by Hope
First off, thank you for the great game suggestions to add to our entertainment options. I have written down a list to check out!
Other than 12 hours at Princess first volleyball tournament of the season on Saturday (where they won their division,) I spent the bulk of this weekend helping her review for a biology test and then work on math homework. Ugh! There were tears, there were frustrations, there were bad and good grades (thanks computerized learning for adding that continuous pressure) and there were lots of lessons learned for both of us.
It was a very LONG and STRESSFUL weekend as a result of the homework aspect. (Yes, I know, 4 honors classes will do that to you. But it’s also a result of poor time management and choices, which she will have to learn on her own.)
As much as I love math, the combination of absolute values and inequalities is definitely not my strong suit. I had a lot of reviewing to do in order to help you. Thank you homeschool math books (yes, I kept all my high school math curriculum when I purged books last spring – thank God!) and YouTube videos!
Write It Down, Check It Twice
But I had a revelation in relation to my own “math” – my finances, my goals and so on. And Elizabeth kind of pointed to it with her goals post. Now don’t get me wrong, I have certainly been documenting my goals and debts and so on here on BAD.
And I’ve already tracked my expenses and been able to run all sorts of analysis and reports on them. But all this is not the same as actually writing down my goals…writing down the numbers. Having them in front of me all the time.
Many years ago, I would type up a list of yearly, quantitative goals and hang it on my cork board over my work area. I would see it every day. And I would write on it…check things off, make plans on it and so on.
Princess was doing all her work in her head. And then when she got something wrong, I couldn’t help her. We couldn’t go back and figure out where she missed a step and go thrown off track.
Despite all my “documenting” and spreadsheets…it’s my thinking that I need to go back and check, my reasoning for some of my decisions. And more importantly, the math. Now that I am reading this post, it doesn’t make any sense.
I guess the point is, that no matter who much I run my reports on my computer and quantify the numbers and manipulate my budget…well, there’s just nothing like writing things down on paper. Making a plan and executing it. I haven’t been doing that. Not like I should.
And more importantly, I need to track historically what I am doing. Review it. And commit to not repeating the past. I always look at the right now. The next quarter. The next year. I rarely look back and then look forward.
I know they say don’t look back, you are not going that way. But the reality, if you don’t look back…you are bound to repeat. So I guess my action item from this is twofold:
- Write down some quantifiable, baby step goals and pin them to my board. And then make a plan from them.
- As I evaluate where I am each month financially, take some time to look back and make sure I’m not repeating mistakes from my past.
What about you? Do you have written goals? And a plan surrounding those goals?
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.
So, what do you think ?