Looking Back on 2011 & Looking Ahead to 2012

The graphic above came from the Mental Health Humor website, and  I wanted to share it because I think it expresses a real dilemma with New Year's resolutions. This list is intended to cover five years, but alas the list remains the same every year.  Ouch!

Today marks the beginning of a brand new year, and is often the time when people reflect back on the previous year and make a list of goals they would like to work on in the New Year. For me, 2011 was a decent year, although I had several problems with child support, we still managed to make it through the year financially without borrowing any money, which is a good thing. I was able to work more this school year than the previous two years, and that helped me when my other income dropped. 

Last year around this time I made a list of all the debts that I owed. I’m happy to report that I paid off three of those debts and almost have a fourth one paid in full. Other good things that I did in 2011 included starting an automated savings account in January of 2011, which helped me when both my income and the child support dropped during the summer of 2011. 

Last night I sat down and made a new list of the debts that I have and want to pay off as soon as possible. Making a list and keeping track of what I owe leads me one step closer to my ultimate goal of being debt free. Right now I have five debts totaling around $4,000 and a student loan that is in forbearance because of my low income. I currently do not make enough money to pay the five debts in full and still pay all of my other expenses. But I am working on that, which leads me to another goal. Another goal of mine is to increase my income this year, so that I can pay these five debts off and also begin to pay off my student loan debt.

I know some people like to keep their head buried in the sand when it comes to how much debt they have, but more often than not those types of people never make any real headway into paying off their debt. Writing things down and reviewing them every so often to see if you are making headway is a sure fire way to pay off your debt faster than burying your head in the sand over them. 

So, with all of that in mind, here are my goals for 2012:

 

Live Within my Means

Save Money

Eliminate two or more Debts

Increase My Income

 

How did 2011 turn out for you? Were you able to make a difference in your financial life? What kind of goals do you have for 2012? Whatever your goals are, I hope you are able to reach them and hope you have a very prosperous 2012.

 

Belinda 

© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2011.

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”
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