July 2011 Goals
Posted on July 4, 2011 in monthly goals
Well these goals are a little late, but I blame the gorgeous long weekend for making me a lazy blogger. This month I’ve got some lofty goals planned, but I think that it will help me get back on track and focus after a somewhat lackadaisical June. See a pattern here? :) For all the hard work I put in, I really am an inherently lazy person. Which is why setting goals is important to me; if I didn’t, I wouldn’t accomplish anything.
July 2011 Goals:
- Make an additional $2,000 above and beyond my FT job. I’m going to work as hard as I can in July. As one reader pointed out in my June recap, the summer months are notoriously slow. So I’ll do what I can, and at the end of it, at least I can say that I put forth as much effort as possible.
- Try to keep grocery budget to $100. In a recent Moneyville article, I said I was going to slash my grocery budget by 25% from $200 to $150 for the month of July. Well because I’m crazy (and apparently also ‘unrealistic’), I’m going to attempt to keep my groceries to $100 for the month. Can I do it? I’m not sure. But I’d like to try and find out! Just to be on the safe side, I’m going to put $150 into my budget, but you and I will both know that I’ll be aiming for that $100 mark.
- Sell or give away at least 3 things. I have a brand new, never been used Blackberry from Mobilicity. Need to get rid of it. Also, I’ve realized that I have way too much clothing. Need to purge and give away. Also, I’m thinking of selling my $600 mountaineering boots. I’d obviously take a huge hit on them, but realistically will I ever use them? I don’t know any mountaineers anymore, and I’m not advanced enough to go mountaineering myself. Nor do I really have the desire to learn, since I’m so busy. I don’t know. It’s just a thought.
- Buy a desk and a chair and set up my work station. Maybe then I can cut down on my coffee shop spending if I can actually feel comfortable working from home!
- Unpack the rest of my boxes. I’m down to 6 or 7 boxes stacked up in a corner.
- Run or hike at least 100km total. Is this a realistic goal? I’m not sure about this one either, considering I’m going away on business again, but I’d love to give it a shot.
- Go on at least 1 day hike. Even if it’s just a solo hike up Lynn Peak or the Diez Vistas Trail. I need to do something to get my hiking legs back if I want to attempt a multi-day trip sometime this year.
- Figure out accommodation for upcoming August trip to San Francisco. I’ve done some preliminary research, and accommodation is so expensive that it literally makes me want to cry. But at least I have Row 1 baseball tickets to see the Jays vs. A’s when I’m there. :D
- Book flight to Chicago for the Financial Blogger Conference. I’ll probably fly out of Bellingham, since flights seem to be about $150 cheaper, and parking is also cheaper. Plus, with the NEXUS pass now it should be a breeze getting across the border.
- Get my business cards printed (finally). I need to figure out what my style is going to be, because I currently have two visual identities going. Do I want my website to reflect my business cards, or my business cards to reflect my website? And on that note, I need to figure out some time to get my portfolio online. I think the best strategy is to put myself under house arrest for a weekend and just get ‘er done. But, maybe not in July. July’s focus will just be on business cards.
Ongoing 2011 Annual Goals:
- No buying lunch, snacks or coffee during the work week
- No buying clothing, shoes or accessories until December 31, 2011
- Work out at least 3x/week
33 Responses to “July 2011 Goals”
Author comments are in a darker gray color for you to easily identify the posts in the comments
Leave a Reply
As seen in…
Recent Comments
Categories
- annual goals (24)
- banking (27)
- blog (192)
- budget (96)
- car (41)
- contest (26)
- credit card (20)
- credit score (10)
- debt (28)
- design business (37)
- down payment (28)
- education (15)
- EI (16)
- emergency fund (18)
- entertainment (194)
- fitness (165)
- guest post (19)
- health care (56)
- housing (59)
- investing (43)
- job (301)
- making money (55)
- miscellaneous (308)
- monthly challenge (52)
- monthly goals (118)
- motivation (38)
- property (43)
- recipes and food (27)
- relationship (121)
- retirement (30)
- saving money (179)
- scooter (24)
- spending (447)
- sponsored post (10)
- tax refund (23)
- travel (313)
- vlog (2)
- weekly spending recap (93)
You have some pretty detailed goals for July. I am interested to see if you can do the $100 for groceries. I know if I tried to reduce my grocery bill by too much, I would probably end up eating out more and spending more money…
Good luck this month!
My recent post Stock Challenge Giveaway Winner and Yakezie Update #6
Yeah, I haven't been down around $100 for about 4 years, so it will be an interesting challenge. I would probably end up eating out more as well, but since it's not really in my budget to go out to eat anymore than I usually do, I'm going to have to really be smart with what I'm buying!
I have also been trying to cut my grocery bill to $25.oo a week and have found it very hard. I also don't have a well stocked pantry, so I think that is part of my problem. Also, produce sure adds up! I would love to hear more about this and any tips you might have.
Thank you!! :)
If you have a farm market or Asian grocery store near you, produce is significantly cheaper than at any chain grocery store. I get my produce at a local Asian store and pay at least half what it costs to get the same stuff from Safeway.
My grocery budget is typically $150 a month, and a few months ago I decided to cut back a bit (so I'd have more money to spend on transit, because it was winter) and go down to $100, which is what I lived on in university. I didn't seem to have a problem with it when I was in school, but now, I have gone over every damn month!! I keep leaving it at $100 because I am determined just ONCE to get it down that low. Maybe this will be the month. Good luck with your goal!
