I used to set myself monthly goals to get certain things done and to create new habits which would mean I could live on less. With those new habits firmly established I now have longer term ‘goals’ that can be worked towards in a less strict and more leisurely fashion! The following are the goals I am trying to keep in mind.
A SIMPLER APPROACH
Something I’m working towards all of the time. My goals in this respect include:
- Freeing up time: Working out ways of getting boring chores out of the way more quickly so I can claw back free time (even if I’m only spending that time having a snooze).
- Having less stuff: All part of spending less and decluttering. I’m fed up of having my time robbed by ’stuff’ that needs putting away, washing, dusting, special storage etc.
- Shoestring fun: Keeping making the effort to find free or cheap things to do.
- Hobbies: I used to to think in terms of ‘One day’. As in ‘One day I’ll have time to write’ or ‘One day I’ll be able to exercise more and spend more time outside’ and so on. One day never comes unless you decide it is, in fact, today. Spending less time on chores should mean I can spend more time doing things I like. The great thing is, most of these things don’t cost very much, if anything. Thankfully I don’t count shopping as a hobby!
SAVING
I started to get serious about saving because I hope to have a family one day, I really want a decent emergency fund (to make life less stressful!) and to also have some fun money set aside. There’s nothing better than seeing something you really want to do and just being able to go for it! My savings goals are:
- To build an emergency fund of £3000
- To put back something each month for Christmas and Birthdays (either in the form of money or things bought in advance to go in my gift boxes)
- To build a fund for doing things like going on holiday
SPENDING
In the beginning of Mission: Shoestring I gave myself some fairly strict rules and I seem to have broken my (now ex) bad habits. Savings come first. That said, I’m going to give myself a bit more room to buy things like new clothes, books and so on. My only goals here really are:
- Always honestly answering the questions: Do I love it? Do I have room for it? Will I use it? Do I already have something similar that would do the same job? Am I going to want to look after it after the novelty has worn off? And so on.
- Not buying things as treats because I am bored or need a pick me up. There are plenty of things that come free that can do both!
- Not to buy things I already have (anything from plain black V-neck jumpers to notepads) unless they need to be replaced because they have worn out/been used up/ are broken or damaged etc.
HOME IMPROVEMENTS & DECLUTTERING
Ah – will this one ever end? I hope so! The goal here is to work my way through the house until each room has been fully decluttered and redecorated (if needed). We want to sell in a couple of years so it is important that we get things straight. It is also important to me that we have a nice home to hang out in. By nice, I don’t mean like a show home with fancy fixtures and fittings but a place that is homely, relaxing and well equipped (I’d like a couple of different sized baking tins for example!).
FOOD
I’m glad I’ve cut our budget and that we’ve managed to stick to it. I hate throwing food away – wasteful on so many levels. Every time I used to see something go in the bin I’d think of how long I had to work to pay for thing being thrown away! My goals here aren’t terribly specific but I’d like to learn more, try out new things and grow the collection of recipes in my folder. I think being able to feed yourself healthily on a small budget is a great skill to have.
MAKING USE OF THINGS
This includes lots of things such as recycling, mending and rediscovering all of those things I bought because I’d like to do them ‘One day’. It also includes making use of things like the area I live in. My page ‘The 100 day challenge’ gives lots of examples of things I’ve already done and ideas I’ve had.
