My 12 Goals for 2016 : Week 37 of 52

1. Pay Down the Mortgage

We were able to make 6 additional payments towards the principal for September {Yessss!}.

2. Buy Nothing New for 1 Year. 

This past week I really wanted to buy a massage chair. A set of merino wool socks from Costco. A lifetime supply of Dove milk chocolate squares. Bubble bath. A box of Biore strips. Lip gloss {and I don’t even wear lip gloss}. A 2-pack of camisoles. A new pair of slippers. Some fancy coconut shampoo. A one way ticket to a house in the middle of nowhere that has no electronics, but does have a wood stove, snow on the ground and a magical refrigerator filled with all my favorite grab and go foods. Oh, and 48 hours of sleep.

So you know… not much.

3. Track Spending and Figure Out New Ways to Cut Spending Even More.

So. Monkey Boy had an appointment at the dentist the other day to get some dental work done. When he came home I asked how it went and he said “fine” and I then he told me he had another appointment for next week to get 2 cavities filled. Which basically means his dental deductible is about $100 away from being met for the year {we each have a $1,500 dental allowance with our provider}.

Yada yada yada, we had originally scheduled an appointment to have one of his wisdom teeth taken out in late October by our favorite oral surgeon. But now, with Monkey’s Boy deductible almost met, and the wisdom tooth extraction in the $1,000-$1,400 price range, we decided to reschedule it for January so we don’t have to pay out-of-pocket for the whole thing.

Luckily the tooth isn’t bothering him {but it does need to come out}. Sometimes you just have to play the numbers game to maximize your benefits.

4. Try 52 New Recipes.

I made the most delicious corn dish ON THE PLANET and will share the recipe soon.

5. Keep My Grocery Budget Under $100 a Month.

So far in September I’ve spent $24.80.

6. Go on 52 Dates with the Handsome Husband 

Last week the HH and I took advantage of the Bank of America first weekend of the month free admission deal and went to the Tacoma Art Museum. It wasn’t super exciting this time around but on top of free admission we also scored free parking and took a walk along the Chihuly bridge of glass.

I already told him that for next week… we will be going to the new Bridget Jones’ movie. 😉 Hopefully he won’t pretend to be sick and try to get out of it. Ha!

So far this year we’ve gone on 26 dates and spent $394.44 out of pocket for our dates.

7. Turn My Wool Stash into $5,000.

I’m back on Etsy and Ebay and this past week I sold $409.93 worth of my hooked rugs. That brings my “craft money” total up to $4428.89 for the year. Only $571.11 left to reach my goal! 

So far in September I’ve sold $564.73

In August I sold $329
In April I sold $29.99
In March I sold $799.53
In February I sold $1077.27
In January I sold $1563.92

8. Get Rid of 1,000 Things. 

So far this year I’ve gotten rid of 1067+ things.

9. Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.

I have a few books on request at the library but I didn’t read anything new this week.

10. Track Hours Spent Working on My Vegetable Garden and do a Cost Analysis at the End of the Year. 

I pulled up 5 zucchini plants this week {we’ve still got a few growing by the raspberry trellis and had planned on getting some seeds in the ground yesterday but things didn’t work out. Maybe tomorrow. You can read all about my latest gardening adventures over on Dig for Your Dinner.

Time spent working on Vegetable Garden in 2016: 20 hours 15 minutes.

11. 52 House Projects in 52 Weeks.

I caulked Monkey Boy’s shower. Apparently in my puffy coat because I am a freak.

12. Make all Birthday and Christmas Gifts This Year or Acquire Them for Free.

The Girl snagged a shirt from Eddie Bauer for the HH for Christmas for just $2.99 thanks to a $10 off coupon she had. Her goal is to get all her Christmas shopping done for less than $25 this year. 🙂 I wanted to take a picture of the shirt be she was worried her pops would see it.

How about YOU? Did you set any goals for 2016? How are they coming along?

~Mavis

Read About My 2016 Goals HERE.