It’s been three months since I put up my list for this year, so I thought I’d report on it. Seven things are done or going well, I’ve already had to modify a couple other, and the rest are pending. Commentary on successes, modifications, and challenges below:
1. Put the money that I was using to pay off debt into savings for a down payment on some sort of house, townhouse, or condo.
Yes, I am doing this every month–Toby needs a yard to play in. I’d like to start channeling some extra money in there in addition to the main savings.
3. Stop buying non-essentials (ready-made clothes, really expensive fabric, shoes, magazines, etc.) for three months (months TBD)
I’m cutting this back to a month at a time with the option to extend it to the full 3 if I can get back into the frugal habit. (I think that May and June will be the months–I want to start after I get my tax return, which is getting spent on things like vacuums and desk chairs and end tables.)
6. Buy a living room chair–armless, small-ish, but comfy. This will help with seating to accomplish #22.
Done!
7. Sew new pillow covers for the living room.
Done!
8. Buy a vacuum.
As soon as I get my tax return.
9. Refresh my yoga skills and then…
10. Start doing yoga once or twice a week.
I’m going to try to get to the intro class this month, then get into the habit of an evening class in May.
13. November-March, walk or ride to work at least twice a month. April-September, up it to at least four times a month.
I get a resounding FAIL on walking from November to March–I think it only happened once. And my 4 times/month goal in April isn’t going to happen, but I will try to ride at least once. Fortunately, I have a bike buddy who works across the street from me to get me going.
14. Eat at one new restaurant a month–any meal, but it has to be somewhere I haven’t been before.
So far, so good! Between Vegas and fun work lunches with my bike buddy, I’m doing just fine. And I’m counting the bar at Bambara as a restaurant for this month.
18. Stop biting my fingernails (I mean it this year).
Really, how hard should this be? It’s not so much the nail as the skin around the nail that I destroy, and the more stressed I get the more that happens. Maybe I will try a manicure next week.
19. Wear more colors of lipstick than “pink” and “darker pink.”
Um, not only have I not been wearing new colors, I’ve pretty much stopped re-applying it after all the morning coffee at work.
20. Find a perfume I want to wear regularly.
Samples of some classic Guerlain and a new Chanel scent are on their way!
21. Stock and maintain a home bar and keep it stocked. No drinking it up and not replacing it. TAX RETURN = BOOZE. Hooray!
22. Have more people over to the apartment–not huge parties, but a few people for dinner, or drinks before a restaurant, etc.
Yes! Between a wine class (see below) and the three attempts to see Sherlock Holmes, Toby has had lots of after-work visitors.
23. Learn more about wine.
I learned about value wines of Italy in January and that was really fun. I really want to take one of the classes on French wine later this year.