fbpx
:::: MENU ::::

Follow Up on My Goals for September

by

Following Up on My September Goals

Well it’s October! Time to follow up on my goals for September and review some failures and successes.

Here’s how it all went down:

1. 15 No-Spend Days

This went… pretty poorly. We only had 9! And that was with me trying to use what we have! To be fair, I realized too late that I was including buying groceries as “spend days,” which I probably wouldn’t normally do. But still… there was alotta shopping this month.

Much of it was working on projects for the house and having to run to Home Depot again… and again. We also had gone through our usual stockpile of toilet paper and shampoo and such getting ready to move, so now I’m restocking. But it was still important to realize how often we were running to the store or hopping online to buy, buy, buy. Now that back-to-school is over and the house is more settled, I plan to rein this spending beast in.

2. Put $750 extra towards our debt

A success! I posted last week how I was able to pay extra and reach one of our small milestones. Felt good.

3. Work out 3 mornings a week

Oof. This was just “meh.” The smoky, unsafe air around here for half the month was a big factor, because I like to walk and run outdoors. I struggle to motivate myself to work out indoors. But once it cleared, I still struggled to do a morning workout. Luckily I did get a walk or run in by the end of at least 3 days the past two weeks.

4. Leave mornings open for school

This has been going well. My fifth and third graders are pretty independent—really they only need me when tech issues blow up. My Kindergartener, however, needs me allll the time. So I just assume I won’t be doing much besides school each morning.

Setting my expectations low—just leaving the morning open—has been good for my sanity. I’m not trying to multi-task a ton and then utterly failing. When he’s engaged in a Zoom I can squeeze in answering emails or sorting laundry, but really he needs a lot of help.

Oh, and we just found out that our fifth grader will for sure be doing distance learning until February. They haven’t made the decision for K-3 yet. Pray for us, ya’ll.

5. Play the #MinsGame

So this was both a failure AND a success. Did I win the whole kitten caboodle and minimize 465 things in a month? No. But I got rid of a lot of clutter, both physical and mental. I even went through my email account and unsubscribed like crazy to businesses and stores I don’t care to hear from regularly. It’s been so freeing.

One cool thing this month has been joining my local Buy Nothing group and learning how to better use Facebook Marketplace. I’ve gifted random things like an ironing board and old shelves, and sold kid clothes and toys. I love the idea of things getting re-homed and out of MY home!

 

I’m trying to focus lately on progress, not perfection. And I know I only make progress when I follow up on my goals. So while I wasn’t batting a thousand, I’m glad I made some progress on our debt, our consumption, and our simplified lifestyle. Did you have any successes this September?


3 Comments

  • Reply Hope |

    Mine was a disaster as far as spending goes. But the silver lining is that the twins got moved out which takes a huge mental burden off me.

    I love the “progress not perfection” I’m going to have to make that part of my daily mantra.

    As a mom, who homeschooled her kids for 10 years, I just want to tell you that you got this and your kids will learn and thrive, even when you feel like you are dropping the ball everywhere.

  • Reply Emily N. |

    That sounds like pretty decent success to me! Are you going to repeat any of these goals for October?

  • Reply Lindsey |

    Well, it sounds like you tried hard and that MATTERS! I’ve been trying to finish painting all the trim in our house and I am seeing the finish line! We contracted this house ourselves and have therefore done a lot of the work on our own. Painting the whole house fell into my lap and I am so glad that it’s almost over!
    My goal for my blog was to start going live on Facebook every weekday to talk about life, money, and living debt-free. I have to say that going live is slightly terrifying! But I have done it every day this week and I am finding that the more I do it, the more fun it becomes!
    I hope you reach for your awesome goals for October as well! I’m looking forward to an update!
    You inspired me to to play the minimalist game last month. My husband and I started. We didn’t get rid of a load of things but we at least started!

So, what do you think ?