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2014 and January Goals – It will be a GREAT year

Last Updated: December 20, 2015 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 65 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

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Hey everyone! I hope all of you had a great weekend and New Year’s. St. Louis is currently being hit by horribly cold weather – today it’s supposed to be negative 35 degrees with windchill). There’s also a foot of snow outside.

Today’s post will be all about my goals from last month and my new goals for this month as well as all of 2014. Make sure to come back tomorrow for my monthly income update.

December was another great month. I took an official two week semi-vacation (I worked some, but not anywhere near usual), which was nice.

We went on a week-long trip to St. Thomas. Then around one week after we got back I came down with the stomach flu, which was no fun at all. So, I am ready to get back into the hang of everything in January.

2013 was a really great year. I left my day job and switched to full-time freelancing, which has been really good for me/us so far. Just last January, I’m not even sure if I thought about leaving my job, so that can really show you how much changed in just 2013.

Last year, we also did a good amount of traveling. We went to New Orleans, Chicago, Gulf Shores, St. Thomas (twice), and a few other places.

I do think that 2014 will be our year though. Sadly, our semi-long trip to Asia will be put on hold for the time being, but we do hope to do that someday soon. We just can’t find the time to squeeze it in.

Instead, we will be traveling to either the Caribbean or Central America later this month, and then we plan on renting a beach house somewhere in February or March for a few weeks. So, I’m definitely not complaining in the change.

In May, I will also be going to Vegas for my bachelorette party, and then we still have our honeymoon to plan as well for June. The next 6 months will definitely be crazy for us!

Here are my goals that I posted in January of 2013 for my annual goals. I didn’t have many, but I still feel like it was a successful year!

  1. Pay off ALL of my student loans. PASS. I eliminated all of my student loans in July of 2013. Felt AMAZING.
  2. Get super fit. Meh. I’m definitely not fit, but I don’t want to be too harsh on myself either 🙂
  3. Save for a decent sized down payment. Meh. I’m not going to say this is a fail, because we don’t plan on buying a home in 2014 anymore.
  4. Plan an awesome wedding! PASS. I guess this is a pass. The wedding isn’t until June of 2014, but I have done a good amount of planning!

 

Here are my goals for all of 2014:

  1. Save 50% of our income after taxes. Our spending has been under control the past few months, and I would like to continue this in 2014.
  2. Have a fun wedding! The wedding is in 5 months. AH! I have so much more to plan.
  3. Have a successful business year. My business goal for this year is fairly simple – just work hard and be as successful as I can.

 

 

December Goals Update

  1. Keep our food budget under $400 and meal plan. PASS. We have been doing awesome lately! If you have come across any awesome new recipes lately, please share them below. I am guilty of cooking many repeat meals lately.
  2. Make $10,000 in business income this month. PASS. It was a good month even though I took a 2 week semi-vacation.
  3. Book the caterer and wedding rentals. FAIL. See below in my January goals.
  4. Book our flights and accommodations. Not a pass or fail since our plans have changed.
  5. Find a camera. Not a pass or fail since our plans have changed.

 

January Goals

  1. Keep our food budget under $400 and meal plan. This will always be on my monthly goals so that we don’t forget.
  2. Make $10,000 in business income this month. I have many plans for 2014, and I’m hoping to start January with a BANG.
  3. Book the caterer and wedding rentals. We really need to finalize these contracts this week. We haven’t exactly come across many wedding-related companies that have the greatest customer service, which is making this difficult. Luckily, I think I finally found good companies and I plan on booking soon.
  4. Run 3 miles, 5 days a week. I plan on partnering this with some T-25 as well.
  5. Get completely organized for personal/business taxes. Oh tax time, it’s something that everyone dreads. This will also be my first year with some major business income, so this will be interesting.

 

How did you do in December? What is your main goal for January and 2014?

 

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65 Comments
Filed Under: Career, Goals, Life, Travel Tagged With: Goals, Life

About Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Michelle is the founder of Making Sense of Cents, a blog about personal finance and traveling. She discusses how her business has evolved in her side income series. She paid off $40,000 in student loans by the age of 24 mainly due to her freelancing side hustles. Click here to learn more about starting a blog!

