Our 2012 Goals: July Update

At the beginning of January, I shared our goals for 2012 and promised you all a monthly update so you could check in on the progress we are making.

Family Goals

1. Go to the cottage at least twice. We went once, but technically it was this month (August).
2. Enroll Elliott in at least one social activity. I’m not sure we will be doing swimming classes this year any more, because there aren’t any good classes near our new house (or so we’ve been told). Hockey, for sure, but that’s not for another month or 2.
3. Take more family photos. We took a few family photos in July.
4. Do more crafts and cooking with Elliott. We did lots of crafts (he loves painting!), and he helped a bit in the kitchen.
5. Do more active family activities. Still mostly walks, but we’re at least walking in different areas of town to switch things up a bit.
6. Include Buddy (our dog) in more family activities. We took Buddy on most of our walks.
7. Plan first Christmas at home. We won’t be worrying about this goal until late 2012.

Marriage Goals

1. Have “date night” at least once every month. This didn’t happen in July because we were so very busy with house hunting.
2. Go away for Valentines Day (last outing before new baby arrives). This was technically part of our February date night. We went away for the night and saw the Harlem Globetrotters, ate cupcakes from an over-priced bakery and slept in the next morning. It was awesome!
3. Schedule alone time once every month, where the other spouse takes care of cooking, cleaning, kids, etc. Instead of an entire day to ourselves, we took turns letting each other work.
4. Plan anniversary event. I’m pretty sure we’ve decided on this.. we’re hoping to go to New York City in a few weeks!

Financial Goals

1. Put all extra income into house fund. Done! We bought our house in July and move in late-October. I’ll be writing about this adventure soon!
2. Create & stick to a budget for Valentine’s Day & anniversary celebrations. We doubled our Valentine’s Day budget.. but it was worth it.
3. Create & stick to a yearly expenses budget for 2012. So far, so good! We’re actually very under budget.
4. Put maximum amount allowed into both of our TFSAs (this will be part of our house fund). Done!
5. Investigate and understand the Home Buyer’s Plan (HBP). I’m pretty sure we understand this now!
6. Create a will. It’s almost finished. We have a great new lawyer now.
7. Set up RESP for new baby. Done!
8. Rebalance RESP asset allocation for Elliott. Done!
9. Allocate money to charities. We made another donation to Sick Kids this month.

Personal Goals

1. Drink at least 6 glasses of water every day. I think I’m averaging around 5. I’ll get there eventually.
2. Make healthy meals at least 5 days per week. Done!
3. Read at least 1 book every month. I only had time for 1 book this month and it was 50 Shades Freed. Like the other 2 books in the trilogy, it was awesome.
4. Stay active. I did well with this during the first 2 weeks of the month, then started to slack off. Time to step it up a notch!

Did you set any goals for 2012? I’d love it if you shared your progress in the comments.