My recent post Recipe: Black bean & sweet potato quesadillas
I totally hear you. When I was getting out of debt, it was so easy to keep my grocery budget to $25/week. But now with the cost of food going up, I'm finding it very difficult even to stay around the $150 mark. This month will be the month that we both hit our target budget! :)
You were in university a few years ago, I take it – food prices have increased even over the past year, so don't beat yourself up for not hitting $100! In 2006 (in grad school) I spent $70/month on groceries, but there is no way I can do that now. And it wasn't a healthy diet – heavy on carbs & soda, with a few frozen vegetables thrown in.
I was actually living in Vancouver a few years ago when my budget was $150/week. I also ate extremely healthy. Fresh produce all the time, quinoa, and fish pretty much made up my diet. Now, I spend $50/week on average, and it will be interesting to see how I can slash that budget in half. Especially with food prices on the rise.
You can trade in the blackberry for cash or a Target gift card (usually more than the cash they will give) with a company called NextWorth – if you google Target Next Worth it should come up. I am getting $150 for an ancient phone!
Thanks for the tip. I wonder if Next Worth works for Canadians as well? I'll have to do some research.
I admire all of your goals. I especially like the annual goals! I think this is something I need to do for myself and my husband.
Whats your budget for SF? I went in May and booked Crowne Plaza for $90/night. BEST PILLOWS EVER =)
Also, cell phone bills can be cut in half if you're on a corporate plan!
I too would like to cut down my grocery spending however, it's remarkable how expensive food is! I would be interested to know what you end up cooking within your $100 budget.
My recent post Cutting The Train off a Wedding Dress
I'm very envious of your car and transportation amount. Work is only a 15 min drive for me, but everything else is farther away so thats how I end up spending about $160 a month on gas.
Ideally I'd like to spend $100/month, but I don't think that's realistic in the summer. We'll see how that goes! I might be bumping it back up to $150 before too long. :)
Like most of the other commenters, I'm most interested in how this grocery bill turns out! I've been trying to budget for when the BF and I move out together in the fall, and groceries are one thing I just can't wrap my head around budget-wise. I started out with $200 for the both of us, but since I started reading your blog, I've been kind of re-evaluating that. Best of luck! And if you find any really great, cheap recipes, be sure to share! :)
So when I moved in with ex-BF, my grocery budget ballooned like you wouldn't believe. We had a really hard time with our budget because he ate so much food! Now that I'm on my own, I find it much easier to budget and stay within what I deem an acceptable amount. So I think it will definitely help if your BF is on board with your budgeting plan! I will definitely post some cheap recipes if I find them. I think there are a few in my "recipes" category from a few years ago that are worth checking out.
I did the Diez Vistas trail for the first time and loved it! So gorgeous. Who knew this beautiful trail existed right in lower mainland's back yard? It's a long hike though- you'd go by yourself for a 6 hour hike?
My recent post July Networth Update: $133,572 (+0.6%)
PS i just realized that if your grocery budget is $100 a month, that means you eat just as well as my dog!! My dog's special dog food adds up to $100 a month LOL.
My recent post July Networth Update: $133,572 (+0.6%)
I love the Diez Vistas trail! I've done it a few times over the years since I used to live out that way. In fact, I bet I could do a lot of overnight hikes by myself too (ones that I've done before) and be just fine. :)
As you are such a financially savvy individual and probably aware of all money saving ventures, I'm sure you've probably heard of Vistaprint? Very cheap business cards. I use them for my business! Lots of templates to choose from!
Yep I have looked into Vista Print, but I'm looking for a specific kind of business card that they don't offer. There's a local company that does it, but am trying to look for different solutions since they are a bit pricey.
I always find it so tough running in the summer. I checked my Nike+ for last year and noticed a distinct drop off in June/July/August. I'm training for a marathon so I really need to keep running myself or I'm going to loose my endurance.
My recent post UTR Registration
I find it's easier for me to run in the summer. It gets light out so early and I like to run before 6am, so it definitely helps.
We are heading to SF next week and ended up booking a place through VRBO, a two bedroom that will cost each couple about $1100 USD for the week. Not a great price but not terrible. There were some cheaper places as well. You might want to check it out. :-)
Yeah I usually check VRBO first. But everything just seems so expensive. Especially because we need a 2-bedroom place. :(
Have you looked at hotels in the East Bay when you go to San Francisco? I used to live in Berkeley and if you stay downtown it's a 20 minute train ride to the city.
If you want to stay in San Francisco, there is a lot of reasonably priced hotels a few blocks away from fisherman's wharf, which is a street car or muni ride away from downtown.
My recent post I'm still here!
Thanks for the Fisherman's Wharf suggestion! I'll definitely look into it, because at this point it's looking a little desperate. :)
I stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott in Fisherman's Wharf this past December. Reasonable prices and it's really easy to get around to different parts of the city.
Also, sell the boots! There's no point in keeping equipment that you won't use around. They're just wasting space.
Yeah I know, I should. Craigslist it is! Thanks for the motivation. :)
Between your cell phone, internet and entertainment you've got $300/month budgeted and you want to cut your food bill down to $100? What are you going to live on, love? What a joke… LOL Sounds like a 20 something decision…
[...] been a couple posts on reducing food expenses to livable minimums. Krystal caught some flack in her July 2011 goals post about trying to see if she could keep her grocery budget under $100 for a month. You know, just [...]