Trying to be better!!

Lately we have had a lot of focus on Goals. What with the New Year and resolutions, and a whole month dedicated to the topic of goals in Church, I began feeling a little guilty. A lot of the time my goals tend to fizzle out after a day or two. I mean I am feeling pretty good when I can say I did something every day of the week! Then I usually let it drop soon after! I know I am not the only one who has this problem, but sometimes I wonder why I can't find the motivation!

Well today in church, one of our Bishopric members shared a quote that stated we needed to be accountable to someone for our goals. And the light popped on! I have such a hard time because yeah I know I should try harder.....but sometimes it's just so easy to pretend like I didn't even have that goal! So here is me being accountable :). I have three goals that I am going to report on every week. It will help me be a better blogger, and even if no one is reading this, it will help me to report to someone!

Goal 1 - Exercise! I would really like to have a healthy and fit pregnancy. I want to feel good and stay active. Of course I don't want to gain numberless pounds that will be so hard to shed!! Exercising will help me feel better throughout my pregnancy, have a smoother delivery, and whip back into shape more easily. I have a lot more time in the mornings and did pretty darn good for about a week and a half. I know I can do it, I have done it, so I have no excuse! I have a prenatal pilates program that I love, love, love too! So I will report back weekly on how my morning exercise routine went.

Goal 2 - To Do Lists! I have found that I am so productive and manage my time so well when I make a little list. They help me accomplish my tasks so efficiently that I can't imagine why I don't use them more. Plus lists should help me accomplish other goals, right? So every day I want to make use of my to dos! I'll let ya know how it goes :).

Goal 3 - Become More Money Smart/Debt Free! Doug and I have made this goal together and really come up with some great ways for us to be more conscientious of how we spend our money. I wouldn't say we are bad with money, or rack up the credit card debt like there is no tomorrow. For the most part we are pretty frugal spenders. We talk to each other before we spend money and have a budget that we rarely go over. But we aren't making much progress in the long term savings or becoming debt free area. So we have come up with some ways to make it happen rather than just talking about it.
We are going to balance our budget every week so we know where we are at. I don't check whether I am under budget for household items before I run to Walmart for shampoo, or vacuum bags. I never make a list of household shopping items, which means we usually run to the store when something pops in our heads, which results in mindless purchases that can rack up the total amount we spent. So in order to be more on top of knowing where we are at, we will look each week at the budget, and make a list for things we need or are running low on. That way I will get those items with my bi-monthly grocery shopping trips. Cuts down on gas, time, and mindless spending.
Another thing we are going to try is putting the credit card and debit card away when we reach our limit on the budget. We never use the credit card without paying it in full each month, so in a lot of ways it is just like using our debit or checks. However we both said that we never think twice about pulling it out to swipe it, even when we have no idea if we are over or under our allotted budget. So in the spirit of the cash system, Its gone when it's gone! We may even find that we never have to put the cards away, because we are more mindful of our budget.
And the last thing is the snowball effect. Many people use some variation of this technique and it really is the most effective for debt reduction. After all of our bills are paid, tithing is separated, and savings are transferred, we will use whatever is left over to pay extra on our smallest debt amount. Once that debt is paid off we will snowball its old payment amount into the payment of our next lowest debt. And before you know it you slash your debt with a power payment plan from hades!
So with being more conscientious of our spending habits, we should be saving more per month, and having extra for debt reduction! We will see how well the plan goes and I am super excited to get started. I feel empowered just thinking about knowing better where we stand with our finances before I run to the store. And knowing that we will always have that savings for a rainy day or emergencies is a wonderful thing!

So my little bloggy world, here's to keeping me accountable! I'm sure you will help to keep me in check and my goals on track!