Comments

  1. Martin says

    January 6, 2014 at 2:32 am

    Main goal for 2014 is to get better at wrestling, help more readers through my blogs, save up lots of money, and go on plenty of trips. Simple, but effective for me 🙂

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 11:52 am

      Sounds like a great 2014!

      Reply
  2. Allison says

    January 6, 2014 at 4:44 am

    I think you are so successful because you make goals each month and then keep track at the end of each month. It’s a great way to stay motivated and be held accountable. Great job!

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 11:52 am

      Yes, goals definitely keep me accountable! So does posting my goals on my blog for everyone to read and hold me to.

      Reply
  3. Matt Becker says

    January 6, 2014 at 5:20 am

    I love the goal to have a “fun” wedding. In all seriousness, I think that gets lost in all the planning and preparing a lot of the time. First and foremost, a wedding should be fun for the bride and groom. Everything else is a distant second. Good luck!

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 11:52 am

      Yes, I agree!

      Reply
    • theFIREstarter says

      January 8, 2014 at 1:29 am

      I got married in 2013 and it will the best and most fun day of your life I can guarantee you!
      As long as you don’t stress over the details too much, something small WILL go wrong or be left out, I can also guarantee that. If/When it does just forget it and carry on having fun, no one else will even notice it

      Have you made your wedding budget public? I would be interested to see it compared to ours, I thought we were quite frugal but still ended up spending a boat load. But wondered what it would compare like to a US wedding (we are based in the UK). Thanks!

      For recipes I have a couple on my site, and lots more to come every Friday this year, hope you don’t mind me posting the link for brevity rather than pasting the whole recipes in there:

      http://thefirestarter.co.uk/category/frugal-food/

      Reply
      • Michelle S. says

        January 9, 2014 at 12:25 pm

        Yes, I have published our wedding budget. Check it out here – https://www.makingsenseofcents.com/2013/01/wedding-budget-our-expected-costs.html

        Reply
  4. John S @ Frugal Rules says

    January 6, 2014 at 6:28 am

    I’m with Matt – having a fun wedding is so important and can easily get lost in the shuffle of the day and planning. That said, looks like you had a solid month overall as did I. 🙂 I’m sharing my goals next week, but they mainly all surround continuing to grow our business.

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 11:53 am

      Thank you John!

      Reply
  5. Liz says

    January 6, 2014 at 6:32 am

    good luck on you taxes with the business income. Are you planning on prepping yourself or hiring a preparer? My main goals are to do well at my job this year (just started at my current job about 2 months ago) so that I will be on track for a promotion at year-end. Also hoping to pay off a large chunk of my student loans and overall just have fun and control stress! Have a great week Michelle!

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 11:54 am

      I plan on doing them myself – it does help that I sort of have a background with business taxes. I plan on having someone look over it though.

      Reply
  6. DC @ Young Adult Money says

    January 6, 2014 at 6:33 am

    I really like your business goal this year! Sometimes all you can do is work as hard as you possibly can and the results will fall where they fall. I did set a formal “income” goal, but the more I think about it the more I feel this is out of my hands. I can plan and execute, but I can’t control exactly how many dollars fall into my bank account as a result. Anyway, I’m excited for 2014 as well and I think it’ll be a great year!

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 11:57 am

      Thank you DC! I hope 2014 is a great business year for you.

      Reply
  7. MMD @ My Money Design says

    January 6, 2014 at 6:35 am

    Michigan is getting blasted with that terrible winter storm too! We lost power for quite a while and have shoveled the driveway 4 times since yesterday.

    Nice work on your $10K income becoming a regular thing! Can we take it up to $15K?

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 11:58 am

      Oh no! I was terrified that we would lose our power (we ALWAYS lose power), but we didn’t this time. I am so thankful!

      I would like to take it up to $15K, but not just yet. I’m thinking March will be my $15K month 🙂

      Reply
  8. Alexa says

    January 6, 2014 at 7:05 am

    I agree with David I like the business goal. I want to be as successful as I can as well without being too hard on myself if I don’t hit hard numbers. The trip to the Caribbean or Central America sounds fun. I’m sure you will have an amazing year!

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 12:54 pm

      I hope 2014 is great for you Alexa!

      Reply
  9. Dave @ The New York Budget says

    January 6, 2014 at 7:29 am

    I have been telling everyone I run into that 2014 will be a great year! They usually try to find out what I secret plans I have for the year to make me say that. I just really think it is going to be an awesome year. Glad to see you agree!

