And so it begins....

2009

A new year.



Goals for the new year, reflections of the last year.....



It was an eventful 2008. We welcomed a daughter and sent our oldest son off to junior high. I started grad school. Bobby became a stay at home Dad. We witnessed a historical presidential election, and the beginning of a financial crisis.

I'm not one to make resolutions because I know I won't stick to them, so instead I'll set just a few little goals for 2009.

• I will lose 10 pounds. (I could stand to lose a whole lot more, but I like to aim low. That way, if I surpass it, I have exceeded my expectations.)

• We will work harder at paying down our debt by paying off at least 2 credit cards. (again, aim low)

• Stay in school. (This one shouldn't be too hard since the alternative is being stuck with student loans with nothing to show for it. I'm all about show.)

And that's it. There are a few others I could throw in for kicks, like

• I plan to not ride a crocodile down the Amazon.
• I plan to not take a tour of France.
• I plan to not go bungee jumping, or walk the high wire, or swim with sharks, or any other inherently dangerous activity.

You get the point. I'd really like to work on the debt issue. While we managed to pay for most of Christmas with cash, we did buy a new water softener. It was either that, or keep replacing dishwashers due to hard water burn out. So that's some major debtage we need to get rid of.

I think it's something we just have to jump into. I read a blog a few weeks ago that compared decreasing debt to quitting smoking. You have to start a few times before you stick with it. Since I have never smoked, I would say it's more like dieting. You know it's good for you, but the alternative is just so much more fun. Yeah, getting out of debt and losing weight, both will feel good in the end. Just getting started is the hard part.