September 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
    9. The MacGregors, Grant (~25%)
  • Take 2 Trips (Mexico & Germany)
    •  
    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 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. We've been walking a lot leading up to the trip and have been getting a ton of steps in while exploring Germany. Hiking is quite the challenge so I'll count that as a workout. So the last bit of August is a success and we are starting out September right!
    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. We didn't save anything in August to make sure we had a buffer for the trip. Once we're home we will hopefully be able to put a fair amount back into savings.

  • Lose 10 Pounds

    1. Down around 7 pounds.  70% complete. Still staying flat. Who knew it was so difficult to eat healthy in the summer? We will try to get back on track after vacation!

  • 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 a terrible job this month. Sorry!! We will try to post while on vacation, otherwise look for lots of trip videos and posts coming up.
    2. In case you missed them, here's our latest posts:


      1. Leaf Lettuce Demystified

  • 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 and have begun writing transportation tips.

  • Have a Garage Sale

    1. Still hoping to sneak one in this month. Who says you can't have a fall garage sale?

  • Make England Trip & Wedding Photo Book

    1. I finally uploaded all the England photos. Now to sort through the 4,000+ pictures and narrow it down to a photo book. 😕
    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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