Goals Check-in: February

It's already the end of the month! Sheesh, so much has happened in the shortest month of the year. My sweetie lost her job, I thought we might be moving (our application was turned down), I did my taxes and actually got a refund this year (thanks to the education credits for being enrolled in grad school), my cat got lost, I've been charging through another semester, the wedding venue we'd been expecting to book fell off the table, and all sorts of life changes!

Oh, and I made a bit of progress on my 2012 goals.

Read 100 books in 2012.
The count is over 30. Still no reviews. I started writing one review, but slacked off. It's easier to consume than produce, and reading is no exception.

Exercise for 90 minutes per week.
I forgot to wear my FitBit a couple of days -- I took it off to charge and then didn't put it back on until the next day. So I'm missing some data. :( I'm still not as active as I would like, and I'm considering modifying this goal to better express what I want to be doing.

March Bonus Round

In addition to my goals for 2012 (which I will report progress on in a couple of days), I add bonus goals each month.

For March:

Oh where, oh where has my little cat gone?

Oh where, oh where can she be?

Read Aloud Roundup: February 2012

Questions this month again brought to you by the tireless sweetie (who also read to the mixed 4/5th grade classroom). Selections were made with an eye to observing Black History Month.

Savings Goals update

My biggest financial goal in 2012 is to save or donate a combined 50% of my take-home income. The savings are split among a handful of smaller goals. I keep these tickers going for inspiration, but here's a little more detail about each one.

If I had $500...

This is my entry post for the "Spoil Your Sweetie" contest at UltimateCoupons.com

I like playing this game with my sweetie. "What would you do if you had a thousand dollars? What about ten thousand? A million? What if you didn't have to work for a living?" It's a fun brainteaser, it stimulates imagination, and it helps us get to know each other, our money styles, and our priorities better. The question currently on the table is, "What if you had $500 to spend for Valentine's Day?"

Joining the Declutter Challenge

I had some exciting news over the weekend: an apartment on the top floor of our building is vacant, and we just might be able to move into it! It's a 3 BR (as opposed to our 1 BR where we're sleeping in the living room -- that's really not as bad as it sounds -- and the sofa's in the kitchen), so there'd be a LOT more space (and one more housemate coming to join us... when we figure out who is the best fit). And even though it will entail a bunch of stair-climbing, it's still a really easy move! So keep your fingers crossed.

That brings me to today's resolution: I'm joining the Declutter Challenge inspired by the Single Saver.

My original decluttering goal was too small. I said I'd get rid of 80 things, but in January alone I managed to donate 46. Well, that's a prompt to set higher goals! I'm now committed to removing 366 things from my life/space by then end of 2012.

True Blue to JetBlue

There aren't a lot of loyalty programs that I participate in. In most cases, you'd need to be a heavier consumer of X brand or of stuff in general than I am in order to benefit from the points or other rewards. I have one that I stick with, though, because it's worth it to me. It's the JetBlue TrueBlue program -- and I am almost to my goal of 20,000 TrueBlue points for our honeymoon flights!