Ah, it’s time to get back to my monthly goals! I took the latter part of the year off because, well, goal setting wasn’t top of my priority list while grieving the loss of my beloved grandpa. But it’s a new year and hopefully a new me, and I’ve got some great goals to start off the year with:
1) Get blood work done.
It’s been years since I’ve had my blood work done. I need to go to an actual diagnostic center for blood work because my veins are notoriously hard to get a needle into, but I have the paperwork and this is an easy task I can cross off in January. I may even just go to my local Quest location first thing tomorrow to get it done!
2) Set up Eloise with a new vet and sign up for pet insurance.
I’m sort of cheating with this goal because Eloise has an appointment today with the vet. 🙂 But it has been my goal for January since I adopted her, so I’m still counting it! I just want to get her in their system and also check in on some issues she had prior to me getting her and make sure she’s healthy. I’m also going to talk to them about her feeding schedule because she’s been on a “put on all the weight” diet since she was rescued and was skin and bones. I leave out dry food for her at all times and also give her a can of wet food twice a day. I’m hoping I can stop with the wet food soon because that ish is expensive. And, I also need to sign up for pet insurance! Whew. A big month for little Ellie.
3) Get new tires for my car and a wheel alignment.
I’ve been putting this off for far longer than I should, and the anxiety I experience every time I drive my car on the highway means I need to get this taken care of ASAP, if only for my mental health. I replaced two of my tires last year (thanks to two tire blowouts on the highway, hence the anxiety), so I only need to replace the other two and I also need a wheel alignment, which is always a costly maintenance fix. I’ve gotten estimates from a few companies, so now I just need to get a few more estimates and then schedule the appointment.
4) Try out a meal delivery system.
So, I hate to cook. I do not find cutting vegetables relaxing and nothing I make ever seems worth the amount of work it takes. Plus, as a single gal, a lot of my meals end up providing way too many leftovers than are good. But I can’t keep eating out – I want to lose 40 lbs this year! So, I’ve decided to test out a meal delivery service. It’s expensive, but I already spend an astronomical money on food when I account for eating out, Starbucks, and grocery store runs. I’ll probably end up spending the same amount of money, honestly! I’m a little apprehensive, though, because I am a very picky eater but I’m willing to give it a try.
5) Schedule a dermatology appointment.
I usually go for my annual skin check in January or February, and this time, I’m going to talk to my derm about getting all my skin tags removed and what that process entails. Gosh, it will feel so good to have them removed! They annoy me so much and some of them can even be painful.
6) Sign up for Mint and organize my budget.
I am so intimidated by the process of getting my budget organized on Mint, but it needs to be done. Maybe I’ll make this special and take myself to Starbucks while I do it! (Does that defeat the purpose of using a budgeting system to be better at money? Hmm.)
What’s something you want to accomplish in January?
(I can’t tell if I posted this already — it’s not showing up. Sorry if it’s a duplicate!)
Ooooh I will be eager to see how the meal delivery system goes! I am super intrigued by them, but I am, like you, super picky and I don’t really want to pay $$$ for something I might not eat. A couple of the services, at least, allow you choose from a selection of meals, so it seems like there’s a way around it — I am just apprehensive (and also my husband isn’t interested, so…) Anyway, it sounds like a really good way to meet your goals and I hope you find one that works really well!
I hope the meal delivery system works well for you! It’s nice that most offer a free or really discounted box initially. We tried a couple different meal delivery systems but Phil wasn’t a huge fan. I liked not having to look around for recipes and it was nice to try some new things! We used plated and really liked it. You have a lot of control over what you receive as there were around 6 recipes to choose from, I think?
I hope you can ditch the wet cat food. That stuff is just gross! Oscar only eats dry food but we didn’t have to worry about her gaining weight. If anything she needs to lose weight! Ha!
I am posting my 19 in 2019 list on Monday but one thing on the list was to establish and organization system for clothes Paul has grown out of and I tackled that on NYD. I ordered some soft storage bag and got things organized by size. It feels good to have them organized as I was just letting the clothes pile up in brown grocery bags in our basement!
I just shared January goals too! I think the meal service may work for you because you can say for how many people and its just enough for like, a meal and maybe a leftover. We found it didn’t work well for our family but I know people who love it!
Nah, do Mint @ SB. You will learn how to budget your SB treats 😉
It sounds like you already have a lot of plans in place for these goals and that is great! I hope the vet appt goes well. They will definitely be able to steer you in the right direction re: Ellie’s food and weight!
Hmm, in January, I think the thing I want to accomplish is healthy eating and losing a few pounds and feeling better!
I ALSO HAVE STUPID VEINS! As someone who gets bloodworm fairly regularly (THANK YOU, CRAPPY THYROID), my advice? If you haven’t tried it, ask if they can use the butterfly needle! It’s basically the needle they use for little kids. My veins are super shallow (like, ridiculously shallow) and for YEARS I dealt with nurses struggling to stick me and bruising like a peach. Then during one appointment, the nurse told me obviously that was going to be the case because they were using the wrong needle. They switched to the butterfly needle and it has been smooth sailing basically ever since. Not sure if this will ever be remotely possible, but I thought I should share it none the less haha.
Let me know what you think of Mint, eh? I’ve been considering it – I even downloaded the app for my phone! – but like you, I find the setup process a little intimidating (and I’m a personal finance blogger! Ugh lol). I think it might be a handy tool to have in my tool kit. Maybe.
My January goals are…mostly about cleaning haha. We have a small apartment and oh my heavens, it needs a good decluttering. I put a few of our cupboards and closets on the list for this month to get started and it’s been going alright. I also want to get back to exercising because I have been TERRIBLE about that the last few months (I also want to take off some weight this year, even though I don’t have a specific goal in mind).
My January goals are a micro-chasm of my year goals: I want to learn to bake, and to make time for it. So far I’ve made biscuits, banana cookies and cranberry orange bagels (!!!). I want to workout/run 5 times a week (I skipped the first week of January because I was on vacation though). I want to make an effort – get to work on time, do my makeup, shower and wash my face more. I want to journal nightly.
Yay for new monthly goals! So motivating. I used Mint YEARS ago, but haven’t used it for quite awhile. I use a less-than-fancy Google Doc and budget out our paychecks for a couple of months in advance, and that’s it. I need to do something more legit again. HA! Let us know how you like Mint once you get up and running!
That’s a great list to start the new year. I just got blood work done myself (end of December).
You know, I am going to recommend YNAB if you want to dive into your budget, but it’s a paid subscription so I understand that Mint might be a good way to start tracking at least. I used Mint before I switched to YNAB.
I love the occasional convenience of a meal delivery service. I like cooking, but I definitely get in a rut sometimes and I work a lot of weekends so having a box of meals dropped off when I’m super busy is fantastic. It makes my life so much easier, even if it is a little expensive.
I have a few skin tags and I’ve been able to get rid of them by holding a cotton ball doused in apple cider vinegar to them for a few days in a row. They just fall off and leave me a much happier person.