The year is coming to an end...and its time to start thinking of NY's resolutions.
There was the year where I vowed to be more refined...didn't really succeed. Suck it.
Then I believe last year I decided to do "monthly goals" which I really liked, but then it got sidetrakced with the goal of getting my PMP certification (which I did get, so I achieved that yearly goal).
Now i'm sitting here wondering what to do for 2008. I'm inspired by AJ Jacobs who went a year trying to follow the bible as close as possible (A Year of Living Biblically...i've got his other book on how he read Encyclopdia Brittanica cover to cover, he's hilarious) so I wondered...what is something that i should do for one year...like my own social experiment?
The only thing I could think of would be: no clothes, shoes, or purses for all of 2008. That's doable, and it goes into the next part of the goal for 2008: I need to pay at least $15K extra towards my home equity loan or else we're in a world of hurt. Yay for the housing debacle. Anyway, back to the no clothes purchase for 2008. For any weddings I have to go to I've got plenty of things I can wear, and I guess if my black boots wear out then I can pay to repair them because I truly do love them.
But...then I remembered that I really wanted to take advantage of spring ski sales and I do need a ski jacket and ski pants...well by "need" i mean, "I have skis and i've only gone skiing ONCE in the past 7 years and to do that i had to borrow someone else's apparel which isn't gonna fly anymore".
So now i'm wondering...can I just say i'll go the entire year not buying shoes, purses, or clothes EXCEPT for one ski jacket and ski pants? That's not exactly an impulse or frivolous purchase, I've been meaning for years to do that.
However, if i truly want to be frugal I could wear the coat and snowpants (oh yes, they're "snowpants") that I had when I was like 14, which is this bright purple and blue coat with bright purple snowpants. They're not stylish, but they're what i wore skiing as a kid (then again, i also wasn't that warm in them...but i do have my old Columbia ski jacket but the zipper broke...but that's also an excuse, i've got workarounds tot he zipper situation you can still zip it up...just not easily...anyway).
So...that's one thought to consider.
The next part is what I already mentioned...$15K has to be paid down on the home equity (i.e. $30K over two years according to my COuntrywide guy)...which is no easy task when you need to spend your year saving $6K just for flippin' property taxes. And that's not really a "resolution" as much as a "fo' sho' you better pay down that loan or else you're homeless"...
OR...i could go back to the monthly goals. Like as a result of the PMP certification there's something that goes along with that (that i won't post) that i'd LIKE to get accomplished at the very latest by end of February, but that's not necessarily up to me...but like one month to paint the kitchen cabinets...another month to paint the upstairs hallway...another month to paint the kitchen itself...another month to do something once and for all with the garage (although i'd like to epoxy the floors, buying that stuff will take away from the $15K that needs to go to the equity), another month to read all the french books i keep meaning to read, another month to truly clear out the spare bedroom (i'm working on it, it involves ALOT of ebaying)...
I also found this website (Weekend Cookbook Challenge) that inspired me...basicallyt he gist is that you gotta open up a cookbook of yours and make one thing in a weekend. As someone who's got a desk job, that's not an easy task...heck, my biggest challenge is going grocery shopping because I can't stand doing it after work, and there's only so much you can buy in advance without it getting spoiled (and becuase it's just kraig and I, lots of times i waste stuff...like 1/4 of onions leave 3/4 to get wasted pretty easily). But i really do enjoy cooking, and I'd like to do more of it.
I could also take Nicole's advice and add to this NY's resolution list to "Join forces with your brother to better manage parental unit guilt trips." which is a fantastic idea...
Stay tuned. The key to a successful NY resolution is to not make it too big where it's easy to fail, but important enough to where you'll want to stick it it.
Kahhh Toe Mahhh Tayy!
2 comments:
You could always look on craigslist or freecycle for new clothes & boots. Yeah I know not technically new but NEW to you!
I think its a fabulous idea of not buying anything for a year....the clothes, purses & such.
Now I seriously don't think it would work for me per say only because I have thrown out all my smaller clothes long time ago because I never believed I was going to lose weight again. Now being down 46lbs and planing on doing the Breast Cancer walk & losing 75lbs next year...Um not buying clothes that isn't going to work for me.
I could however bargin shop! Which means goodwill and garage sales and Jen (getting her clothes when she is sick of them) or getting the clothes Laura has grown out of.
If you don't buy clothes or purses that would sure save you at least an extra $200-$300 a month...right? More money towards your $15k loan. Ugh that really sucks!
Oh and I love the cooking out of the cookbook idea. But only cooking for one recipe sucks too because you go get all these spices the basically you only use once and they go bad because never use them again. Its stupid like that.
That's my biggest thing, I must spend $50 a week on buying lunch for myself because I hate cooking for myself but I do like to cook. I cook more when I'm dating someone though, (might as well bring out all the stops right?) so ever since I started seeing this new woman I've been cooking more which leaves some leftover for lunch or dinner if I decide to have dinner.
I've got a pile of cookbooks, parents and ex gfs bought them for me, well I did buy myself two books too but still the thing is and this is what neither of us do is meal plan. The logic is we'd cook more if we planned our meals out. I make fun of my mom for having a schedule on the fridge of what they are eating for dinner throughout the week, I think it follows the grocery schedule too.
This is fine for when you're feeding people that don't care what they eat as long as it's food or it's just my parents because my Bro and Sis may not be home. Anyhow the point is find a cookbook that has a section on meal planning and try and follow it.
Couldn't you get the zipper of your Columbia jacket fixed?
My jaw dropped when I saw how much you pay in property taxes. That's insane!
I did a little reading thanks to the New York Times about the whole mortgage thing going on in the U.S and I'm really glad that hasn't really happened up here. Sure people are buying homes and for some reason the Ottawa Housing Market is still on fire and sure there are some that over extend themselves but whether it's the industry here or people are just more careful we haven't seen the kind of crap that's going on in the U.S.
I'd suggest you guys move back to Ottawa but I only have to look outside to know what your answer would be. :)
Going back to the cookbook thing, maybe getting a few people involved will help. Think of it like a book club for cooking. You each try a different recipe and then bring some of the leftovers to an afternoon pot luck thing and swap recipes.
One thing I've been doing is throwing parties once a month, my place is well suited to it and it gets some of my friends out of the house and forces me to have to clean a lot more. :P (I am a bachlor remember.)
Good luck saving for the $15K, I know you guys can do it, I just hope you don't have to resort to selling Kraig's body parts to make the payment. :) lol
Merry Christmas Sabina.
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