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 12:54 pm

      Can’t wait to see what you accomplish Dave!

      Reply
  10. Rebecca @ Stapler Confessions says

    January 6, 2014 at 7:35 am

    I’ll probably be 100% freelancing this year, too, so it’s really helpful to see you set out your business goals. I should get disciplined and do that, too.

    My goal for December was to spend just $10 more on gifts, and I failed but only by $20! 🙂 In January, I need to find a new dr. because our new insurance doesn’t cover our current dr. Such a bummer, but oh well. Oh yeah, and I have to get the Christmas decorations put away!

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 12:58 pm

      When do you think your switch date will be? WOOHOO! 🙂

      Reply
  11. Yvette says

    January 6, 2014 at 8:05 am

    I need to get my paperwork ready for taxes also.. I’ve started to write down my daily goals and can’t seem to get through them all. So frustrating. But at least I don’t forget what my goals are. Also my goal for this year is to start my own financial blog. I am still thinking about it and trying to come up with some ideas to write about. I think it would be a lot of fun to blog and participate with the blogging community.

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 12:58 pm

      Good luck! I hope you create a blog soon so that I can follow along 🙂 The blogging community is great by the way.

      Reply
  12. Holly@ClubThrifty says

    January 6, 2014 at 8:12 am

    It is so cold, snowy, and windy here! I can’t believe it. Even Greg’s work cancelled which is crazy because they literally never close.

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 12:59 pm

      It’s so crazy! Like all of St. Louis was closed yesterday!

      Reply
  13. Money Saving Dude says

    January 6, 2014 at 8:35 am

    Nice goals Michelle. Good luck in the wedding, and best of luck this 2014! I’m sure you’ll have another great year coming.

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 1:02 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  14. Shannon @ Financially Blonde says

    January 6, 2014 at 10:04 am

    Congrats on passing almost all of your goals! Since most of my clients have food cost challenges, I have actually started a Friday blog series that will highlight yummy, healthy meals for 4 under $15 all-in. This past Friday was Ratatouille Remy style.

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 1:03 pm

      Oooh yay! I will have to check that out. Thanks Shannon!

      Reply
  15. Fig @ Figuring Money Out says

    January 6, 2014 at 10:57 am

    Great job! My main goal for January and 2014 is to make enough side/business income to survive. I’m almost there so I know I can do it with a little bit more hard work! 🙂

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 1:03 pm

      You can do it!

      Reply
  16. Stephanie says

    January 6, 2014 at 11:21 am

    I’m going to pay off my loans this year! Whoo! Good luck on your January goals!

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 1:04 pm

      Good luck Stephanie!

      Reply
  17. Raquel@Practical Cents says

    January 6, 2014 at 11:43 am

    We’re working on keeping our food budget at $450/month this year. Simple goals for the year are great. Good Luck in 2014!

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 1:09 pm

      Thanks and good luck to you as well Raquel!

      Reply
  18. Jason B says

    January 6, 2014 at 12:25 pm

    My main goals for 2014 are to travel to London and pay off 3 more of my debts.

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 1:10 pm

      Sounds like a good year Jason 🙂

      Reply
  19. Michelle S. says

    January 6, 2014 at 1:02 pm

    I started the program, but I’m not religiously sticking to it. I just try to squeeze it in every now and then haha

    Reply
  20. Michelle S. says

    January 6, 2014 at 1:07 pm

    I hope this year is wonderful for you and your family Catherine 🙂

    Reply
  21. Kasia says

    January 6, 2014 at 2:02 pm

    You’re doing an incredible job achieving your goals, and $10k a month, WOW!

    This year I’m planning to start making a side income from writing/blogging, and aiming for $1k per month by the end of the year, become a first time mum in May, and knock off at least 80% of the items on my goals/to do list for 2014. It’s going to be a good year 🙂

    All the best for 2014!

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 2:17 pm

      Sounds like an awesome year for you! 🙂

      Reply
  22. Debt and the Girl says

    January 6, 2014 at 2:11 pm

    Great job Michelle! I am sure you will be able to knock all your goals out of the park for sure. Can’t wait to read more.

