August 2011 Goals: Recap
August was an expensive month. I went to Oregon, San Francisco, Seattle, and I booked my flight to the Financial Blogger Conference in Chicago. However, the only trip that made it into my monthly budget is the Seattle trip – all of the spending in Oregon and San Francisco, and the flight to Chicago, came out of my Travel Fund. Which is now pretty much depleted. But, that’s what it’s there for! :)
My Moneyville/Toronto Star editor is also heading out to Chicago for the conference, and I am ridiculously excited about it. It will be nice to see him again (it’s been a few months), and I think that he has a lot of valuable information and insight that many bloggers will be able to benefit from. Also, there is a very slim chance that a friend from Michigan will be driving out to Chicago to come visit me. He was my best friend when I lived in Michigan, so it will be nice to see him again.
Anyway, onto my monthly recap…
OVER BUDGET:
Cell Phone - I sent some text messages while traveling.
Household - This was my computer desk, 2 shelving units, and an unexpected trip to Target for some decorative things.
Travel – I underestimated how much it was going to cost for my weekend in Seattle.
NETWORTH CHANGE: + 0.55% ($336)
I blame the stock market for the fact that my net worth barely moved this month, because I ended up taking a huge hit to my RRSP portfolio. Oh, and also I took massive amounts of money out of my Travel Fund. We’re talking well over $1,000!
August 2011 Goals (link):
- Make an additional $2,100 above and beyond my FT job. FAIL. Seriously, I was only off by $2.36, earning $2,097.64 this month. Can we please just consider it a pass? Maybe? No? Okay.
- Call bank to max out my bi-weekly payments at 20%. FAIL. I had every intention of calling in, and then I went away to San Francisco, and promptly forgot about it.
- Contribute $650 to Retirement Portfolio. CHECK! I contributed exactly $650.
- Sell or give away at least 3 things. FAIL. I am literally the worst.
- Buy a desk and a chair and set up my work station. CHECK! If you’re curious, you can see photos of my beautiful bedroom and work station.
- Unpack the rest of my boxes. CHECK! No more ugly boxes anywhere. I’m completely unpacked. :)
- Run or hike at least 100km total. FAIL. I don’t want to talk about it.
- Go on at least 1 day hike. CHECK! A friend and I hiked up The Chief in Squamish. It was nice to get out for a short little hike, but it only made me want to go out more often. Too bad the hiking season is over, and all of my weekends will be filled with field hockey and traveling from now until next summer.
- Book flight to Chicago for the Financial Blogger Conference. CHECK! I spent $515 for a round trip flight out of Bellingham. So excited!
- Start to think about my next trip. CHECK! I’m seriously considering Montreal in January, and Miami/Florida Keys in February. :) My only hesitation with Montreal is that my French is bad. And I mean, really bad. Which is kind of embarrassing since my boyfriend is super French. Now, I know I can get away with speaking English and my broken French while in Montreal, but maybe I need to think about language lessons. Seriously. And I mean, not just for this trip, but for life in general. Living in a bilingual country, it kind of just makes sense.
- Get my business cards printed (finally). CHECK! I finally sent those cards off to the print shop a few days ago. I’ve approved the proof, and now I’m just waiting for print confirmation and delivery.
- Create the skeleton of my online portfolio. FAIL. I’m in the middle of hiring a WordPress designer, so we’ll see what happens. I just don’t have the time or patience to do it myself.
Ongoing 2011 Annual Goals:
- No buying lunch, snacks or coffee during the work week. CHECK!
- No buying clothing, shoes or accessories until December 31, 2011. CHECK!
- Work out at least 3x/week. FAIL. This was such an epic fail that I don’t wanna even talk about it.
8 Responses to “August 2011 Goals: Recap”
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That blogger conference would be a lot of fun! Enjoy it and please give us a lil' "trip report" when you get back!
This post is going in my weekly roundup!
My recent post Why I drive an 11-year-old car
I will definitely do a trip report about the blogger conference. In fact, I might do some live blogging while we're there! :)
Nice work! Although I'd happily trade you on the retirement portfolio decrease–I lost over $5K thanks to our lovely stock market here in the U.S. Oy!
My recent post 10 Steps Towards Financial Security
I wouldn't worry too much about Montreal. It's been a while since I was there, but my understanding is that almost EVERYONE speaks English, even as a primary language. I know a lot of people living there who can't even speak French. Quebec City is more francophone, but Montreal is very English.
My recent post Summer Mixtape: You Can't Go Home Again
The last day of August isn't over yet… you still have time to make $3 and beat your first goal! Go Krystal, Hustle!
I'd count that as a pass.
Thanks for the encouragement! :) I negotiated a couple of big contracts today, but unfortunately won't be getting paid until well into September. Oh well!
Your comments regarding your goals ("I am literally the worst." "I don't want to talk about it") made me smile. I know that you're probably frustrated and I'm not happy about your feeling of failure, just happy to know I'm not the only one who makes comments like that when I miss a goal.
Tomorrow's a new day and you'll be able to start with a "clean slate" and attack those goals!
That is awesome Krystal! I am very jealous… I want to go to the FBC! I am sure you will have a blast. Let us know how it goes. Post some pictures! Maybe I can go next year. Hopefully, I will have some side income as well to help get me out of debt faster. I like it how you seem to hold yourself accountable on your blog. I am doing the same thing with my blog and tracking my quest in becoming debt free. Cheers to you!
To your financial health — Martilyo!
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