My 12 Goals for 2016 : Week 11 of 52

1. Pay Down the Mortgage

We were able to knock 5 payments off our contract in March {1 regular payment and 4 extra “principal” payments}. I was able to use my “rug hooking money” to go towards the extra payments this month as well as move some money I had leftover for miscellaneous/household/car/clothing/medical expenses that were not used in January and February towards paying down our mortgage. Budget for the worst, hope for the best, and save the rest, that’s my motto this year.

2. Buy Nothing New for 1 Year. 

As you know, one of my biggest goals for this year was to buy nothing new this year…. But back when I wrote my original goals for 2016 I did include a few exceptions, and travelling and Bean Boots were two of them. 🙂 🙂 🙂 I was able to use the LLBean gift card I received for Christmas at the LL Bean Outlet store in Freeport, Maine and found a pair of Bean Boots I liked for $15 off as well a wool sweater {brown, can you believe it!} for $20 {was $100}.

It felt nice to buy something new, even if I was using a gift card.

3. Track Spending and Figure Out New Ways to Cut Spending Even More.

I’ll post some new travel tips I picked up later this week.

4. Try 52 New Recipes.

I didn’t try any new recipes this week.

5. Keep My Grocery Budget Under $100 a Month.

So far this month I’ve spent $22.44 on groceries.

6. Go on 52 Dates with the Handsome Husband 

I got back into town just in time to join the HH at a business dinner. Getting out of the house, dressing up and a free meal count as a date, right? 🙂

So far this year we’ve gone on 10 dates and spent $99.52 out of pocket for our “dates.”

7. Turn My Wool Stash into $5,000.

Even though I was out of town last week I still managed to sell 2 items on Ebay for a total of $139.94 {before fees and supplies were factored in}. I was also able to get a little rug hooking done on the airplane so I’ll work on getting those items posted later this week.

We also stopped by The Dorr Mill Store while we were in New Hampshire and I picked up a few yards {okay, 30} of wool. OH MY WORD.

Yada, yada, yada… I am WAY ahead of schedule on my goal of making $5,000 for the year {currently at $3065.97} and there is no way on earth I would have enough wool fabric to continue making/selling my hooked rug pieces at the pace I’m going. I’m having fun. So why not stock up on supplies and see just how much I can create/earn by the end of the year? As long as I come in under 25% for supplies and fee’s… I’ll consider it money well spent and a good investment.

So Far in March I’ve sold $424.78

In February I’ve sold $1077.27
In January I sold $1563.92

8. Get Rid of 1,000 Things. 

Since I was out of town last week I didn’t do any decluttering.

9. Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.

This past week I finished reading Making Home {mostly while sitting in the airport} have you read it? You should because there are oodles of practical tips in there.

10. Track Hours Spent Working on My Vegetable Garden and do a Cost Analysis at the End of the Year. 

Would you believe I left the HH in charge of my tomato seedlings while I was gone and when I came home THEY WERE ALL STILL ALIVE? Stranger things have happened, I know.

So far this year I have harvested 6 pound 2 ounces of fresh veggies from our backyard.

Time spent working on Vegetable Garden in 2016: 3 hours, 45 Minutes

11. 52 House Projects in 52 Weeks.

While I was away the HH finally got around the hanging the giant Costco mirror on the wall I picked up ages ago. I’ll have to take a picture and show you because I’m really happy with the way it looks in the space.

12. Make all Birthday and Christmas Gifts This Year or Acquire Them for Free.

I took the week off from making gifts.

How about YOU? Did you set any goals for 2016? How are they coming along?

~Mavis

Read About My 2016 Goals HERE.