A Time For Everything

Image courtesy of IMGBIN.

That's not to say 2023 wasn't productive because it was. I read sooo many books** and learned a lot of things. Mostly about finances: where I want to be and how to get there.

** Official book count (of books that I read) according to Goodreads was 55, but I probably read three or four of them twice. I even listened to the audio version of a couple of titles on top of reading the book. Also unaccounted for is all the fan fiction and hockey articles I read and podcasts (hockey or history) that I listened to. That's A LOT of input.

I've determined that I need to re-read some of those books, but there are several books I've never read awaiting their turn. So re-read immediately or go for the new info first...

Okay...started reading a here-to-fore as unread-by-me book:  Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. :)

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So...jury duty...I ended up being excused. They'd apparently gotten enough jurors for whatever case they were fixin' to prosecute, so I've done my duty for 2024 / 2025 according to my very last minute email.

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2023: The Year of Abundance

Last year was supposed to be the year of abundance... And in many ways it was: family, love, time, productivity, and healing. But not in as many other ways as I'd hoped (financials, to be specific), but I'll take what I learned from all that reading and keep on moving forward.

2024: The Year of Doing

As you've probably gleaned from most of last year's posts, I'm on a mission to get out of debt and put money away for retirement.

That means that there will be little money left for anything other than debt-reduction. What I will have available is time and energy, so I'm going to turn my attention to doing the things around the house / yard that need doing.

Housekeeping, as you also know, has been an ongoing challenge for me, so that's part of the equation, but what I'm really talking about here are things like cleaning out the sheds, hauling off the yard debris we've gathered over the years from fallen trees and/or branches, clearing out the back corners of the yard behind the sheds. Etc, etc, etc... I've started the list, but there's plenty to get done.

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So the moment you've all been waiting for! (lol)

Here are they...

Drum roll please...

My Fresh Start Goals for 2024

So back in October, when I gave my 3rd quarter report, I mentioned that the 2024 goals might look & feel different, and so they shall... I thought I'd mentioned that they'd be divvied up into categories, but I can't find that in a post, but it seemed the way to go.

• Finances
• Keep reading...
• Reduce debt / pay off a credit card or two.
• Health & Wellness
• Lose ten pounds
• Continue to utilize the Hinge Health app
• Get into a yoga routine
• Start eating healthier again
• Writing
• Spend time in the manuscript one a week.
• Housekeeping / Home Improvement
• Implement a housekeeping routine
• Carry out various home improvement tasks
• Miscellaneous
• Monthly missives to Grandma
• Read 57 books in 2024
• Increase my cross stitch pattern offerings

As listed, these aren't specific or measurable, but I do have a MS Word doc with all the details mapped out. Go me!

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And last but certainly not least, in December, I lost another dear friend...

Goodbye dear Regina. You were a kind, gentle soul, and I know you're living your best life in heaven.

Taken in Granbury, June 2023. Regina is up front in the left corner.

Taken at Lake Conroe, June 2019. Regina is second from left, in the pink shirt.

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Take care, dear friends.

Chat with you soon.