This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on an affiliate link and buy something, I get a percentage of the sale. Find out more by reading my affiliate policy and disclosure.
Hi all and welcome to a New Year!
2022 was a doozy: it saw us spend an extended period of time in the USA, so that P could spend time with his family; most importantly his Dad, before he passed away.
It saw me job hunting (properly) for the first time in a long time. The last job I got via applications & interviews was back in 2012. Every job I’ve had since then has been through my connections. I will say that job hunting is stressful, but I landed on my feet–and in December I celebrated 7 months at my new workplace.
2022 also saw us properly establish ourselves in Liverpool, after moving here in November 2021.
So lots of new beginnings and change last year–which means that I’m looking forward to 2023 being a year of stability.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what my life needs to look like going forward, and one thing I want to do is get back to blogging more regularly. I have lots of thoughts, but without the discipline of writing them out they tend to just evaporate into nonsense.
Social Media is not what it was — I got locked out of my twitter account in December, and can’t be bothered to try and figure out how to get back in. But blogs are forever! And now that my routines are more established, I can write more frequently.
So what’s on the old to-do list for the New Year?
Financial Goals for 2023
- 12 months in one job. It will be good for us to have a year of stability in income.
- Emergency Fund back to £12k by April – that’s 6 months of (frugal) expenses.
- Additional £4k into the LISA – to keep topping up our house deposit fund.
- Spend <£900 on takeaway/eating out – this is our biggest vice, and the one that can most quickly spiral out of control.
Health & Fitness Goals for 2023
- Average 2x cardio sessions a week – To achieve the average I need to aim for three – cycle to work twice a week + 1 rowing session a week. This means if I miss a week due to holiday or sickness, it won’t be so bad.
- Average 1x Yoga class a week – I love my yoga classes. So I will aim for 2 a week, and hope to average 1.
- Average 7k steps a day (i.e. 49k steps a week) – I need to aim for 50k a week and hope to average 49k
Quality of Life Goals for 2023
- Read 2 magazines a week – I get a New Yorker magazine every week and I have a PILE and the only way the pile is going to get smaller is if I read more than 1 a week.
- Declutter & organise – Give every area in the house a declutter, deep-clean and organise. That’s the bedroom, den, bathroom, living room/office, dining room, kitchen and backyard.
- Go away 6 times – This could be a weekend camping, a holiday, an overnight stay at my parents etc. The point is to get away from my house and do something different (and hopefully fun).
I also have some bigger ‘mental improvements’ to make around managing my time and boundaries but those are harder to define as ‘SMART’ goals!