Works 4 Me Wednesday: Resolutions

Last week I shared with you that my husband and I sit down at the start of each year to review and revise our goals, hopes, dreams, and budget for the new year. (Go here to read that article.) And compared to last year we really haven't changed our goals, plans, and dreams too terribly much. Even our budget has stayed pretty close to the same with minor changes.  I promised to share with you some of those plans here in this week's works 4 me post so here they are:

Financially:

The mortgage is the only debt my husband and I owe. After refinancing earlier this year (without paying any closing costs and getting a 3.75 interest rate!) we are working towards having our mortgage paid off in 5 years or less. That means that currently we are paying double our mortgage payment every single month.  Our goal is to pay off $20,000 of our mortgage this year. That will drastically reduce our mortgage!

We plan to continue putting money into our children's college funds each month.

We also plan to continue to put money into our own personal savings fund each month.

Home:

Our goals for our home this year are to fully utilize and organize our laundry room (with the help of a professional non-the-less. Thanks Sandra!), finish our basement project which will now include a playroom and sewing nook (thanks to the flood of 2011), and landscape our rear yard.

Physically:

Ok, I really dropped the ball in this area last year. This year my goal is to maintain the weight I currently am at by moderate exercise and eating healthy. I'd like to tone a few areas too.

Spiritually:

This year my goals for my spiritual life are to: a) Continue to thank God for my blessings each morning and continue daily dialogue with him in prayer on my way to work each day. b) Focus on a verse/passage of the Bible each week c) Look for ways to purposely be an encouragement to others and be a light for Jesus.

Mentally:

I am truly a proponent for continuing education. Afterall, I am a teacher by trade. And being a mom of two little ones under the age of 2 has certainly left me feeling mentally exhausted. My goal for my mental self this year is to try a new DIY project each month. I will do my best to share these projects on this site as well.

Emotionally:

This year my goal is to keep calm, and carry on. I am going to try very hard to choose my battles, be slow to anger, and keep my emotions in check even during difficult times.

My marriage:

It has been easy this past year, with such small children, to let date nights and time alone with my husband take a back seat to other priorities. In fact, we made it a priority last year to do this and found we couldn't keep up with it each month. So, this year we are re-vamping a bit and this year we are making it our resolution to spend a date night together at least once every other month away from kids.

And in addition to all of these other goals I also have added to my list: be more careful with the words I am choosing to say around my children (I want them to have positive attitudes even in the midst of difficult situations), control my temper to a better degree, and to be content in the place in which God has placed me in my home, my career, and my friendships.

These may not be elaborate or lofty resolutions. But they are mine, as simplistic as they are. And hopefully - these will work 4 me this year.