Dream big, Start small

One of the things I always feel is necessary is reflection. What is working well? What would I do differently? What steps do I need to take to change that? So, the other night, my husband and I sat down and tried to do a little of just that.

And yes.... it is in crayon. Partly because I needed the color visualization to organize my own thoughts, and also partly because there is something liberating about using crayon. It is not so...stiff. This is no time for legal pads and ball point pens! This is LIFE baby, and LIFE is in COLOR!!

We discussed money mostly. But we also branched out into personal goals, home goals, and family goals. We had a very rocky start at first, by jumping ahead of ourselves. But I sincerely think the key to any type of goal setting is creating a 'norm' that nothing is off the table. Anything is possible when you start. Want to lose 80 lbs? Great! Write that down. When you come back to it later, you can determine how realistic these things are, but for now, just get the thoughts out of your head!

So, we did that. We came up with about seven goals. Our first being about money. Before I continue, I am not saying that this is THE most important goal, but it is the one stressing us out the most at the moment. We brainstormed ideas of how to save, cut cost, coupon, share the work of saving, keep each other in check... we covered a lot.

Let's just say we, like a lot of America, are in debt.... big debt. Certainly not as big as some, but far more than we are comfortable having. We currently rent, which is painfully sucking us dry. While we may not have the "debt" of a mortgage, we also have nothing to accrue value. So, we are paying a bunch of money for something temporary. Originally, we did not buy because we didn't want to be tied down to a house in a place we were not happy in. But, more on that later. We also have debt from before our marriage that is haunting us to this day. Whether it was irresponsible spending, or just situational expenses, it's all there,...staring at us.

So, GOAL1: Pay off debt
Action Steps: 1. Tally up and assess ALL debt. So credit cards, car, old school stuff, whatever we owe. Figure out what is manageable for the next 5 years. (We think, we can get it all done in that time.)
2. Work on spending less. Look at NEEDS vs. WANTS, coupon all the time, plan meals out to prevent eating out, pay closer attention to our budget!
3. Prioritize the debt! We figured out that paying as we are now, we will finish the car first. So, we will focus on that. Will getting rid of that first save us anything? Not really. But it is attainable, and that is a big part about setting goals. If you feel you cannot get to where you want to be, you won't take the steps to try.

On my "What's cookin'" page, I plan on posting some of our money-saving meals that we use. I like to cook experimentally a lot, so hopefully, we can share ideas. :-)