August Goals Update

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Time for our monthly goal check-in!


Here's where we at Thriftism stand:
  • Take 6 Courses Online
    1. A Life of Happiness and Fulfillment on Coursera (6/27/17)
    2. You and Your Money (7/15/17)
    3. Spanish Vocabulary Project (Began 7/31/17)
    4. Beginners German: Food and Drink (Began 7/30/17)
  • Install Bathroom Heater
    1. DONE!! So nice to have a warm bathroom.
  • Stain/Finish Captains Bedframe
    1. No progress here, this one seems to be a challenge for us. 
  • Read 12 Books
    1. Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
    2. The Summons by John Grisham
    3. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen 
    4. Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen
    5. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
    6. A Convenient Marriage By Georgette Heyer
    7. Emma by Jane Austen (~50%)
    8. Persuasion by Jane Austen (~50%)
    9. The MacGregors, Grant (~25%)
  • Take 2 Trips (Mexico & TBD)
    •  
    1. Trip 1✔ We went to Cancun in January. This is always a favorite of ours. 
    2. GERMANY!! We were able to get tickets half off by watching for deals. Watch for posts at the end of this month and into September on hiking through the Black Forest and in the Mountains, German Castles, and of course great food!

  • Paint & Trim Guest Bedroom

    1. Trim is done and paint are done. We even bought new doors, but staining doors and updating the air vents will likely be a winter/next year goal.

  • Workout 4 Days/Week

    1. Sand volleyball added 1 workout a week. While we didn't necessarily do a workout 4 times a week, digging holes for the egress window, gardening, and moving rocks have provided plenty of a workout more than 4 days/ week.

  • Save $10,000  ✔ 50% of income

    1. We are upping it to 50%, not sure if we will make it or not will less than half of the year left. We are currently at ~34% saved. The next two months may be difficult with a big trip, more car repairs, and some home renovations coming up. I'm hoping we can find enough sales to keep pushing money into our savings!

  • Lose 10 Pounds

    1. Down around 7 pounds.  70% complete. July was a rough month for keeping up with eating right. Lots of birthday parties and family visits kept us eating really good food and not on track for losing weight. We didn't gain any weight though so I'll take that as a win!

  • Knit/Crochet 12 Projects

    1. No progress here yet. Ah, is it August already?? Guess I'll be knitting up a storm once winter hits. Here's a video to get you started if you're learning to crochet.

  • Publish Blog Posts and Videos Twice a Week

    1. We did not hit twice a week, but there were still 5 posts published, and 6 new YouTube videos. We will keep working on improving our post times!
    2. In case you missed them, here's our latest posts:


      1. Cranberry Sauce
      2. Good as Grandma's Rhubarb Pie
      3. Walmart Savings Catcher
      4. Cranberry Brie Bites

  • Take/Pass Professional Engineer Exam (PE)✔

    1. We passed!! Glad we won't have to take that one again. Plus, we have official stamps now.

  • Write London Guidebook

    1. I have an outline. 

  • Have a Garage Sale

    1. We are hoping to hold a sale next week. If that fails, we have a backup weekend for September. Looking forward to clearing out the garage!

  • Make England Trip & Wedding Photo Book

    1. Still haven't started on the trip-- now I'll have two big trip books to make. Hopefully there's a sale this fall!
    2. Wedding photo book is hanging on our wall now!

  • Go Camping

    1. Visited Sibley State Park and got to try out the local Brewery & Winery along with some hiking, roasting marshmallows, and hurriedly packing to beat the storm on Sunday morning.

  • Construct One Small Piece of Furniture

    1. Found patterns for bedside tables and possibly a dresser. Not sure we will get to building anything more this year. We have been busy putting in an egress window, raising our front garden bed, fixing a car, and will be installing new basement windows yet this fall.
    How are your goals coming along? What are you doing to stay motivated?

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