You Say You Want A Resolution...
Well, two weeks and we're in 2010, so time to get with the resolution making. 2009 wasn't a bad year. It wasn't great, but it was better than bad. I think overall it was probably better than 2008. I'll have to read through my sparse LJ entries to make certain.
I think my biggest fault this year was getting too comfortable with having a bit more of my disposable income available to me. Then when something earthshattering, like the collectors for the Department of Education track down my direct work number and demand payment then and now, I'm [fill in your cliche choice for a bad situation]. I've been good about making my payments, and two major debts are now in the clear. Okay, so one was cleared as of last month, but one more will extend out into January, and my rehabilitation program with the Dept of Education goes until February. From there, I may be able to start making smaller payments or some other options which I've not inquired about yet. According to my credit report, which I finally broke down and checked this year, I have two more smaller debts which need tending to. One for $200, another for a little over $500. Those can be taken care of in two or three months tops. Especially with so many of my larger debts (outside of my student loans) being out of the way. But only two times this year has my sudden comfort with being a bargain whore gotten me into overdraft trouble. Both times were pretty significant, like this past week when I was struck with three for a total of $105 in one shot. And with that said, I start with resolution number one:
1)I resolve to be better about not spending every free cent I have just because my obligations have already been taken care of. This resolution will include a clause where I resolve to start up my savings again and save up at least $2000 by the end of 2010.
This year was also the year that I started getting exercise back into my routine. I made it through about a month and a half, and it was a good thing. Then, I got pretty sick, and it derailed me for a bit. Also, loaning out my EA Active game and gear kinda kept me off the track as well... Well, I'd renewed my commitment with EA Active: More Workouts, and that too has been good. The weight loss hasn't been significant, but my clothes fitting a little better has been noticeable. Granted, I feel it more in my arms and legs than in my mid-section. Which brings me to my next resolution:
2)I resolved to keep exercise as a regular and constant part of my routine. Even if I don't do a full circuit workout, I commit to getting at least half an hour of cardio in and do my best to take no longer than a two-day break between consecutive workout days. A secondary addition to this will to be to incorporate freeweights back into my routine once I feel too little a challenge with the resistance bands.
If there was anything that I put off on doing this year, it was cleaning. Even with my family going away for vacation for a few weeks, the project ended up not going as far as I would have liked/hoped. Of course, the ideal situation would have been to have taken a week off from work at the same time that they were on vacation, but I was approaching burnout with a quickness and took it earlier in the summer. Though it would be nice to have a week or so to just purge out the room and work it out a little at a time, I really need to work with what time I've got.
3) I resolve to get cleaning done, even if a little at a time. This will also include getting obvious trash and recyclables, and clothes that I plan to donate, out of the two rooms that I am responsible for.
Objects of my past spending frenzies often included DVDs, many of which are still in their plastic wrap. But they were a great deal at the time. Now this resolution is pending the receipt of something I asked for this Christmas, which is a portable DVD player.
4) Pending the receipt, or ultimately the purchase, of a portable DVD Player, I resolve to watch through as many of the dvds (movies, tv series and what not) as possible during at least the homeward trip on my commute. Those hours will add up.
For a while, I was good about packing a lunch. This of course, saved me money, and kept me a little more honest about what I ate. Doing this right would ultimately help with aid the fitness resolution as well. As mentioned in a past post, what will definitely aid in accomplishing this goal is steam cleaning out the fridge in the garage which as long since defrosted. I need to find out if there are any issues with restarting a fridge after it's been off for so long. Not to mention I should research to see if there are "proper" ways of preparing meals for freezing and reheating other than just the obvious, put into a tupperware, freeze, take out of freezer, nuke.
5) I resolve to clean the interior of the fridge in the garage so I can accomplish the real resolution here, which is to start bringing my lunches to work again on a more regular basis. With good planning, this will include a menu of better for me foods. This will include cooking different kinds of foods, and freezing them, so I don't find myself having curry for a week straight, and swearing it off for months.
So in Summary:
1) Curb Spending, Build Savings
2) Exercise
3) Clean
4) Watch Stuff
5) Pack Better Lunches, More Often.
As you can see, I haven't resolved to procrastinate less, because, as a certain SNL character would say, "Can you take a rainbow and eat it with a fork and knife? No! Can you tell a rainbow, 'hey rainbow! stop being a rainbow!' No! Such is Mango!" Plus I think it's so deeply engrained in my programming that I'd need a complete reformat to get that out of my system. So I'll start with small stuff first before I go deep tissue.
