Another year of keeping it simple. We met our OOP Max for our health insurance in 2019 and I am sure we will meet it again for 2020, so main goal is to not add any more debt and to stay on top of medical bills. In order to do this we will just be paying minimums on our current debts.

2020 Goals

Savings
-Pay in cash for Laughlin trip in January
-Keep savings at/above $5K by end of year

Debt
-Store Loan (From $978.74 to $0)
-Mom Loan #3 (From $30,012.24 to $23,351.65)
-Rental #1 Mortgage (From $77,500.00 to $75,200.00)
-Rental #2 Mortgage (From $141,000 to $138,800.00)
-Our House (From $236,820.33 to $231,573.13)
-STRETCH GOAL - We just really need to focus on savings and staying out of new debt rather then paying extras on existing debt. I am excited that in 2020 the Store Loan will be paid off and then we can snowball that payment onto something else, but for now we will just keep trucking along. Total debt will go from $486,311.31 to $468,924.78, for a total debt reduction of $17,386.53. Stretch Goal would be to get total dent down to $465,000.00.

Retirement
-Continue contributing 6% to 401K
-Research and review allocations of ROTH and make appropriate adjustments

Health
-Be positive and thankful for what I have

Home Improvements and Rental Updates
-Get front and back yard under control

Overall I am super happy with how we did on our goals for 2019! Everyday that I am still breathing is a win for me, everything else is just gravy.


Here are our 2019 goals and how we did on them:

We are keeping it really simple for 2019 goals. Keep breathing, pay minimums on our current debts, and don't accrue any new debt (with our HSA fund pretty depleted we need to make sure we aren't acquiring any medical debt).

2019 Goals

Savings
-Pay in cash for Laughlin trip in March -Goal Met
-Keep savings at/above $5K by end of year-Goal Met, Savings is currently at $17,065.00


Debt
-Store Loan (From $4,078.11 to $978.74)Goal Met
-Mom Loan #3 (From $36,541.06 to $30,012.24)Goal Met
-Rental #1 Mortgage (From $81,458.91 to $79,178.91)Goal Met and Exceeded by $1678.91
-Rental #2 Mortgage (From $145,550.00 to $141,550.00)Goal Met and Exceeded by $500.00
-Our House (From $241,855.85 to $236,820.33)Goal Met

-STRETCH GOAL - No stretch goal this year. We just really need to focus on savings and staying out of new debt rather then paying extras on existing debt. I am excited that in 2020 the Store Loan will be paid off and then we can snowball that payment onto something else, but for now we will just keep trucking along. Total debt will go from $509,425.02 to $488,540.22, for a total debt reduction of $20,884.80. Total end of year debt Goal Met and Exceeded by $2228.91


Retirement
-Continue contributing 6% to 401KGoal Met
-Research and review allocations of ROTH and make appropriate adjustmentsDid not do - Goal not met

Health
-Be positive and thankful for what I have Everyday challenge
-Lose 40lbs by Laughlin trip in MarchGoal not met

Home Improvements and Rental Updates
-Pour cement patio at Rental #1Goal Met
-Plant bigger/better garden at new house Nope
-Get front and back yard under control Double Nope

Goals for 2019 are going good so far.

Savings Goals for 2019:
*Pay in cash for vacation to Laughlin - Goal Met
*Pay medical bills as they come and don't take on any new debt for medical - As of now goal met.
*Still have total savings at/above $5000 at the end of the year (Currently at $16,800)

I've also acquired a lot more inventory for my selling which I look at as a type of savings account too. Most items I get I sell within a month or two at most (unless they are seasonal/holiday, in which case they would be held till the next year), but obviously there are some items that take longer to sell, especially if I have a lot of them, and I typically always buy multiples of items if it is an option. This week I sold 30+ items that I just got, so within a week they were sold, but I also sold 3 items that I got in 2014! So it's a constant stream of income and though I don't want items to sit, the more items I have stocked, the more future income I have as well.

Debt Goals for 2019 were just to make minimum payment and not accrue any new debt since we are dealing with all the medical issues. We are exceeding that already, so far for 2019 we have paid $490.37 in extra principle payments to mortgages.

