If you’re new here, every month I share how I’m doing with my goals for the year. This includes personal, blogging/business, and of course financial goals. This post holds me accountable to the goals I set every year, but more importantly, it helps my readers to see that having financial goals in place are the key to succeeding with money. If you need help setting financial goals, make sure you read this post here on the steps to setting financial goals. 

Blogging

My big goal this year is to double my income from 2015. That will put me at a full-time blogger level, which will be an amazing feat if I accomplish it! 

Contribute 25% of income to business emergency fund. (I use Capital One 360 for my business emergency fund) – (Done this month.)

Attend 2 Conferences –

• FinCon16 – tickets already purchased.
• Still to figure out another one to attend….

Have signed contract with literary agent by December 31^st. 

Release one eCourse by October 1^st.  (Haven’t even started this…)

Have an average of 500,000 PVS a month by December 31^st.

• PVS for March 2016: 265,913

Make One Media Appearance – TV or Radio – I made an appearance on the Chris Brown on Air show! Okay, so it was only like 30 seconds but hey! I overcame my fear of talking on live radio so I consider it a win. 🙂 

Speak at at least one event

Increase Facebook followers to 10,000 by April 1st. (Missed this one – but I’m always up for a challenge so let’s see if I can make it happen by May 1st… 🙂 )

Increase email subscribers to 15,000 by August 1st. 

• Current number: 8,902

Read at least 5 books on business/blogging

What I want to read: 

• Lead with Humility: 12 Leadership Lessons from Pope Francis
• Ask: The Counterintuiti​ve Online Formula to Discover Exactly What Your Customers Want to Buy…Create a Mass of Raving Fans…and Take Any Business to the Next Level
• Launch: An Internet Millionaire’s Secret Formula To Sell Almost Anything Online, Build A Business You Love, And Live The Life Of Your Dreams
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
• Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World
• See You at the Top
• The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
• The Compound Effect
• Blog at Home Mom: Balancing Blogging and Motherhood
• Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time

What I Read

Ask: The Counterintuiti​ve Online Formula to Discover Exactly What Your Customers Want to Buy…Create a Mass of Raving Fans…and Take Any Business to the Next Level – I first heard about this book on Pat Flynn’s podcast and oh.my.goodness! This is truly an awesome way to get to know you audience! I think that even if you aren’t interested in creating products you definitely need to read this book. It will help you dive deep into your target audience so you can better serve them. 

Personal

Continue using the Tupler Techniques every day. (These are found in the book, Lose Your Mummy Tummy) – I found out in March that I have adenomyosis which is why I was finding doing these exercises such a challenge. However, I’ve decided that I won’t let that get me down and plan to work hard this month to do these every day. 🙂

Complete P90X by December 31^st – Haven’t started yet. 

Read at least 2 books just for me.

• The Better Life: Small Things You Can Do Right Where You Are
• Simply Tuesday: Small-Moment Living in a Fast-Moving World
• The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success and Happiness
• My Other Ex: Women’s True Stories of Losing and Leaving Friends

Marriage Goals

Write one love note to Pat a month. (Done for this month)

Plan at least one date night every 6 months. 

Read at least 3 books on Marriage:

• 52 Ways to Wow Your Husband
• 31 Days to a Happy Husband
• The 4 Seasons of Marriage: Secrets to a Lasting Marriage
• The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts
• 100 Ways to Love Your Husband: A Life-Long Journey of Learning to Love

 How we spent Easter Sunday…

Mothering Goals

My boys have been in super need mommy mode since daddy has had to work like a crazy man the past few months. It’s made getting many things done a challenge but slowly we’re working on a better routine that allows them to “work” with me. 🙂

Spend at least 30 minutes every day playing with my children. (Wasn’t consistent with this this month. )

Write in Motherhood gratitude journal every day. (Done for this month)

Plan a date night with my boys once every 6 months.

Read one new book every month with boys. (Done – we read 101 Dalmatians.)

Read at least 1 book on Parenting/Motherhood.

• The 5 Love Languages of Children
• Raising Your Spirited Child
• Making Children Mind without Losing Yours
• Love Rebel: Reclaiming Motherhood

Charlotte’s Christening

Spiritual Goals

I struggled praying the rosary every day during Lent but I really enjoyed the concentrated prayer time when I did manage to make it happen. 🙂

Complete 1 Bible Study. (Done)

Volunteer once at our church. 

Read Bible Daily through Blessed is She. (Done for this month)

Read at least 2 books on Christianity.

• 33 Days to Morning Glory: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat In Preparation for Marian Consecration
• How to Listen When God Is Speaking: A Guide for Modern-Day Catholics
• Shirt of Flame: A Year with St. Therese of Lisieux
• The Temperament God Gave You: The Classic Key to Knowing Yourself, Getting Along with Others, and Growing Closer to the Lord
• Cheerful Chats for Catholic Children: Short Stories for Catholic Children with a Moral and a Prayer following each Anecdote.
• The Hidden Power of Kindness: A Practical Handbook for Souls Who Dare to Transform the World, One Deed at a Time
• Catholic Family Handbook: Time-tested Techniques to Help You Strengthen Your Marriage and Raise Good Kids
• Chiara Corbella Petrillo

Financial Goals

We’ve had some crazy medical stuff going on and so we have a lot of medical bills expected to arrive any day now…so, we will have to scale down our emergency fund building for now. :-/

3- Month fully-fund emergency fund by December 31st – goal is $10,500. 

• Current Balance: $8,678.29 (Ahhhh!!! Less than $2,000 to go!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 )

Pay mortgage principal down by $10,000 by December 31st.

• Owed on mortgage as of December 2015 is: $33,835.25
• Current Balance: $32,376.94 (our current payment hasn’t calculated yet…)

Read at least 1 Financial book:

What I Want to Read: 

• The Money Saving Mom’s Budget: Slash Your Spending, Pay Down Your Debt, Streamline Your Life, and Save Thousands a Year
• Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After
• The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Parents are Going Broke
• Debt-Free Living in a Debt-Filled World: A book to encourage, educate, inform, and inspire.
• Soldier of Finance: Take Charge of Your Money and Invest in Your Future

What I Have Read:

Frugal Fresh Start by Stephanie Jones – If you follow Six Figures Under, then you probably already know just how amazing Stephanie is, but if you don’t follow her, you should be. 🙂 In this book she walks you through a 28 day challenge to get your budget in order and to start fresh with all your frugal savviness. There were several things in this book that I had never even thought of! 

How are you doing with your goals so far this year?