2013 Projects and Goals

[rsadelle]

Writing
Making yearly writing goals is always an iffy proposition because I always end up writing a lot, but not being able to predict what it will be. (Case in point: hockey RPF.) This year I want to sell at least one book and finish writing book three. I'm back in the habit of working on book three every day (well, six days a week), and if I can also get back in the habit of editing every day, surely I can do both of these things by the end of the year. Plus, of course, my usual fic writing.

Midwest Trip
I really wanted to go visit lakeeffectgirl in particular in October, and it just didn't happen. So assuming I have a job, I want to visit her and Team Chicago sometime in that late-April to mid-October time period when I can be there without freezing to death. (I am a wimp about the cold.) lakeeffectgirl also mentioned possibly coming to visit me here, which would also be awesome. Either way, visiting with friends.

Reading
I read a lot of books in the last two months. I think I forgot how much I love that. I'd like to finish the seven or so books still in my unfinished pile, and figure out how to read more once I have a job again. I have a problem with stopping in the middle of a book, which means if I start reading in the evening, I'll keep reading just one more chapter until I'm done with the book and it's two hours past my bedtime, so maybe Saturday afternoon could be book reading time.

Physical Environment
My house is already very much designed to be comfortable for me, but reading Happier at Home made me think about what needs to be rearranged and tweaked:

• Clean out the closet.


• Figure out if I want to keep any of my belly dance stuff and what to do with the stuff I don't want anymore.


• Give away/sell the manga I'm never going to read again and subsequently rearrange the bookshelf.


• Replace the poster I no longer want hanging in my bedroom.


• Make the wall across from my desk an inspiration wall. (I already have most of the things I want on there. I just need to frame them and also make a nice version of the "temporary" thing that's been there for a couple of years.)

Food
If I eat eat sugar, eat only small/controlled amounts. I haven't figured out what the limit is yet, but I stopped buying sugary things in July or so and discovered in September that my body doesn't handle very much sugar well anymore. If I could figure out the limit, that would be helpful, but it seems easier and less painful to just stick to no sugar most of the time and only very small amounts when I do have it.

Financial Security
This feels strange to put on here; it doesn't seem like the same kind of goal as the other things. It feels greedy instead of lofty, and I'm not sure if anyone with retirement accounts really gets to worry that much about finances. But at the end of November, Gretchen Rubin made a post asking, "If, by the end of 2013, you could magically change one aspect of your life, what would you change?" My immediate, no thought needed answer was financial security. My financial situation was actually pretty stable for most of 2012, but I spent at least a third of the year feeling like it was more precarious than it really was (and in some ways it turned out to be not that stable). Specific goals:

• Find a job with a stable entity that pays more than my last job and has reasonable benefits. A job I love would be awesome, but I'll settle for one I like, or at the very least one I don't hate.


• Consolidate my retirement accounts.


• Spend money only on consumables and important things. (Visiting/socializing with friends, a new skirt for summer, and replacing the purse that's literally falling apart all count as important).


• Once I have a steady income again, set up automatic, regular deposits into my savings account.

Comments

[terl-girl.livejournal.com]

There's nothing greedy about wanting financial security, bb! It's all very fashionable among these SJW types to hate on money and the people who have it/want it, but like my bb Glenn always used to say (or maybe he still does, IDK), you can't help your neighbor if your own house is burning down. It looks like you have perfectly reasonable and sensible financial goals. Sending good vibes your way and hoping you achieve them!

[terl-girl.livejournal.com]

P.S., I've known people twice your age, including some in my immediate family, who didn't have retirement accounts, so you should feel good about yourself for being that smart about your future.

[rsadelle]

♥ Thank you.

[allegram.livejournal.com]

Also as far as consolidating them goes, I do most of my banking with ING and they are always trying to convince me to transfer retirement thingies to them. No obviously I don't have the retirement thingies, but in other areas I really enjoy working with them they are an online only bank and offer me interest rates on my checking account that are higher than my brick and mortar banks CD rates.

[rsadelle]

I have heard of them! Changing banks is such a hassle that I've never messed around with it, but maybe I will look into that when I get to seriously dealing with this stuff.

ING

[archivecats.livejournal.com]

I also have some of my money with ING - but for the record, they've recently been bought by Capital One, so there's no telling what will happen to their promises of nice things like actual interest paid on savings accounts.

Re: ING

[rsadelle]

Huh. Good to know!