I also had a health goal to lose 40lbs this year, I am currently down 27lbs. Would like to be down 30lbs by the time we go to Vegas in May. Going on vaca and being sick for over 3 weeks now have definitely killed my weightloss and exercise. I did go to the Dr. yesterday finally and got meds so hopefully I will be better soon and can get back to working out.

We also have yard and home maintenance goals for this year, we haven't started on those yet due to weather. But we have started making plans.

We are keeping it really simple this year for goals. Keep breathing, pay minimums on our current debts, and don't accrue any new debt (with our HSA fund pretty depleted we need to make sure we aren't acquiring any medical debt).

2019 Goals

Savings
-Pay in cash for Laughlin trip in March
-Keep savings at/above $5K by end of year

Debt
-Store Loan (From $4,078.11 to $978.74)
-Mom Loan #3 (From $36,541.06 to $30,012.24)
-Rental #1 Mortgage (From $81,458.91 to $79,178.91)
-Rental #2 Mortgage (From $145,550.00 to $141,550.00)
-Our House (From $241,855.85 to $236,820.33)
-STRETCH GOAL - No stretch goal this year. We just really need to focus on savings and staying out of new debt rather then paying extras on existing debt. I am excited that in 2020 the Store Loan will be paid off and then we can snowball that payment onto something else, but for now we will just keep trucking along. Total debt will go from $509,425.02 to $488,540.22, for a total debt reduction of $20,884.80.

Retirement
-Continue contributing 6% to 401K
-Research and review allocations of ROTH and make appropriate adjustments

Health
-Be positive and thankful for what I have
-Lose 40lbs by Laughlin trip in March (Currently down 22lbs)

Home Improvements and Rental Updates
-Pour cement patio at Rental #1
-Plant bigger/better garden at new house
-Get front and back yard under control

Obviously our year didn't go as planned at all with losing the twins, but here is a check in on our financial goals. Considering all we have been through this year, I really think we did pretty darn good.

2018 Goals

Savings
-Pay in cash for Vegas trip - Goal met!
-Keep savings at/above $5K by end of year - Goal met! Savings was at $13K at the end of the year!

Debt
-Mom Loan #2 (From $17,327.47 to $10,410.84) - Goal not met as we purchased a new vehicle so we would have enough room for the babies and the dogs, we added the loan for the truck to the Mom Loan.
-Store Loan (From $7,116.12 to $4,078.11) - Goal met!
-Rental #1 Mortgage (From $83,740.75 to $81,520.75)- Goal met and exceeded by $61.84!
-Rental #2 Mortgage (From $149,980.00 to $146,380.00)- Goal met and exceeded by $830.00!
-Our House (From $246,688.21 to $241,855.85) - Goal met!

-STRETCH GOAL Total Debt Balance down to $474K or less. That would be if things go well and we could payoff the Mom Loan. That would put us down $30,852.55 for the year (Currently at $504,852.55). - Goal not met due to getting the new truck and saving for babies and not paying off any extra on debt

Retirement
-Continue contributing 6% to 401K -Goal met!
-Research and review allocations of ROTH and make appropriate adjustments - Goal not met, just too much going on and it didn't get looked at.


Health
-Be positive and thankful for what I have - Man I tried, but losing the babies really tanked me
-Lose 50lbs - Obviously with a twin pregnancy that was no longer a goal for the year, but I am down 10lbs from where I started last year.

Home Improvements and Rental Updates
-Complete minor repairs at Rental #1 (hole in wall)- Goal met, we got a lot of repairs done at Rental #1 when we had a new renter move in.
-Plant bigger/better garden at new house - Goal not met, just too much going on and it wasn't addressed.

It's hard to do a lot of detailed planning for 2018 because we will be having medical bills and we don't know exactly how much those will be, and we also have a renter moving out as of Feb 1st and no new tenant lined up yet. Also since we know we have medical bills coming up we changed our medical plan for 2018 to a more expensive plan, and also started contributing to our HSA again, so my take home pay will be less, but it should be the best for us in the long run to keep bills manageable.

