I really, really love the beginning of the month. As is well documented on my blog, I love goal-setting and I love the freshness of the beginning of the month for setting new goals. I like sitting down to rehash what went well, what didn’t go so well, and decide on five goals I want to accomplish in the upcoming month. Let’s dive right in!
Recapping March goals…
Observe Lent, and eliminate chocolate and soda from my diet. FAIL. I knew this goal was going to be very hard to meet, but I really tried! My downfalls came on the weekends, but I really put a lot of effort into trying to meet this goal and I’m proud of the slight step forward I took in releasing this addiction, even though I could have done so much better. You win some, you lose some.
Pay off my cruise deposit. PASS. Paid in full, and now my mom and I just need to figure out our excursions for the three ports we’re stopping in (Key West, Nassau, and Freeport in the Bahamas).
Spend less than $100 eating out. FAIL. I was actually on track to make this goal until the last week of the month. Then things seemed to fall apart.
Try one new recipe a week. FAIL. I only ended up making two new recipes this month. I made turkey meatloaf (in a cupcake pan!) and honey mustard chicken. The rest of the time, I fell back on old favorites.
Start the 30 Day Shred challenge. PASS. I didn’t work out every day, and I’m only about halfway through Level 2, but I did it! Very proud I stuck with this one as it’s not easy.
In April, I want to…
Lose 4% of my weight and “win” Amber’s Spring Shape-Up DietBet. I am really excited to start this DietBet! I’ve never done one before, but I really think it will motivate me to get super serious about healthy living and losing weight. I want to win my $25 back!
Set up a therapy appointment. I really need to get myself to therapy, even if I have to somehow choke up the $55 fee every month. I think I found a good therapist – she’s young and specializes in anxiety disorders and women’s issues, like self-esteem and body image. I just need to see if she takes my insurance!
Work out every day. Working out has really turned into a hassle for me. It’s annoying to wake up early to work out, and I never have energy left at the end of the day to work out after work. But I also know that I have to put more effort into my workouts, I feel good when I get regular exercise, and it’s an essential part of losing weight. So, for April, I’ve decided to attempt to work out every day, for at least 30 minutes. I need to get some sort of activity in every day, even if it’s a simple walk with Dutch.
Make two meatless dishes. I don’t believe I will ever go full vegetarian (I love red meat and turkey subs too much!) but I would like to cut down on how much meat I consume because a) it’s not that healthy and b) it’s so inhumane. So I’m going to start taking itty-bitty baby steps to cutting out meat from my diet. This month, I want to attempt to prepare two meatless dishes. Meatless meals scare me a little, mainly because I’m a picky eater and every meatless meal I’ve seen doesn’t sound delicious, but I’m willing to try anything once. (Your suggestions are much appreciated!)
Spend less than $150 eating out. In January, I spent $200 eating out. In February, I spent $250. And in March, I spent $175. I love eating out. I love it, love it, love it. But I also need to gain control over this area of my life, both in my quest to become more frugal and in my quest to lose weight. But I realize that making a goal to spend less than $100 – after usually spending twice that or more in any given month – is setting myself up for failure. Instead, I need to focus on baby steps. So in April, I’d like to spend less than $150 eating out. Honestly, the feeling of relief that washed over me when I set this goal helped me to see this feels much more manageable to me at this point in time. Ideally, I want to get to the point where I’m eating out only 1-2 times per week, but that’s going to take a serious lifestyle change and those happen in small steps.
What are your goals for April?
Great goals for April! I think cutting back to $150 on eating out is a reasonable goal, especially since I have the same issue. Baby steps are the way to go.
Oh our cruise went to Nassau and Key West! In Nassau, we did a sea lion encounter and it was absolutely amazing. It was the highlight of our trip. We got photos of the sea lions hugging, kissing, and high fiving us! In Key West, we did a trolley tour, butterfly conservatory, and the Ernest Hemingway House where there were SO MANY kitties, most of them with six toes.
You know, you didn’t FAIL those three goals. You made progress on them so give yourself some credit! I want to start up the 30 Day Shred again but I absolutely hate doing it. I’ve never gotten past level 1!! One of my goals for the year is to complete the 30DS but for now I’m going to aim for strength training 2x per week. And I’m going to try to floss 4x a week in April. Right now I don’t floss 4x a month…bad, I know!!
I’m so excited about your meatless goal! I would never advocate for everyone to stop eating meat and I don’t judge people who eat it but I absolutely love that people are starting to see how inhumane the industry is and take steps to cut back on meat consumption. My favorite resource for meatless recipes is the Oh She Glows blog. Every recipe of hers that I’ve made has been fantastic. I want to do the DietBet but I’m having stomach issues and I have no idea what my doctor is going to have me to over the next month so I don’t want to set myself up for failure. If there is another one later in the year I would be game!
Good job on the progress you made on yur March goals!
Besides my financial goals, I want to continue working on my weight loss goal. In March, I got back in the habit of working out daily and eating healthy; I’d love to continue that in April!
Lent isn’t over yet so are you also going to continue with giving up chocolate and soda? I know it’s tough to resist temptation but the next 2 weeks will hopefully go by fast. I know I am SO excited to eat ALL the macarons on Easter morning. 🙂
I don’t do monthly goals but if I did, my goal for April would just be to survive, which sounds ridiculous, but it’s going to be a crazy month as I am presenting at 3 conferences, 2 of which I will have to fly to, plus I’ve got some other things going on related to my job search. So yah. It’s going to be one stressful month but at least it will go fast and hopefully by month end I’ll have some clarity on how soon I will be moving home.
Hooray for paying off your cruise. I will be sort of relieved when my bonus comes this month and I can put the majority of it away for an alaskan cruise. I am terrible about saving money. Last month I went to Ulta about three times too many (and am going again on Saturday) but….all the pretty makeup!
The therapist is worth it. Even if she doesn’t take your insurance, just go. I saw someone for awhile after my d&c and it was $100 a session and was not covered by insurance I would pay it all again, no questions asked.
My goal for April is for it to be awesome. Ironically yesterday on the first day of the month I had a really hard day, but I’m trying to scatter enough things around throughout the month for their to be light days too (including blog giveaways every week!)
We are doing a no eating out and no alcohol challenge in April to coincide with the DietBet. I know that eating out is my biggest downfall so if I cut it out completely it will really help. Everytime you go to eat out don’t just think about saving money, think about the DietBet too!
I’m so excited for it to start! I’m just floored by how big the pot got. I never would have imagined it getting that big!
Good luck on your goals!
My current goals are:
– Start making money to pay off debt
– Find new job
– Get back into reading like I used to
– Pass school
Totally doable… Right?! We’ll see. lol