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 2:17 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  23. Michelle S. says

    January 6, 2014 at 2:18 pm

    Thank you Anna!

    Reply
  24. Tonya@Budget and the Beach says

    January 6, 2014 at 3:45 pm

    I like that your goals for the year are fairly simple. I think a lot of times we OG (over goal) ourselves. 🙂 Good luck this year. I’m sure you’ll do fabulously!

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 4:08 pm

      Thank you Tonya! 🙂

      Reply
  25. Michelle S. says

    January 6, 2014 at 4:08 pm

    Thank you!

    Reply
  26. Rebecca says

    January 6, 2014 at 6:01 pm

    Great goals for the month and coming year. Planning a wedding is a lot of fun (based on helping friends), but a lot of work too. It looks like you’re set for a great year. My main goals this month is earn extra income this month ($300+) and start reorganizing things in my house.

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 11:05 pm

      Thanks Rebecca! I hope 2014 is great for you.

      Reply
  27. Dear Debt says

    January 6, 2014 at 8:58 pm

    Sorry you had the stomach flu. That is the worst! You are going to have an amazing year in 2014 my friend. I want to continue to side hustle, get some freelance writing gigs, pay off debt, travel and enjoy my time on earth 🙂

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 6, 2014 at 11:06 pm

      Thank you! 🙂

      Reply
  28. KK @ Student Debt Survivor says

    January 7, 2014 at 6:53 pm

    I’m totally guilty of making too many goals and then being hard on myself when I’m not able to accomplish all of them. This year I’m going to focus on just a few goals and I’m going to break them down between smaller short-term goals and bigger long-term goals. I hope 2014 is great for all of us.

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 8, 2014 at 12:09 am

      I hope it’s an awesome year for you!

      Reply
  29. Amanda @ Passionately Simple Life says

    January 7, 2014 at 7:52 pm

    Best of luck with all the wedding plans! Make sure you enjoy it all and don’t get too stressed out!

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 8, 2014 at 12:10 am

      Thank you Amanda!

      Reply
  30. Grayson @ Debt Roundup says

    January 7, 2014 at 10:51 pm

    You are truly an inspiration Michelle. You are doing it the right way. My big goal for January is to get ready for taxes. I like to have them done by the end of February.

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 8, 2014 at 12:12 am

      Thank you Grayson!

      Reply
  31. Tara @ Streets Ahead Living says

    January 8, 2014 at 10:45 am

    Congrats on accomplishing many of your goals! I’m sure your wedding will be plenty of fun. Also, saving up so much of your after tax income will be really helpful to free you up to do whatever you both want!

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 8, 2014 at 11:27 am

      Thank you Tara!

      Reply
  32. Lisa E. @ Lisa Vs. The Loans says

    January 8, 2014 at 3:32 pm

    My main goal for January is to stick to Neghar Fonooni’s Lean and Lovely workout program! Your wedding is coming up – how exciting!

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 9, 2014 at 12:22 pm

      Good luck! You can do it 🙂

      Reply
  33. Lena says

    January 9, 2014 at 12:01 pm

    I’m so excited for 2014 for you! It will definitely be your year! Can any of your friends recommend you some good wedding companies? Do you have a wedding planner? (I never did but it might be helpful to have one).

    Reply
    • Michelle S. says

      January 9, 2014 at 12:23 pm

      Luckily, I am starting to find some good companies. Thank god! 🙂

      Reply
  34. adn says

    August 24, 2014 at 1:13 pm

    Congrats on your success with your blog. You mentioned you are focusing on meal planning. This is smart. I’m developing a meal plan because I pretty much loathe grocery shopping, as a mom I am always at Ralph’s. Anyway, I love sharing easy, healthy, super tasty cooking recipes that don’t break the bank.
    Here are a few favorites
    Easy Tasty Baked Rice — a totally yummy comfort food (I reduced the butter in it by 90%!) and it literally will take you 5 minutes to make: http://thecaliforniamom.com/eat-and-drink/easy-tasty-baked-rice/
    And
    Healthy Yummy Turkey Meatballs: http://thecaliforniamom.com/eat-and-drink/healthy-yummy-comfort-food-turkey-meatballs-easydinners/ – these are very simple to make but give you a home cooked meal feeling!
    Try them out & let me know what you think!

    Reply

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