New Year New Goals

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Since we're still in January I think I can get away with setting my goals for the year and I'm planning 2014 to be a busy year. I say goals because resolutions never seem to be kept, but goals sound more manageable. For 2014, I'm setting my sites higher and obviously savings will be vital this year to reach my target of retirement at 30. This is why I also set a fairly tight budget to guide me through the year. However, putting money away isn't my only mission for the year.

Things I want to accomplish in 2014:
  • Make Soap
  • Lose 10lbs
  • Construct a Rainwater Collection System
  • Teach Myself to Crochet
  • Save $40,000
  • Take an Online Class
  • Take a Trip
  • Complete 12 Knitting Projects
  • Have a Garden
These are the main items that can be quantified. however, I would still love to experiment with new foods, continue trying to lower grocery and utility bills, improve my both my Spanish and Flute playing, and basically just get more stuff done. This might sound like a lot, but like I said I'm hoping for 2014 to be an industrious year.  Below is the budget I'm following this year.

BUDGET2014Monthly
Food$2,400.00 $200.00
Phone$660.00$55.00
Car Insurance $400.00$33.33
Vehicle Maintenance$1,500.00 $125.00
Gas$1,800.00$150.00
Utilities $3,000.00$250.00
Entertainment$200.00 $16.67
Rent (Mortgage)$13,452.00 $1,121.00
Clothes$200.00$16.67
Home (Cleaning, Toilet Paper, Etc.)$200.00 $16.67
Travel$1,000.00$83.33
TOTALS $24,812.00 $2,067.67

Any extra money we can make will add extra wiggle room in the whole budget, but we will stick to it for now. I also try to minimize that grocery bill to allow for more "fun" money.  I'll try to post our actual spending throughout the year to show that this actually can be done. I hope everyone else has made it this long with resolutions, but if not, it is never too late to start again. Happy New Year and Happy Saving!


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