Monday, February 6, 2012
A place of stability
For years, my one goal has been to reach a place of economic stability. Not to be wealthy. Just not to panic every moment of every day. Not to stress every time a bill comes in. Not to go without car insurance for a week or two because who will ever really know...
To reach my goals, I enlisted the help of one of my bestest friends. Although I like the nice things in life, I hate math. Hate. Loathe. Detest.
There seems to be a hell of a lot of math involved in budgeting. And dieting. So I don't do either activity if I can help it.
For the first time since she took over my money matters, she ran the numbers and I have hit a plateau of financial stability.
I am not sitting in the green, mind you. I still have no retirement savings, no long term guarantees but for the first time...
Not in the red.
I am firmly in the black.
And I look around my house today and it looks the same as it did yesterday when I didn't know that I had achieved my goal. (Well, with the addition of a laser printer... See yesterdays blog to understand the massive coolness of a laser printer. Ah, to be able to print at high speed wirelessly...*sigh* authorgasm)
We still can't go out and spend like loons. (Which means I am still stalling buying a new bulb for the aquarium. I mean, the fish don't NEED to see where they are swimming, right?) But this year, I don't have to panic and stress. I can fix the stupid chuggy van. (Not saying I will, but I can.) If one of the kids has a growth spurt, there is a budget set aside to get clothes and not panic. If the zombies attack, I can afford to go grab some bottled water and ammo. Stuff like that.
I have hit my goal.
Instead of feeling like I should crack open a bottle of wine and celebrate, I am feeling a little deflated. It's like, before I had a goal and I was steadily able to work towards it. I knew exactly where I wanted to be. I wasn't shooting for castles in the air, just a nice moderate goal.
And now that I have hit it, my engine is at idle and I am looking around at the still choppy seas of life, undecided on what I want to make my next goal.
I have always wanted to go to Ireland...
What goals have you set for yourself and when you meet them, has anyone else ever felt... meh about reaching the finish line?
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No one goal is ever the be-all-end-all. That's why we always need to have progressive goals. Not just a one-year or five-year plan, but a if-I-could-get-everything-I-ever-wanted-this-is-what-it-would-be MEGA LIST. Move on to the next goal, Virg - NYT Bestseller List or something equally huge with little babystep goals along the way.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on getting where you want to be - you will surely just keep moving forward from here.
ReplyDeleteMy goal for 2012 is to create and maintain more meaniful relationships. I've already stopped being the initiator and have seen a number of relationships fizzle out.
Good idea, Lisa. I guess even though my goal was moderate, it seemed so unreachable that I never really thought I would pull it off. Hence my surprise to stand in this position.
ReplyDeleteAnd, Anna, meaningful relationships is a great goal. I know it is cliched to say that a few really good friends is better than a horde of artificial ones but I think that saying, at least, is pretty damn accurate.
Personally, I am thrilled for the initiators in my life... as I am not one by nature, without them, I would be very lonely indeed.