This post is ridiculously late. I’m gonna be real: I haven’t been able to bring myself to look at the goals a baby, naive version of myself made way back at the beginning of the year, back before all this shit happened.
That’s not to say that the pandemic is the only thing that’s thrown me for a loop this year! Some other (good!) things have happened, too: I sure as hell didn’t think I’d be spending most of this year planning/paying for a wedding! But it’s striking how different the world was a few months ago—some of these goals just straight-up aren’t possible in the world we now live in.
In theory I’d be writing this post in April and wouldn’t know as much about the pandemic as I know now, buuuuut obviously that’s not the case. “Hindsight is 20/20” is the most fucking darkly ironic phrase for this hellscape of a year. Anyway, let’s get into it. (-sob-)
Money
1. Max out Roth IRA contribution for 2020
I got almost halfway to maxing this in the first few months of the year with all of the side hustle money I was bringing in. RIP to my extra income. I’ve held off on contributing more since my last side hustle paycheck in March because things are pretty damn up in the air right now, but this is definitely doable this year.
Status: in progress.
2. Stretch goal: max out Roth IRA by the end of Q3
Hah okay so it’s good to remember that I had this as a goal. Maybe I’ll be contributing that extra $3000 sooner than I’d planned? But I also made this goal in a very different world, and honestly, who the fuck cares if I max it out in September instead of December? No one (not even me!), that’s who.
3. Max out my 401(k)
There’s been a lot of uncertainty this year for where we’re going to live, where we’re going to move, if we’re going to move, and what that would mean for jobs. I’m currently on track to max out my 401(k) a bit early this year because I wasn’t sure if I was going to be at my current job for the full year, and if I wasn’t, what my retirement savings situation would be. It’s a lot more likely now that I’ll be at my job all year, so at some point in the next few months I’ll need to lower my contributions slightly so that I don’t max out too early; I have to contribute the minimum every single paycheck in order to get my full employer match.
Status: in progress.
4. Start investing in an ESG fund
Oh right, that’s even more I’d be pulling out of my savings at the moment. Suffice it to say that this is pretty far down on the list of goals to work on this year.
Status: lol
5. Reach a 50% savings rate for the year
My January savings rate was a whopping 72%, and both February and March came in at 63%.
So that’s a good start to the year!
6. Do two no-spend months
I mean I guess that’s sorta possible given this pandemic thing? But also I have half of a wedding to pay for, plus extra shit like dresses and shoes and jewelry for wedding-related things (can I just have engagement photos without having to go through the effort of taking engagement photos??) to think about. So 🤷♀️
Status: also lol
Travel/experiences
7. Use our companion pass five times this year
EL OH EL. We used it once this year to go to Arizona back in February. We have all of our fingers and toes crossed that the trip up to Maine that we’re planning for October actually happens. And maybe a trip to Vegas in November (I’ve got a Hilton Grand Vacations package that needs to be used before next spring, and we’ve got a lot more free vacation time this year considering the pandemic and also not needing to take time off for a wedding/honeymoon like we—oh god fingers crossed—will next year). But other than that, we have zero plans to get on a plane to anywhere.
Status: 😭
8. Visit a new state
Either Maine is happening in October or it isn’t. I am not going to prognosticate on the likelihood since it is way too early to tell.
9. Visit a new national park
HEYO I FINALLY GOT ONE! And obviously Saguaro is always going to be a special place, given that whole thing where my partner and I got engaged there.
10. Do something or go somewhere new each month
Whew okay.
In January I went to Zoolights and two new local parks, plus started changing what/how I eat. In February I got engaged so there’s that. I also put in an offer for a house. In March I went on wedding venue visits and saw my future brother-in-law play lacrosse. Oh and also that pandemic thing that we all started taking seriously mid-March. 🙃
11. Go on 52 hikes this year
At the end of March we were at eight hikes for the year. Not a great start.
Status: with the benefit of hindsight I’m laughing to keep from crying.
12. Go camping (more than once)
There was no camping happening in the first quarter of the year because I don’t hate myself enough to sleep outside in the freezing cold. And little did we know we sure as hell weren’t going anywhere in the spring…
Status: see above.
13. Go on a trip specifically to see autumn leaves
The Maine trip that might-possibly-not-happen-who-the-fuck-even-knows is gonna be doing a lot of heavy lifting if it happens!
Personal goals
14. Continue decluttering my wardrobe
This has not happened. Because—
15. Lose my extra weight in the first quarter
This didn’t happen in the first quarter of the year, sadly. It’s weird writing this in mid-May and pretending it’s only the beginning of April. I’ll have much more to say about this for the Q2 update.
16. Go to barre three times per week
I was doing decently on this one until we went into quarantine and I stopped working out there for a hot second (by which I mean a month).
Status: in progress.
17. Transition permanently to a better diet
We’re still going strong on the transition we started making in January! I’m still trying to come to terms with how much more meat we are eating, though.
Status: in progress.
18. Try something new/out of the ordinary for me
Uh does transitioning to working remotely full-time thanks to a pandemic count for this one?? Hooray for an early completion of this one in the shittiest way possible?
19. Be more consistent with bedtime/wakeup routine
Q1 saw a lot of late bedtimes and a lot of continuing exhaustion. And you know what’s also not great for a restful night of sleep? Low-key anxiety about living in a country with this godforsaken leadership in the middle of a fucking pandemic.
20. Read 52 books
I’m behind, but I’m working on it.
Status: in progress. In theory I have a lot of time to read…
I’ve got nothing, y’all. Stay tuned for a very different Q2 update since for the most part life was normal in Q1.