But for now we can at least see where we will be with the minimum payments on our debts and other personal goals.


2018 Goals

Savings
-Pay in cash for Vegas trip
-Keep savings at/above $5K by end of year

Debt
-Mom Loan #2 (From $17,327.47 to $10,410.84)
-Store Loan (From $7,116.12 to $4,078.11)
-Rental #1 Mortgage (From $149,980.00 to $146,380.00)
-Rental #2 Mortgage (From $83,740.75 to $81,520.75)
-Our House (From $246,688.21 to $241,855.85)
-STRETCH GOAL Total Debt Balance down to $474K or less. That would be if things go well and we could payoff the Mom Loan. That would put us down $30,852.55 for the year (Currently at $504,852.55).

Retirement
-Continue contributing 6% to 401K
-Research and review allocations of ROTH and make appropriate adjustments

Health
-Be positive and thankful for what I have
-Lose 50lbs

Home Improvements and Rental Updates
-Complete minor repairs at Rental #1 (hole in wall)
-Plant bigger/better garden at new house

Here is our 2017 Goals and how we did on them. Our savings went up $8620.00, and our debt went down $20,792.19. That's almost a $30K swing in the right direction! We also did a lot of updates to Rental #2 including a brand new deck, which we paid for in cash ($3K+).
If we didn't have so many unknowns in 2018 we could have been more aggressive with the debt paydown, but I think it's best to be safe for now.

2017 Goals

Savings
-Pay in cash for trip to Laughlin -Goal Met!
-Pay in cash for Vegas trip for SIL 21st BD -Goal Met!
-Keep savings at/above $5K by end of year -Goal Met! Currently at $16,935!

Debt
-Payoff Mom Loan #2 (Current balance $24,107.25 with $900 in separate savings account to pay it off) - We do have enough in savings to payoff the Mom Loan right now, but since we are going to have a lot of medical bills in 2018, and right now we have a renter moving out on Feb 1 and no one set up to move in yet, we are waiting till things are more secure before we drain savings.
-Store Loan (From $10,094.05 to $7,116.12) - Goal Met!
-Rental #1 Mortgage (From $154,200.00 to $149,990.00) -Goal Met!
-Rental #2 Mortgage (From $85,917.82 to $83,800.00) -Goal Met!
-Our House (From $251,325.62 to $246,688.21) -Goal Met!
-STRETCH GOAL Total Debt Balance down to $490K or less. That is down $35,933.12 for the year (Currently at $525,933.12) - If we drained savings to payoff the Mom Loan we would meet and exceed the stretch goal, but for now we just need to sit tight to see what 2018 will bring for medical bills and renters.

Retirement
-Continue contributing 6% to 401K - Goal Met!
-Research and review allocations of ROTH and make appropriate adjustments - Didn't do this at all - FAIL

Health
-Be positive and thankful for what I have -Still working on this mindset
-Lose 50lbs before Vegas Trip (July 2017) - I did lose 20 before we went to Vegas, but since then gained back about 10

Home Improvements and Rental Updates
-Complete minor repairs at Rental #1 (hole in wall) - Not done, but since our renter is moving out we should be able to get this done soon
-Complete minor repairs at Rental #2 (porch step, landscaping) - Done as well as new deck
-Plant bigger/better garden at new house - I didn't get any garden planted at all this year

I can't wait to get started!!!


2017 Goals

Savings
-Pay in cash for trip to Laughlin
-Pay in cash for Vegas trip for SIL 21st BD
-Keep savings at/above $5K by end of year

Debt
-Payoff Mom Loan #2 (Current balance $24,107.25 with $900 in separate savings account to pay it off)
-Store Loan (From $10,094.05 to $7,116.12)
-Rental #1 Mortgage (From $154,200.00 to $149,990.00)
-Rental #2 Mortgage (From $85,917.82 to $83,800.00)
-Our House (From $251,325.62 to $246,688.21)
-STRETCH GOAL Total Debt Balance down to $490K or less. That is down $35,933.12 for the year (Currently at $525,933.12)

Retirement
-Continue contributing 6% to 401K
-Research and review allocations of ROTH and make appropriate adjustments

Health
-Be positive and thankful for what I have
-Lose 50lbs before Vegas Trip (July 2017)

Home Improvements and Rental Updates
-Complete minor repairs at Rental #1 (hole in wall)
-Complete minor repairs at Rental #2 (porch step, landscaping)
-Plant bigger/better garden at new house

Here are my goals from this year and how we did! Overall I am very happy, especially with how we did for debt reduction!

