It’s the final day of 2024 – can you believe it? I sure can’t. This year has flown by, as all the years tend to do. Every year, I love setting yearly goals because it’s fun to think about everything I want to accomplish and the steps I’m going to take to get there. As I’ve said before, I’m A-OK with not marking every single goal complete. These goals are for fun and pleasure (for the most part) and while I take them seriously, I do not beat myself up for not accomplishing all of them. With that disclaimer, let’s dive into my final 2024 goals check-in!
HOME (3/5)
1. Create a book nook in my bedroom. Complete! While I still need to hang up bookshelves and some bookish prints, I’m going to mark this as complete for the year. I added a reading chair with ottoman, a table with a small lamp, and a cozy blanket so it’s a wonderful little reading area of my bedroom.
2. Finish my living room gallery wall. Complete!
3. Move to a two-bedroom apartment. Not complete. I decided to stay put for another year.
4. Buy a new area rug and a new coffee table for my living room. Not complete.
5. Reorganize my home: add shelving to my kitchen, hang an organizer in my kitchen pantry, and buy new organizing containers for my closet. Complete! The shelf was hung in March. I hung a headband organizer that I already had on the pantry door to organize small items like cat treats, oatmeal packets, snack bags, etc. And I added organizing containers to the shelves inside my pantry to make it easier to store things.
MONEY (2/5)
1. Switch to a rewards credit card. Not complete.
2. Complete monthly budget posts on the blog. Complete!
- January 2024
- February 2024
- March 2024
- April 2024
- May 2024
- June 2024
- July 2024
- August 2024
- September/October 2024
- November 2024
(December’s post to come next week!)
3. Add at least $1,000 to my emergency fund by the end of the year. Not complete.
4. Pay off the majority of my LASIK bill. Not complete.
5. Complete a no-spend month. Complete!
HEALTH (4/5)
1. Figure out an exercise routine that works for me. Complete. Joining a gym was such a great decision I made this year!
2. Lower my resting heart rate. Complete. I know I lowered my resting heart rate by more than a few notches this year, thanks to engaging in a new workout routine that includes HIIT classes, cardio, and more.
3. Use my standing desk more often – get to a place where I’m standing for two hours each day. Not complete. Standing is hard work! Next year, I’m hoping to invest in a walking pad because I think I might be more inclined to use my standing desk if I could get some movement, too. (My wellness stipend would pay for the majority of it!)
4. Get a sleep study done. Complete!
5. Be able to comfortably walk 3 miles regularly. Complete – while I haven’t tested this goal, I feel pretty confident I can walk 3 miles comfortably thanks to the extra time spent at the gym.
HOBBIES (3/5)
1. Read 100 books. (110/100) I’m finishing up my last book of 2024 today, which will put me right at 110 books read for the year.
2. Read 6 books by Agatha Christie. (6/6)
- Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie – ★★★★☆
- Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie – ★★★★☆
- A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie – ★★★★☆
- Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie – ★★★☆☆
- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie – ★★★★☆
- Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie – ★★★★☆
3. Reach 100 listeners per episode on the podcast. Not complete. We completely fell off our podcast recording schedule once we got hit with the hurricanes and then Bri’s work schedule amped up (she works in retail marketing, so the holiday season is a busy time of the year for her). Hopefully, we can get back on our podcasting game in 2025 and set some new goals.
4. Update the blog with a new theme and reorganized categories/tags/pages. Complete! The big recategorization project is DONE and I launched a new blog theme in May. I’m so happy with the way it turned out!
5. Watch one season of a show every month. (6/12) Not complete. Womp, womp.
- January: Only Murders in the Building, season 3
- February: The Bear, season 1
- March: Mr. and Mrs. Smith, season 1
- April: New Girl, season 1
- May: Suits, season 1
- June: Bridgerton, season 3
FUN (5/10)
1. Spend a long weekend at Rainbow River. Take a solo vacation. Burn through one candle every month (6/6). Complete! A simple, satisfying goal. I loved burning my balsam fir candle throughout December!
2. Get my nose pierced. Done! (But then I had to remove my piercing because the CPAP mask was irritating it so much, so I’ll have to get this piercing redone at some point.)
3. Get more tattoos. Complete! I got two tattoos on my ankles in December.
4. Take a cake decorating class. Not complete. The only classes I found were pretty expensive, so I gave up on this goal.
5. Find a dry shampoo that works for my hair. Not complete. I tried a few, but probably not as many as I could have. I think I’ve basically given up on using dry shampoo, though. My hair is just the type that needs a daily wash.
6. Listen to one new album every month. (7/12) Not complete. I tried my best!
- January: Olivia Rodrigo, GUTS
- February: Noah Kahan, Stick Season
- March: Florence + the Machine, Dance Fever
- April: Beyonce, Cowboy Carter
- May: Billie Eilish, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT
- June: Gracie Abrams, The Secret of Us
- July: Maggie Rogers, Don’t Forget About Me
7. Learn how to back into a parking space like an overconfident white man. Not complete. I’m still very timid when it comes to backing into parking spots, ha.
