My Pinterest followers are currently at 562. It’s interesting that three of my social media accounts are all around the same number! I’d love it if you could follow me on any of these, if you want 🙂
Online earning is such a tricky one. Again, I had no clear plan of how I was going to achieve this so it isn’t particularly surprising that it hasn’t been successful. If there’s nothing else I’ve learnt this year about online stuffs is that having a plan of action is so important!
So, just over 1 month to go of 2017! How are you doing with your goals?
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I think you’ve done brilliantly! Maybe the original targets were just a little too high or unrealistic? Focus on what you have achieved, it’s far more than the average person. Plus you’ve been doing something incredible- growing a person 😉
I didn’t set any specific targets this year, though am generally pleased with how things are improving. Perhaps I will next year…