2016 Goals

Savings
-Pay in cash for trip to Laughlin Goal Met!
-Pay in cash for cruise We ended up cancelling this when we found out it was a lot more expensive then we had planned, and I am very happy we made that decision! We were able to get our deposit back and put the money back in savings
-Keep savings at/above $5K by end of year Curently at $8315!

Debt
-Set aside money to payoff Appliances Card (We don't have the numbers for this yet since they haven't been delivered yet. It is a 0% card until June 2017). Paid Off!
-Payoff Mom Loan (Current balance $13,741.64) Paid Off!
-Store Loan (From $13,013.05 to $10,094.05)Goal Met!
-HELOC (From $28,830.17 to $25,330.00)Paid off! (Transferred into Mom Loan #2 - balance $24,107.25)
-Rental #1 Mortgage (From $158,190.00 to $154,500.00)Goal Met!
-Rental #2 Mortgage (From $88,051.53 to $86,000.00)Goal Met!
-Our House (From $255,775.94 to $250,000.00) We didn't make any extra payments on this debt, current balance is $251,325.62
-STRETCH GOAL Total Debt Balance down to $525K or less. That is down $32,602.33 for the year (Currently at $557,602.33, not counting the appliances yet). Current debt is at $525,644.74, just $644.74 short....but with the $900 we have set aside to payoff Mom Loan #2, we made the stretch goal!!

Retirement
-Continue contributing 6% to 401K Goal Met!
-Research and review allocations of ROTH and make appropriate adjustments Fail....didn't do anything with this

Health
-Be positive and thankful for what I have Feel like I did good at this, but room for improvement
-Lose 40lbs before cruise (Sept 2016)Fail, didn't lose any weight

Home Improvements and Rental Updates
-Finish unpacking/organizing at new house Goal Met!
-Complete minor repairs at Rental #1 (hole in wall)This did not get completed
-Find renter for whole house at Rental #2 Goal Met! We have had the full house rented since April.
-Complete minor repairs at Rental #2 (porch step, landscaping)We got some landscaping done, but more is needed, and porch step is not fixed yet.
-Plant garden at new house We did this and I can't wait to make it bigger and better next year!

After reviewing my goals for the year in the last post, the only one I have not made any progress on is losing weight. My goal for the year was to lose 40lbs, and I have instead gained 10-15lbs.....terrible. No reason really, I just have not been sticking with any kind of plan for eating right or working out, just eating terrible food and lots of it. Now we are down to about 14 weeks till our cruise...and I am out of time to start over again.

So starting tomorrow (6/1) I am all in, no more excuses or starting over, no more cheats and lack of planning ahead.

MO and I are signing up for 3 (Yes 3!) dietbets, 1 for $100, and 2 for $35 each.

We have set up one of our extra bedrooms as a workout room. We moved our elliptical, a TV, all my P90X DVDS, yoga mat, some free weights, etc. into the room. MO is going to hookup my Wii and a DVD player today so that we are ready to start tomorrow. I think this is the thing I am most excited about it to actually have an area dedicated to working out and not have to be in the middle of the living room.

I am going to do P90X every morning except Wed (I have early morning meetings on Wed) and possibly on the weekends IF we are out of town. I will also be doing a ten min ab video (my biggest problem area) on my 15 min morning break from work. If we are out of town then I will be doing some type of other workout (running or swimming at the lake, or softball are usually the only reasons we will be gone this summer).

I also play on softball teams 3 nights a week (Tues, Wed and Sunday) so that will be an additional workout, and I will also be doing the elliptical and Wii Dance Games to supplement too.

