Blogging Away Debt Blogging Away Debt follows real people on their journey to debt freedom — with tips on the debt snowball, budgeting, cutting expenses, and staying motivated.

by Hope

I can’t believe the 20’s start in just a few short hours. People says 20’s and I think flappers and cigarette holders, jazz music and lots of change. Of course, it was also the start of the Great Depression and the decade that my Grandmother was born.

I wonder what this decade will bring. There’s certainly an air of change around here. (Yes, I’m beginning to realize that I sound a bit like a broken record as I talk about all the change coming.)

Goals for 2020

But I have set up some measurable goals for myself this coming year and I thought I would share a few of them:

Financial –

1. Build my EF to a solid $20,000
2. Save for a 2021 family vacation
3. Pay off at least a 1/3 of my student loans
4. Budget for Christmas and Princess’ senior year

Personal –

1. Dedicate non-computer time daily for reading and self-improvement
2. Create and stick to an exercises plan
3. Continue with my weekly meal planning and tighten up my food budget

Business –

1. Expand my passive income efforts

There are lots more. All measurable and doable. I have truly spent a great deal of time thinking about how I want my life to change, and what I need to do to get there.

Have you created any 2020 goals? Are you a believer in new years resolutions? If you do have new goals…I’d love to hear about them. How will you stay motivated to stay on track in reaching them?

Hope

Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.

But life has a way of rewriting your plans.

A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.

Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.

Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.

She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.