2016 Goals

It's that time of year again! Time to set some goals. I'm first going to revisit my goals from last year:

1. Read a book every day to my baby Ansel.
2. Love my husband and show him in every way I can.
3. Lose 10 pounds. 
4. Pay off my car and Justin's school loan (about $8,500 all together).
5. Go somewhere beachy for our 6th wedding anniversary and wear a bikini again.
6. Finish revisions and send my memoir to a publisher until it gets accepted.
7. Make it a year breastfeeding.
8. Run a 10 K.
9. Start my Doctor of Education.
10. Add at least $10,000 to our savings.
11. Start investing.

I'm happy to say that while we didn't go somewhere beachy (#5) for our vacation this year, we did have a hot tub at the cabin and I broke out my bikini for that. I also have my last proofreader going through my memoir (#6) and plan to send it as soon as she gets back with me. Even though I don't quite remember how much we started with in our savings (#10), we have added quite a bit and will keep going with that. 

We've done everything else on the list!! Yay! Many of those will repeat this year. It's really rewarding to see Ansel play with his books. I read with him everyday, and not just at bedtime. At times it will be quiet and I'll think, what's he getting into? and he will just be sitting at one of his bookshelves surrounded by books, flipping through the pages. I just love it! 

Financially, we've come a long way. Justin was finishing school so we basically had no income from him and couldn't save much. Still, we were able to pay off all debts (my car and his school loan) by the fall once he started his PTA job. We also started investing- an ESA for Ansel, and IRA for Justin, and a joint mutual account for both of us. It felt really good to get that going for Justin (I already have my teacher retirement). Going into this year, we are looking to maximize our income since we are both working. We really want to build within the next five years, and that is going to take a major amount of discipline. My continued employment is almost solely for this purpose. We REALLY want to build in the country! 

So what's new for this year? We have baby #2 coming, so that will add a whole new dynamic. I also want to continue with more schooling while I have some tuition reimbursement from my employer. I hope to continue strengthening our marriage- I am so blessed by my man but know we can also grow closer to each other and God. So here's the 2016 goals: 

1. Stay healthy to have an uneventful labor and delivery of baby #2. 
2. Run a 5k or 10K in late summer/fall. 
3. Get my memoir published. 
4. Continue saving to buy a new AC, privacy fence, and possibly family car (if Justin's breaks) with cash. 
5. Teach a Financial Peace class at church. 
6. Save money toward buying a plot of land.
7. Continue taking classes toward my Dr. of Ed (or Ed. S.). 
8. Work full time at least through my 10th year of teaching (2016-2017) so I can transfer my California retirement. 
9. Show love to my husband in his love language. 
10. Love on my babies, giving them focused individual attention and care each day. 
11. Read my Bible through for the 9th time.
12. Keep a prayer journal a few times a week. 

There you have it! It will be interesting to reflect on this in a year!