End of Year Review & 2019 Goals
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Wow, another year come and gone! At the beginning of each year I like to take some time to reflect on the previous year and think through some over arching goals for the new year. It’s important to take stock on where you currently are, in order to make improvements in your life. This past year I’ve been continuing to refine my daily habits, rather than defining particular areas as “resolutions.”
I made many bold goals for 2018, and saw progress in a number of areas. I’ve decided to take a similar approach this year, identifying some key areas to focus on. Most of these goals don’t have a specific end point, as I want them to be themes I continue year-to-year.
Recapping My 2018 Goals:
Completely pay off our remaining student loans – This was a huge milestone for us. Not only did we pay off the remainder on our student loans, we also crushed nearly $9,000 on our car loan to become completely debt free! By far the biggest accomplishment we had this year.
Build up our cash savings – We added about $2,000 to our cash savings, and will likely pad it a little bit more this upcoming year.
Increase our net worth – We maxed out my 401k for the first time, contributed a significant portion to my wife’s 401k, maxed out my Roth IRA and are finishing up maxing out my wife’s Roth IRA. By killing our debt and investing heavily into our retirement accounts, we saw significant net worth growth this year.
Increase blog traffic – In 2017 Spills Spot had roughly 24,000 page views and averaged about 1 post per week. In 2018 this grew to nearly 36,000 page views and 66 posts per week.
Write a “Rockstar worthy” blog post – I didn’t accomplish this goal in 2018, but it happened less than one week into 2019! “How a Positive Mindset Gets You Closer to Your Goals” was featured on January 5th by Rockstar Finance.
Travel to new places – Travel continued to be a big focus for us as we took advantage of our Southwest Companion Pass. We traveled to Portland, Denver, Baltimore, Washington DC, Philadelphia, and Dallas. Plus, I took a work trip to Berlin, Germany and did some sightseeing for a few days!
Instill better daily habits – My goal was to read 12 books and exercise more consistently, both of which are still a work in progress. I only was able to read 4 books, and my exercise only consisted of daily walks for the dogs, ping pong, and some basketball. I would like to build on these areas in 2019.
Looking Ahead: Goals for 2019
I’m going to continue to focus on many of the same areas as I did in 2018, hopefully building on my progress.
Max out all retirement accounts
Increase blog traffic – Hit 50,000 page views and 100 email subscribers
Write another “Rockstar worthy” blog post
Travel to new places – We have a Europe trip planned for March where we’ll be visiting Spain, France, and Italy. I’ll likely have another work trip to the East Coast in May, where my brother and I are planning to visit Boston, New York, Washington DC, and Philadelphia. I have a Spring Training trip (Arizona) with friends planned for the end of February. We’re also attending a wedding in Colorado in October. I’d like to add one more big trip for the Sept/Oct timeframe using some of the travel rewards we’ve accumulated. Should be another exciting year of travel!
Continue to work on my daily habits – My goal is to read 10 books, and do 50 pushups daily.
As always, thanks again for following along! 2018 was a great year, filled with self-improvement, growth, and new experiences. I’m looking to continue to grow further in 2019!
For more, be sure to check out my Top 10 Posts from 2018 and tune in next week for a recap of our 2018 spending.
Related Reading:
End of Year Review & 2018 Goals
End of Year Review & 2017 Goals
What were your biggest accomplishments of 2018 and what are your goals for the new year?
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