Week 1 of the 30 day challenge is done! Time to really focus on my push goal: paying off my credit card debt. this will be incredibly hard. but really worthwhile. i’ve already budgeted to pay extra to my cards this year. including tax refund and bonus (if i get one)! i’m committing to going out less or at least spending less when i do go out and drinking less which will obviously save calories too! all good things. it’s going to be such a great year and i know i’m starting it right!

this is one of my favorite days because you do a brain dump of EVERYTHING you need to do. like ever. the stuff for today as well as into the future. and to get all of that out of your head and on paper? it’s like a breath of fresh air. even though the list may be massive, just knowing what you have to do is so huge! i need to really get back into this habit of creating my daily to-do lists and what better day to start than a monday? 

not sure how i feel about this five day work week… can we please have december again? thanks!

so it’s day 4 and today we have to pick a push goal. this is the one or two goals that once you achieve it (them) it makes the others easier. i don’t really have one of those though… if i maintain my savings balance it will give me the financial freedom to visit my friends, spend more time focusing on AR activism and less time in the office, and help me get to Australia. so maybe that will be my push goal.

Maybe i should make that a loftier goal- not just maintaining my savings balance but getting out of debt. really that should be my push goal. it will be hard… but it’s definitely something i want to do if the stars all align. DONE. that’s my new goal.

SO when i’m out of debt it will feel AMAZING. i have been drowning under this mountain of debt as long as i can remember and i don’t even know what it would feel like to have it off my shoulders. free? un-trapped? like i could do anything or go anywhere? yep. that’s got to be my goal. i’ll be able to truly start saving money and go on more trips. i’ll be able to not only visit my friends but explore the world with them. i’ll be able to focus more on AR activism and less on my paycheck. 

to do this i’m going to have to give some things up. like going out all the time. and going on all my trips (this year i have LA, DC, portland, wisconsin, st louis, vegas, and austin all on the docket). BUT if i take this year to really focus on paying off my debt and being thrifty, i think i can do this. i KNOW i can do this. 

step 1: work on a new budget

step 2: really think about the extras i’m getting this year, bonus/taxes/etc, and how i want to spend that money. i know i can’t sit still all year and not travel at all but i need to figure out where the best use of that money is