Our 2012 Goals: Financial, Family, Personal & Marriage

Last week my husband and I sat down together and went over our goals for 2012 (we don’t like resolutions – they are destined to fail – so we make goals instead).

This year, instead of just the usual financial and personal goals, we also created some marriage and family goals.

Since so many of you have asked, I’ve decided to share our goals with you.

Family Goals
1. Go to the cottage at least twice.
Richard’s mom is co-owner of a cottage up north and we really enjoy going up there in the summer. Since we will have an itty bitty baby with us as well this year, twice is probably all we will be able to
handle, travel wise (it’s a 4 hour drive each way).

2. Enroll Elliott in at least one social activity (skating, swimming, etc.).
We want Elliott to start socializing with more kids his age, so this is one thing that is very important to us. Richard is leaning toward hockey and I am leaning toward swimming. Maybe we’ll do both!

3. Take more family photos.
I already take lots of photos, but I really want to have more photos of Elliott (and the new baby, whenever she gets here!) and myself, as well as more family photos. Whether this means setting up the tripod more often, or hiring a professional photographer, I really want to have more photos of us together – ones that I don’t have to shoot myself.

4. Do more crafts and cooking with Elliott.
Elliott has really been interested in crafts lately, so we plan to start doing more with him. He received lots of craft stuff for Christmas, so this should be an easy goal to accomplish. I also want to include him with more of the cooking that I do on a daily basis. He likes to watch and really wants to help, but I don’t often let him because it usually just results in a mess. I need to get over it and let him pitch in.

5. Do more active family activities (Frisbee, hiking, etc.).
I’m really not a big fan of exercise, but I know it’s important, so I would like to incorporate more active family fun stuff (instead of lifting weights and running on a treadmill).

6. Include Buddy in more family activities.
I feel really bad that our dog was left out of a lot of family activities in 2011, simply because we didn’t feel like “worrying” about him (making a mess, bothering other people, etc.). He is part of our family and we really need to start treating him that way.

7. Plan first Christmas at home.
This will be the first year that we do not travel to visit family on Christmas day – instead we will be having our very first Christmas here at home. I’m excited to plan the menu and start our very own Christmas Day traditions.

Marriage Goals
1. Have “date night” at least once every month.
2. Go away for Valentines Day (last outing before new baby arrives).
3. Schedule alone time once every month month, where the other spouse takes care of cooking, cleaning, kids, etc.
4. Plan anniversary event. Stay on budget.

Financial Goals
1. Put all extra income into house fund.
2. Create & stick to a budget for Valentine’s Day & anniversary celebrations.
3. Create & stick to a yearly expenses budget for 2012.
4. Put maximum amount allowed into both of our TFSAs (this will be part of our house fund).
5. Investigate and understand the Home Buyer’s Plan (HBP).

6. Create a will.
This is especially important since we will have two kids very soon.

7. Set up RESP for new baby.
We like to do this right away so that the money has longer to grow in the account.

8. Rebalance RESP asset allocation for Elliott.
Richard is handling this one, because I am clueless about it. He says it’s necessary though, so it made the list.

9. Allocate money to charities.
Since we are no longer in debt, we plan to donate to our favourite charities as much as possible this year.

Personal Goals
1. Drink at least 6 glasses of water every day.
I made a goal of 8 glasses last year and failed miserably, so this year I am going to aim for 6 and then bump it to 8 once I can manage drinking 6.

2. Make healthy meals at least 5 days per week.
I don’t mind eating some “bad” foods every once in awhile, but we have been eating them much too often lately, so my goal is to stick to 5 days of only healthy foods and then we can eat whatever we want (to an extent) the other 2 days per week.

3. Read at least 1 book every month.
I love reading, but always seem to have the excuse that I never have time to do it – not anymore! I am going to make time to read at least one book monthly.

4. Stay active.
In an effort to lose the baby weight after our second child arrives in March, I need to make sure I am staying active. Going for walks and hikes, swimming, and all of stuff, will help me stay active and won’t seem like I’\m actually exercising (which I really don’t like to do).

We are very hopeful that most (if not all) of these goals will be met by the end of 2012. However, we will be adding a new addition to our family, and that can change everything, so we are being cautiously optimistic.

I will be going over these goals every month so you can see how we are doing and so that you can share your progress as well. Let’s all inspire one another to stick to our goals this year!

I’m very excited about 2012! Are you?

Please share your 2012 goals in the comments.

photo credit