I think my biggest fault this year was getting too comfortable with having a bit more of my disposable income available to me. Then when something earthshattering, like the collectors for the Department of Education track down my direct work number and demand payment then and now, I'm [fill in your cliche choice for a bad situation]. I've been good about making my payments, and two major debts are now in the clear. Okay, so one was cleared as of last month, but one more will extend out into January, and my rehabilitation program with the Dept of Education goes until February. From there, I may be able to start making smaller payments or some other options which I've not inquired about yet. According to my credit report, which I finally broke down and checked this year, I have two more smaller debts which need tending to. One for $200, another for a little over $500. Those can be taken care of in two or three months tops. Especially with so many of my larger debts (outside of my student loans) being out of the way. But only two times this year has my sudden comfort with being a bargain whore gotten me into overdraft trouble. Both times were pretty significant, like this past week when I was struck with three for a total of $105 in one shot. And with that said, I start with resolution number one:
1)I resolve to be better about not spending every free cent I have just because my obligations have already been taken care of. This resolution will include a clause where I resolve to start up my savings again and save up at least $2000 by the end of 2010.
This year was also the year that I started getting exercise back into my routine. I made it through about a month and a half, and it was a good thing. Then, I got pretty sick, and it derailed me for a bit. Also, loaning out my EA Active game and gear kinda kept me off the track as well... Well, I'd renewed my commitment with EA Active: More Workouts, and that too has been good. The weight loss hasn't been significant, but my clothes fitting a little better has been noticeable. Granted, I feel it more in my arms and legs than in my mid-section. Which brings me to my next resolution:
2)I resolved to keep exercise as a regular and constant part of my routine. Even if I don't do a full circuit workout, I commit to getting at least half an hour of cardio in and do my best to take no longer than a two-day break between consecutive workout days. A secondary addition to this will to be to incorporate freeweights back into my routine once I feel too little a challenge with the resistance bands.
If there was anything that I put off on doing this year, it was cleaning. Even with my family going away for vacation for a few weeks, the project ended up not going as far as I would have liked/hoped. Of course, the ideal situation would have been to have taken a week off from work at the same time that they were on vacation, but I was approaching burnout with a quickness and took it earlier in the summer. Though it would be nice to have a week or so to just purge out the room and work it out a little at a time, I really need to work with what time I've got.
3) I resolve to get cleaning done, even if a little at a time. This will also include getting obvious trash and recyclables, and clothes that I plan to donate, out of the two rooms that I am responsible for.
Objects of my past spending frenzies often included DVDs, many of which are still in their plastic wrap. But they were a great deal at the time. Now this resolution is pending the receipt of something I asked for this Christmas, which is a portable DVD player.
4) Pending the receipt, or ultimately the purchase, of a portable DVD Player, I resolve to watch through as many of the dvds (movies, tv series and what not) as possible during at least the homeward trip on my commute. Those hours will add up.
For a while, I was good about packing a lunch. This of course, saved me money, and kept me a little more honest about what I ate. Doing this right would ultimately help with aid the fitness resolution as well. As mentioned in a past post, what will definitely aid in accomplishing this goal is steam cleaning out the fridge in the garage which as long since defrosted. I need to find out if there are any issues with restarting a fridge after it's been off for so long. Not to mention I should research to see if there are "proper" ways of preparing meals for freezing and reheating other than just the obvious, put into a tupperware, freeze, take out of freezer, nuke.
5) I resolve to clean the interior of the fridge in the garage so I can accomplish the real resolution here, which is to start bringing my lunches to work again on a more regular basis. With good planning, this will include a menu of better for me foods. This will include cooking different kinds of foods, and freezing them, so I don't find myself having curry for a week straight, and swearing it off for months.
So in Summary:
1) Curb Spending, Build Savings
2) Exercise
3) Clean
4) Watch Stuff
5) Pack Better Lunches, More Often.
As you can see, I haven't resolved to procrastinate less, because, as a certain SNL character would say, "Can you take a rainbow and eat it with a fork and knife? No! Can you tell a rainbow, 'hey rainbow! stop being a rainbow!' No! Such is Mango!" Plus I think it's so deeply engrained in my programming that I'd need a complete reformat to get that out of my system. So I'll start with small stuff first before I go deep tissue.