Monster post today, so let’s jump right in, shall we?
I am finally publicizing my personal, financial, and blog goals! In the past I have been super afraid to do so for fear of failing! And do you know what I have found? The same thing applies to my goals as it does to my finances: Making it public makes me work harder. I REALLY do not want to have to come back at the end of the month and say I failed (at least not in too many categories :-)
April Goals:
Blog: In April, I really want to focus on social media and SEO. Those are areas where I am lacking :-( and have lot to learn! Overall, I succeeded!
- Increase Twitter Followers x100 – PASS! – 114 new followers. Thank you!
- Increase Pinterest Followers x100 – PASS! 145 new followers :-)
- Increase Google + followers x50 – FAIL! 22 new :-( If you haven’t yet, circle me on Google +!
- Increase Tumblr followers x50 – FAIL! I got distracted and completely forgot about tumblr…oh well, there’s always next month!
- Work on SEO – still learning, but any progress is good progress. PASS! I started using Yoast after hearing great things about it, as well as doing more keyword research. As a result, I am seeing a pretty substantial page view increase!
Finances:
- Pay $500 towards personal loan: PASS
- Complete 2 mystery shops – PASS
- Complete 1 survey per day – FAIL….I did one 4 days per week…
Health/Family
- Workout 2x per week – PASS! I started using Pact to motivate me to work out, and it works! You don’t really make tons of money with the app, but it really motivates me to work out because I don’t want to LOSE $10 per workout!
- Lose 2lbs. – PASS! I lost 2.5!
- Do a date night with The Big Guy – FAIL :-) We have really been slacking this month…We did, however, take Baby RB40 to the Zoo for the first time, and she absolutely loved it!
May Goals –
Blog
- Bloglovin’ – Get more involved and increase followers by 50. You can follow me on bloglovin’ here!
- 1 freelance writing job, be it a one-time thing or a staff-writing position (see my shameless plus below :-) or my Hire Me tab!
- Change out logos on social media to match the logo on my header.
Finances
- Pay $500 towards personal loan
- Pick up one freelance writing gig – I know, this is a crossover
- Complete 2 mystery shops
- Stick to $400 Grocery Budget
Health/Family
- Actually do a date night
- 5-7 pm is family time 5 days a week!
- Lose 2 lbs
- Workout 3x per week
- Track my food 5x per week
Freelance Writing –
I am starting to branch out into freelance writing! Do you need a staff writer, guest post, or know someone who does? I can fill a one-time need or write on a regular basis, and I turn around articles pretty quickly! Check out my Hire Me page for more info!
Budget Update –
- As you can see, our income was about $300 higher than anticipated – yay! But, we spend it all taking advantage of some deals like a trailer lighting thingey for our Traverse, some home improvement stuff, and garage sale clothes!
- I think we are going to have to up our grocery budget for the time being. I’m thinking to $400 per month. The reason? First, Baby RB40 is teething, which means we will basically buy her anything to make her feel better. Second, while she is eating baby food, and I a making most of it, I have noticed that we are spending more on groceries – almost as if we’re buying two sets of groceries. The food costs have begun!
- We spent some of our surplus on some stuff that needed to be done around the house, like mulch for the landscaping, drywall to patch a hole, and some paint. I am super happy with the updates!
- We spent $79 in clothing – mostly from garage sales, and I think we are finally good to go on the baby’s clothing until she hits 2 years! I made-over her closet to accommodate all the clothes for free, too!
- Personal Loan: I know it looks like we didn’t pay the $500 towards the personal loan, but we did – last month. Look at us all ahead of the game!
Carnival Inclusions:
Make Money Your Way’s Lifestyle Carnival – 101st Edition
Aspiring Blogger Personal Finance Carnival #36
Primal Weight Loss’s Lifestyle Carnival
Carnival of Money Pros Manage Your Money Like a Boss Edition
Finance With Reason’s Carnival of Financial Planning
My Life, I Guess’ Lifestyle Carnival
Your PF Pro’s Financial Carnival For Young Adults
Reach Financial Independance’s Yakezie Carnival – Easter Edition
The Value Geek’s Carnival of Financial Camaraderie
The Savvy Scot’s Carnival of Financial Independance
Finance With Reason’s Carnival of Financial Camaraderie
Thank you so much to everyone who included me in carnivals this month!
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Great job on the goal progress!
Hey,
Well done in April your numbers are on the rise. Your Pinterest and Twitter did awesome, good for you. I would love to have you share your shops in The Grocery Game Challenge with us. It would be nice to see where your grocery money is going and maybe find ways to cut back. Are you finding making the baby food expensive? What types of baby food would you typically make? Keep up the great work… and well done with the weight loss :) Mr.CBB
Thanks! I would love to share some of my shops with you. There are always ways to cut back, and I am not always objective when I look at them. As far as the baby food goes, it’s not so much that the food we buy to make it is expensive, its just that she east fresh, health things, and we don’t always do the same…..Typically we buy produce that is on sale as long as its baby friendly: broccoli, carrots, sweet potatoes, any fruit, and I buy the expensive organic chicken and turkey for her as well :-)
That’s not too bad then if you can find veg on sale and the meat. Organic meat is costly but there are still deals if you shop around. Is there certain recipes you follow for the baby food or do you just mush stuff up? We would love to have you share your shops PLUS I’m sure you’ll make some new fans for your blog. The regulars from the Grocery Game Challenge (GGC) have been posting for years now. :)
Ok you might of thought you were just putting your business out in the street, but I learned a few things just reading this post. Thanks for the tips, I’m gonna do some research in regards to Bloglovin and Pact. Maybe these things can help me. Good luck.
Glad to hear you got a few new ideas!