January Aims

I like the start of a new year; the expectations about the months ahead, I find that somewhat naturally, January tends to be a quieter month than December, with less expense and a slowing down of life a bit. I like the simple living that January brings, the eating of all the festive leftovers, the dark evenings snuggled on the sofa and plenty of family time as well.

 

Every month I like to set myself aims for the month, to keep myself focused and to make sure I actually use the time during the month wisely! There are two sets of aims: Finance and Personal. December, and indeed 2015 as a whole, as a bit hit and miss so I’m hoping for a positive start to the year with lots of aims being met in January.

 

Financial aims for January:

– Have 24 No Spend Days (NSDs)

– Overpay our mortgage by something

– Put £400 into savings

 

As I’m hoping for a low spend month in January, I’ve set my NSD the highest it’s been the in a long time. As there are 31 days in January, this only gives me 7 spend days during the month, which doesn’t seem like a lot! However, it’ll be great for our overall budget if I can manage it. Our mortgage overpayment targets have changed again; I want to continue overpaying but I don’t know if we can commit to a certain number at this stage. However, as being mortgage free is a big part of our goals, I want to continue to overpay for as long as we can, even if it’s a small number. The savings target for the month has been lowered slightly, along with ever decreasing income but I’m hopeful to hit this even so.

 

Personal Aims For January:

– lose 4lbs

– declutter one bin bag’s worth of stuff

– do some exercise 12 times during the month

 

So, the start of my #30beforethirty challenge means I need to focus! If I can lose 4lbs in January I’ll be off to a great start, so here’s hoping. I’m logging my food and I’ll weigh myself every Saturday to chart my progress. Anyone got any tips on how to avoid snacking when bored/tired? I’ve got to get out of that habit. I want to continue to simplify our home and that means sorting out and getting rid of the excess things we don’t need. And finally, the exercise also starts! 12 times during the month shouldn’t be too difficult, though I think motivation will be the test at the moment. It’s too easy just to sit on the sofa on an evening and keep warm, but once I get there, it does make me feel better.

 

Do you have any aims for this month? What will challenge you the most? I’d love to hear from you!