Well it’s been a little over a year since I made the five year plan, so I decided to go back and check in. I updated a few things (noted by itallics) and was happy to find that I could cross a couple of them off. Here’s where things stand now:
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Personal:
Live independently.March 1, 2012 (approximately)- Get LASIK.
- Find a church that I enjoy and nurtures me spiritually. Attend regularly.
Have no boxes in any form of storage (including a garage).February 18, 2012- Have gym AND exercise routines that I follow.
- Plant, maintain, and use items from a vegetable and herb garden.
- Do some kind of Habitat for Humanity/Samaritan’s Purse project. (Don’t just give money; give skills and time.)
- Subscribe to a newspaper. (Reward myself for reading the newspaper by also subscribing to a trashy magazine.)
Travel:
- Go to Europe with Glenn and/or friend(s) OR go to Asia, Africa, or the Middle East with mom.
- Visit friends in Southern California once a quarter.
- Visit friends in Sacramento once a month.
Career:
- Get Paralegal Certified.
Become a Notary.February 20, 2012- Have a job with cool/pretension factor. (i.e. CIA)
- Research/decide about MBA.
Financial:
- Pay off all current debt.
- Carry zero balance on JC Penney account.
- Open a savings account with a credit union.
- Get some kind of investment plan going.
- Have a relatively significant amount of money set aside for travel.
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After one year, I should be one-fifth or 20% of the way through this list. There are 20 items on the list. I have completed three of them. This means I’ve completed 15%. I’m good with that. Especially since there are several items on the list that have been started but not completed, such as:
Personal:
- Find a church that I enjoy and nurtures me spiritually. Attend regularly. I’ve been visiting at all kinds of churches in Contra Costa County since I moved here. I’ve found a couple that I like, but no church that I really felt connected to.
- Have gym AND exercise routines that I follow. I climb a couple nights a week (admittedly, using guest passes) and I’m paying attention to my diet now. Once I get a TV, I’ll be able to do my fitness DVDs again and once my car is paid off (by the end of the year) I’ll be able to have a gym membership.
- Plant, maintain, and use items from a vegetable and herb garden. I planted some strawberry seeds the other day. Yes, this is neither a vegetable nor an herb, but it’s a the start of my own garden. I also bought seeds for sweet basil; I just haven’t planted them yet.
- Subscribe to a newspaper. (Reward myself for reading the newspaper by also subscribing to a trashy magazine.) I’d really like to be able to do this one with an e-reader, since I’m not ecstatic about having a bunch of paper cluttering up my life. As of yet, I have no e-reader. But at least I’ve decided how I want my newspaper to come to me.
Travel:
- Visit friends in Southern California once a quarter. I went to Faire at the end of May. I may not be able to get down there this quarter, unless something special happens (*coughcoughSpensercoughcough*). But I’m aware of the cost of travel and am at least trying to make this more feasible.
- Visit friends in Sacramento once a month. I saw Tanthony in… April… I think. This one is much harder than it should be. We’re all much too busy.
Career:
- Get Paralegal Certified. I did my research on this one and decided which school I want. I had a plan for actually signing up and getting the certification, but things did not go as planned there. So now I just have to decide if I’m willing to pay the $8,000 myself. As of right now, the answer is no.
- Have a job with cool/pretension factor. More on this later.
Financial:
- Pay off all current debt. About $6,500 more to go. That’s still a daunting number, but it’s better than the $8,650.96 it was last June.
- Carry zero balance on JC Penney account. Just less than $400 left here. I had paid a bunch of it off, but then I bought some (much needed) new flats a couple new shirts to keep me from hating my work wardrobe. I don’t regret the decision to buy what I bought, so I’m not upset with where I stand here. Note: I changed this from “close” to “carry zero balance” because long term credit history is important, apparently.
- Open a savings account with a credit union. I have the money to do this. I just need to actually take it to a credit union.
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So that’s where things stand. Pretty damned good, I’d say.
Den of the Truth Fox 