Food - I made a calendar for dinners for June (I will make July and August when they get closer). It gets a little tough with us being gone 4 nights a week between the 2 of us for softball. But the nights we are home we have a plan for healthy dinners. When we are gone if we go out to eat I will be having grilled chicken, fish or salads. Lunches I am going to make cabbage soup (which I love) and I also have salads, steamed brussel sprouts, eggs, tuna, Shakeology. Breakfast will be Shakeology, 0% plan Greek Yogurt, cottage cheese, breakfast sandwiches with whole wheat English muffins etc.

No pop or alcohol. I don't have a problem with no alcohol, the no pop is much harder for me. But I know I can do it. We have an event in 2 weeks that I will be drinking at (been planned for a long time), but that is the only time I plan to drink till the cruise. It can be hard to not drink with having 3 nights a week of softball, but I am ok with it. My BD is in about 3 weeks and I am not even going to drink at my BD meal. I have already picked out where to go, and what I want to eat, that I will only eat half and that I will be sending my leftovers home with my Mom.

Planning is key to make sure I succeed!

Rewards - MO and I are challenging each other and I am confident I am going to beat him...lol! We are on casino hiatus since we bought our new vehicle, so we are going to make some casino/fun rewards for when we can go again.

We plan on doing dietbets for June, July and August. For each month we individually make our goals, we will each get $250 per month goal made. So a possible total of $750. Then if we made all 3 months, we get a BONUS $250, but only if we make all 3 months. Then which ever of us has the biggest loss percentage on 8/31/16 wins.....and gets an extra $1000 to do some high rolling! So the stakes are very HIGH! We will probably not cash in on these rewards until October or later since we are busy and this isn't the type of money we would bring to our local casino, only on a special trip. I think this will be good incentive, but mostly I just want to feel good in my bikini on the cruise.

We should make some pretty good money if we win all of our dietbets. I want to update on here at least once a week to track my progress.

I am ready to do this!!

Here is a midyear update to my 2016 goals. Pretty happy with progress so far. Definitely need to improve on some things, specifically losing weight. Can you believe 1/2 of the year is over!!??


2016 Goals

Savings
-Pay in cash for trip to Laughlin - DONE
-Pay in cash for cruise - We have to pay this in 2 weeks, we will put it on our Discover Card to get the cash back rewards and then pay for it in full when the bill comes so that we don't pay any interest
-Keep savings at/above $5K by end of year

Debt
-Set aside money to payoff Appliances Card - DONE, we decided to just pay it off to get it done with
-Payoff Mom Loan #1 (Balance on 12/31/15 $13,741.64) - DONE
-Store Loan (From $13,013.05 to $10,094.05) - Currently at $11,785.20
-HELOC (From $28,830.17 to $25,330.00) - Paid Off/Consolidated to Mom Loan #2
-Rental #1 Mortgage (From $158,190.00 to $154,500.00) - Currently at $156,600.00
-Rental #2 Mortgage (From $88,051.53 to $86,000.00) - Currently at $87,196.11
-Our House (From $255,775.94 to $250,000.00) - Currently at $253,943.88
-STRETCH GOAL Total Debt Balance down to $525K or less. That is down $35,502.33 for the year. Balance on 12/31/15 $560,502.33. - Currently at $537,525.19

Retirement
-Continue contributing 6% to 401K DONE
-Research and review allocations of ROTH and make appropriate adjustments Nope...

Health
-Be positive and thankful for what I have Feeling really good about this. XH texted me randomly again a few days ago. I didn't respond and didn't dwell on it nearly as much as I would have before. Feel better mentally everyday!
-Lose 40lbs before cruise (Sept 2016) I actually gained 10lbs UGH Starting over again on 6/1/16 with new workout and eating plan.

Home Improvements and Rental Updates
-Finish unpacking/organizing at new house House is done, still working on garage
-Complete minor repairs at Rental #1 (hole in wall)Nope
-Find renter for whole house at Rental #2 - DONE
-Complete minor repairs at Rental #2 (porch step, landscaping) - We worked on the landscaping, still need to do a few minor repairs
-Plant garden at new house - Waiting for tiller to be repaired, should be done any day now