Looking Back: Resolutions in Perspective

by Christina Brown on December 31, 2008

in Frugal Living

Yes, I know it’s so expected to make New Year’s Resolutions.

But I am a planner by nature. I am always looking ahead and preparing for the future. Part of making good goals for the future is to take a look back at what you’ve done.

Here are my resolutions for 2008 and how I did:

Create a written budget. I will keep better track of my money so I don’t wonder where it went.
I did pretty well with this resolution.  I didn’t always follow the budget all of the time, but it definitely guided me through a fiscally responsibly year(Wish I could save the same for the US government.)

Plan weekly menus. I will try to plan them to use what I have and to take advantage of sales at the grocery store. It will be good to not each so much mac and cheese and helper.
Oh, I failed miserably on this count.  Still eating too much mac and cheese and helper… but I got them on sale!  I will need to revisit this next year. 

Check my credit report, and those of my other family members. Everyone is allowed one free credit report check annually. I just want to make sure ours are accurate.
Not only did I check my credit report, it actually inspired me in a way I hadn’t expected.


Exercise three times a week. (This will be the hardest one for me. I am lazy.)
I had a stretch in April where I was relatively good about this resolution… then fell apart. I recently got a Wii Fit, and have now been exercising 4-5 times a week.  I know that the Wii Fit is not the same as cardio in the gym, but it beats the completely sedentary lifestyle I was living before I got the Wii. 



Consume more water and less soda. My kidneys and my wallet will thank me.
I will admit, that I have caved on this one.  I was doing really well, was downright virtuous about my soda consumption… and then I hit some stressful times and took it up again… as one dear friend told me, “It’s not like you’re doing crack. Don’t worry about it.”  But it bugs me that I have slid backwards on this issue.  I will tackle this again in the new year because I did feel better when I didn’t drink as much pop.

Hold the mother of all garage sales. I need to do a massive purge – so why not bring in a bit of change at the same time?
I did not hold my own garage sale due to the fact I live in the middle of nowhere and gas prices were $4 a gallon this summer.  I did join a friend’s sale, and had some success, I sold things on eBay, and I took a bunch of stuff to sell on consignment.  I also took a couple of carloads of stuff to donate.  So I did a massive purge, with what I think ended up being a lot less work. 


Overall I was able to keep the majority of my resolutions.  I think posting them here was a good way to hold myself accountable.   I plan to share my 2009 New Year’s Resolutions with you in a future post.

How did you do with your New Year’s Resolutions in 2008?  Were they forgotten by February? Or did you accomplish them all?


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