1. Networth = $200k (by 29, $250k by 30).
This is going to be difficult given I’m making $90k per year, and my current networth is $145k. With any luck the economy will recover a bit and my stocks will see me up to $200k, but I’m also going to make 2012 a super frugal year. Still, saving $2500 a month is only $30,000. Either I need some side income or a serious raise next year to hit this goal. I need to save $4166 a month to save $50k in one year, and after taxes I only make about $4200, so that’s not going to work.
2. Write and publish a (really good) business book
I already have a signed contract, so in theory, this one shouldn’t be so hard. Then again, I have 300 pages to write outside of a more than full-time job, in six months, and it needs to be really good. For it to be really good I need to interview a lot of people and that is what I don’t have time for… but if I can successfully achieve this goal of writing and publishing a book, I will, for once in my life, be proud of myself.
3. Lose 40lbs
My weight has become a huge issue in my life, and I haven’t had time to deal with it. I can’t believe I’m up to 170lbs (and I’m short at 5’3). This is going to probably be the hardest goal of all, but I need to do it if I’m ever going to be a healthy and happy person.
4. Get engaged
Well, I don’t have a lot of control over this one. My boyfriend and I have discussed getting married in 2013, so naturally he should propose to me at some point in 2012. I’d propose to him, but he’s opposed to that, so I have to wait for him. We’ve been together almost six years now and I’m less than two years away from 30, so it’s time.
5. Get promoted / be great at work
This is extremely important because if I don’t get promoted in 2012 it means I am doing something wrong at work. I’m not sure exactly what that promotion is yet or what it means, but I must prove to everyone at my company that I am a key employee supporting the company’s success.
6. Visit my family back east at least four times over the year
I spent a lot of 2011 traveling back an forth between coasts; and it was a bit too much travel for my sanity. But given my father’s late-stage cancer and the fact that everyone (my mother, grandparents, aunts and uncles) are getting older and I’m missing out them being a part of my life while they are still healthy and I am also still healthy. So at least four trips to the east coast are in order.
7. Learn more about advanced investing techniques
While I have no desire to become a day trader, I do want to understand more about things like covered calls, puts, options, and all these other techniques that seem to be smart to reduce risk (vs techniques that are more risky.) For instance, I now own $30k (about 74 shares) of Apple (AAPL) stock, but should I do anything else to protect that investment? That’s about 20% of my entire portfolio, which is risky to begin with, but then I realize 15% of my portfolio is in my company stock, which, while it has a lot of potential, is probably more risky than ownership in Apple. Anyway, I’d like to understand more about these advanced investing strategies so I can make a decision if it makes sense for me to use any or all of them.
8. Keep my room clean
Ok, I say this every year, but this year I mean it. There is no way I am going to be able to accomplish my other goals if I can’t keep my room organized. When I come home from work everyday, I need to spend 3-4 hours writing my book, and I need to wake up in the morning to spend 1 hour exercising. Otherwise, I will never hit my other goals.
9. Support my boyfriend in whatever on earth he is going to do next year
My boyfriend may or may not decide to go to graduate school next year, which may or may not be on the other side of the country. He may also decide that he’d rather just get a different job. In 2012 I need to support him even though he will not let me support him through this decision and I guess that means I just need to not ask him about it ever. When he does make a decision, I need to be happy for him in whatever he chooses, even if it means I won’t see him very often for the next two years.
10. Eat breakfast every day
I would like to start eating a real, meaningful breakfast in the morning before I go to work, instead of eating snacks at the office for breakfast and then eating too much bread at lunch.
11. Come up with a sustainable wardrobe plan
Figure out how to invest in quality pieces of clothing that will make me look like an executive type instead of a schlumpy startup kid. Do not buy anything more that is dry clean only because that is too expensive to clean and I never go to the dry cleaners.
12. Invest in me time
Plan time to dedicate to being outdoors, taking walks, going for runs, going hiking, seeing friends/ being social, and doing things that make me happy outside of work and writing my book. If I don’t plan it, it will never happen.
What about you? What are your goals for 2012?
Good luck with your goals, mine are very similar!
Sounds like some great goals! Do you have a post, or can you tell me how you got a book contract? It would be a fascinating read.
Thanks!
Sam
I haven't written a post about it yet since it may give away too much public information, but I can email you some info.
I'm really confused as to how your boyfriend may/not move across the country for two years and you're going to get married by 2013. Just b/c you're going to be 30 does not mean it is time for you to get married. In fact, if he doesn't want to include you in a major life changing decision such as moving across country, then you really need to examine your communication situation you've got going on.
Erin, I see your point. While turning 30 doesn't mean it's time for me to get married, I would like to have children and my doctors have recommended due to a condition I have that I do this before 35. It may not end up being possible for me to have children, but if I wait too long and cannot have them, I will never forgive myself. That said, my boyfriend is very nervous about his professional and academic future, and does not want to have me part of this planning. He has promised once he has secured what is he doing next year, I will know about it. He has already been accepted to a school in NY, but he would prefer to attend a program out here that he will be applying to. I wish he were more open about this stuff, but he's right — until he figures out what he is doing, there is no point in getting me involved. We've been together for nearly six years and I feel safe and loved with him, and I love him too. I guess you could say that he's not marriage material, but I probably wouldn't fit with anyone who is. We work together, and we've discussed getting married once he finishes his first year of graduate school. He may go away for two years, but after that he's promised to keep me in the loop.