My 12 Goals for 2016 : Week 12 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.

2. Buy Nothing New for 1 Year. 

I didn’t have any real wants this week… I guess the Bean Boots and sweater I picked up last week with my LLBean gift card filled me up. 🙂

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

Borrowed books from the library, paid bills online, picked up soil instead of having it delivered, listened to free music on Pandora, line dried my jeans and made all out meals at home/

4. Try 52 New Recipes.

In case you missed it, I made Roasted Butternut Squash with Cranberries this week. If you are serving ham this Easter, this would make a great side dish.

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

So far in March we’ve spent $64.29 on groceries.

6. Go on 52 Dates with the Handsome Husband 

Yesterday the HH and I had a “garden date.” 😉 My husband doesn’t really do yard work {Monkey Boy mows the lawn these days and I take care of the garden} so the fact that we spent a few hours hauling dirt and working in the yard together counts as a date in my books. Quality time… that’s what matters.

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.

I had a good week turning my rug hooking hobby into cash. I sold 5 small hooked rugs this week. 3 items on Etsy and 2 on Ebay for a total for $264.83. Considering I didn’t get much hooking done this week {I was too busy dying wool} I am pretty pleased with that amount.

So Far in March I’ve sold $689.61

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

8. Get Rid of 1,000 Things. 

I was able to purge 9 items this week.

9. Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.

I spent this week going through a new dye book I picked up in New Hampshire at The Dorr Mill store and trying out new formulas. I also requested A Man Called Ove from the library but I am currently 45 out of 53 in the line so it might be awhile.

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

Miss Pugalicious and I are having a blast in the garden these days… although there is rain in the forecast next week I think I got enough accomplished out there this weekend to last me until the next dry spell. You can read about my latest gardening adventures HERE.

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: 5 hours

11. 52 House Projects in 52 Weeks.

This week I tackled the millwork in the master bedroom. I painted the trim and gave the french doors a new coat of paint. I also removed the outdated cell blinds {circa 1994} and hung some drapes I have been hanging on to. My MIL sent me a gift card to Amazon for my birthday and I so I used part of it on a new grey and white duvet set .

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

This week I cashed in some Swagbucks for a $25 Amazon Gift card. I think I am going to try and collect $100 in Amazon codes and then give them to Monkey Boy for Christmas. I’m sure he’d much rather have a gift card to Amazon than anything I could possibly make for him.

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

~Mavis

Read About My 2016 Goals HERE.