8. See a Dolphins game in person. Not complete.
9. Buy new luggage. Complete! I bought a new carry-on in May.
10. Start working through the “I’m Dead, Now What?” planner. Um, complete? I only worked through one section, but this goal was to “start working” on it, so…?
In the end, I accomplished 14 out of 30 goals – but there were a few “half-completed” goals on this list that I didn’t count (like the album goal). I’m happy with my progress, although I do wish I had made a lot more headway on my money goals than I did. I really struggle with those! I’ll be unveiling my 2025 goals tomorrow because you know your girl’s got some 2025 annual goals!
How do you feel about annual goals/resolutions?
I am reading this as I am using my walking pad and was thinking “I wonder if Stephany has considered one?” and there was my answer! LOL! I really like having one!
You did so well! I always love reading your list and feeling inspired. Like when you blogged about a points card I switched over to 2. They don’t get me much but they are better than nothing.
Goals/resolutions are not for me, but I like reading about other people’s!
LOL, I’m glad someone is completing my goals even if I’m not, re: switching over to a points card. HA.
Hopefully I can get that walking pad in 2025 and get some extra steps in throughout the day!
Lolololol on the parking space. The three white men I live with are baller at backing into parking spaces. I essentially never do.
Okay, dry shampoo? I have never found a good one either and then I read that it can block the follicles and lead to hair shedding and NO THANK YOU I DO NOT NEED THAT. But I wash my hair every three days and it’s only a tiny bit funky by the third, at which point I put it into a bun. (I do shower every day! Just don’t wash my hair every day). So maybe a bun? Oh oh oh also? I did start using Prose and although I kind of scoffed at “lets you go longer between washes” I think it might be true?
Okay one last thing: the cake decorating class does sound fun and my friend Amanda teaches one in Calgary (she’s on IG and I think it’s Blessed Bake Shop, her cupcakes are MAD) but also you can do a lot with the right decorating tips and a youtube video.
Happy New Year my dear friend! I think you did great on your goals and you really took care of yourself this year. May 2025 be a wonderful year for you. xoxoxo
The bun usually comes into play the day after I wash my hair… honestly, it can get greasy and gross within 12 HOURS of washing my hair. I should wash it every day but try to stretch it to 2-3 days (mainly because I’m lazy). But I am very glad to hear that review of Prose. I need to try it out!
There must be something about that Y chromosome that makes it that much easier to back into parking spaces, lol. I’m still working on it but even when a backup camera, I struggle!
I need to learn how to back into a parking space like a confident white man! Let’s be accountability buddies for this!
Congrats on a great 2024 and here’s to a wonderful 2025!
I’m still going to work on it because I would like to learn how to do it easily. That and parallel parking. Ugh. I’m terrible at both!
Wow, you got a lot of your goals done in 2024! I am impressed, especially since you went through two hurricanes!
I can teach you how to back up into a spot, or parallel park like a boss! The key is to use your mirrors, or nowadays your back up camera, and of course practice, practice, practice! The one thing I am not great at is backing into a spot with a trailer attached, since you have to turn the wheel the opposite way, which seems counter productive. However, one day I will get a camper and I will have to learn by doing, so I will just wait for that day to learn better!
The problem is, I *do* have a backup camera and I still find myself failing, lol. I do a lot better than I would WITHOUT a backup camera, but it’s still not good. And don’t even get me started on parallel parking! Anyway, please come to Florida to teach me all of the things!!
I cannot for the life of me back into a parking space. It’s just something I will never feel comfortable doing. I think I lack the spacial awareness to do this. Maybe if I could practice in a parking lot for hours I could learn this skill. But nope. It’s not going to happen. And my heart is racing right now thinking about practicing in an actual parking lot with cars coming and going. What is wrong with me that thinking about this goal is giving me anxiety! Ha!!
I have a weird relationship with goals but I love reading about what others are planning to do! I think you had a great year! You figured out you had a sleep disorder!! That alone is a major accomplishment that will positively impact your health. And you found a gym you love! Bravo!!
Lots of gold stars and applause for finishing up so so many goals and chipping away at others. It is always good to know in certain areas you could have done more but not beaiting yourself up.
i am totally agreeing starting and getting half way done is so much more progress than not starting at all.
Looking forward to seeing your goals for 2025.
Happy New Year.
The only way I can now back into a parking space is because I have a backup camera. My husband is a man and he is white and he can back into parking spaces SO WELL. I don’t know how they can do this so confidently! Is it a genetic thing! I want such confidence. But I will settle for a backup camera letting me do a quasi-horrible job instead of an outright horrible job.
I really need to find a good dry shampoo too. In general I just hate absolutely everything associated with caring for my hair. *SIGH*