NEW 2017 GOALS! - A Frugal Family's Journey

NEW YEAR means NEW GOALS!!

2016 was a decent year for our family but you wouldn't have come to that conclusion based on the percentage of our goals that we had accomplished this past year. 

In all, we managed to accomplish 7 of our 15 goals last year. 

1. We finished the year with 370,402 total all-time page views.
2. We finished the year with a total of 1,376 followers on Twitter.
3. We increased the value of our retirements to $453,633.
4. We ended the year with a mortgage balance to $291,145.
5. We tried out 37 new restaurants and/or dessert places.
6. We completed a total of 55 hikes.
7. We took the kids to 3 new parks.

But as I stated in our recent post (2016 year end recap), even though we only completed 46.6% of our goals this year, I still considered this past year a success! Here is why:

1. Our total dividends, albeit not as much as we would have liked, still grew.
2. Our dividend stocks account, although didn't reach our goal, still saw a roughly 26% gain year-over-year!
3. Even though we did not post as much as we had hoped, our blog continues to reach more and more readers.
4. I was able to get outside and enjoy various places around me. The sights, sounds and taste that I experienced on my restaurant trips and hikes were quite memorable.  
5. I took my kids on am amazing road trip that include a total of 4 different states and 5 State Parks! We did, however, stay at 7 different hotels (which we learned that we will never do again). haha
6. I learned that blogging is fun but it isn't the end of the world if I took a break from it. 
7. And best of all, I can still say that our family remains on track to pay off our home and retire in less than 10 years!

Overall, whether the increases are big or small, the main goal is to keep move forward. Personally, I've been writing both annual and long-term goals since my early twenties. I can say with confidence that our family would not be were we are today without having accomplished the short term goals along the way. Sure, like everyone else, there were setbacks along the way.  But the goals have always helped us get back on track.  They keep us accountable and help ensure that we always progress.

I'm not sure if it is a renewed sense of motivation, or maybe its just the beginning of the year, but we hope to have an even more productive year in 2017!! 

BELOW IS A LIST OF OUR NEW 2017 GOALS!!

Similar to last year, we have split up our goals into different categories. Once again, we have a few "fun" goals in the list. :)

DIVIDEND STOCKS:

1.  Earn $3,550 in dividend income.

2.  Increase projected annual dividend income to $3,750.

3.  Bring value of dividend stocks accounts to $90,000 total.

BLOG:

4.  Write at least 100 posts (8.33 posts/month).

5   Reach 575,000 total hits by end of the year.

6.  Reach 1,800 Twitter followers by end of the year.

7.  Reach 400 all-time earnings from Google AdSense.

FINANCIAL MILESTONES:

8.    Increase value of retirement accounts to $500,000.

9.  Increase Net Worth to $675,000 (excluding home equity).

10.  Reduce mortgage balance to $270,000.

FUN GOALS:

11.  Try out 12 "new" restaurants/dessert place.

12.  Go on 26 "new" hikes (1 every other week).
13.  Visit 3 new parks.
14.  Volunteer for two project/event (ex. beach clean up, clear hiking trail, race event, serve food, etc.)
15.  Get kids outside more - A total of 52 activities (run, walk, hike, etc.) as a family, with a minimum of 1 mile and 30 minutes each.

We have created a landing page for our 2017 goals and plan to provide quarterly updates.  Please feel free to follow along and see our progress!!

2017 GOALS PAGE