We have reach the end of another month and it is time for me to look back at the goals I set and reflect on how I have done. I’m beginning to sound like a broken record, but once again the month has disappeared! Thankfully I can report that it has been a productive one. So did I achieve my goals in October 2018?
My goals for October 2018 were as follows:
- Buy all of my Christmas presents
- Continue with “no spend days”
- Clear £500 of my second credit card
- Save half of my tax payment
Buy all my Christmas gifts.
So I have definitely not achieved this goal. There’s no other way to put it. I have plans for most of the gifts I want to buy and some are ready to click purchase, but I haven’t got round to buying anything yet. Thankfully a couple of invoices will be getting sent tomorrow which means my bank account will be looking healthier and reviewing my goals today has given me the kick I needed to just get on with it. Christmas shopping should be done in a week or so!
Continue with “no spend days”.
Having smashed through my goal of 20 no spend days last month I really wanted to try this again. Despite a week away in Yorkshire, a wedding, lunch with friends and several other things I have managed to do this again. As of now I think I will make tracking no spend days the norm. It really helps to make me more conscious of my spending and has stopped me making unnecessary purchases on several occasions. If you haven’t tried no spend days before I highly recommend giving them a go!
Clear £500 of my second credit card.
I got off to a great start with this goal at the beginning of the month, paying £200 towards my credit card on the 1st. When I did my goal catch up on the 17th I had added a further £100 to that. As of today I haven’t been able to contribute any more money to my goal, however as I mentions earlier I am sending out several invoices this week and so I should be able to reach my target of £500 by the 31st. That will leave me with just over £2000 to pay on my second and final credit card. It might be a bit of a push but I would be absolutely delighted to clear this completely by New Year’s Eve. Let’s see what happens!
Save half of my tax payment.
With just three full months until my tax payment for the year is due, I really wanted to focus on preparing for it in October. I am so glad I did. As of today I have managed to save £450 towards my payment and as invoices are paid over the coming days and weeks I will be able to set aside a lot more.
This time last year, this would not have been possible. My finances were out of control and I found it impossible to find focus with regards to making payments and saving money. I would have been in a state of panic. Now I’m calm. I know I will be able to afford the payment and I will also begin to prepare for next year as soon as it is paid, ensuring I am more organised for the 2019 deadline. What a difference!
While the month of October started out really well for me, I definitely feel like the last week or so has vanished. If you read my five frugal things post you will know that I was away on a trip with my family for five days and in my relaxed, enjoying slow life and time with the kids haze I sort of forgot about real life for a bit. All this considered, I’m not disappointed with my progress and I’m really excited to attack some new goals in November.
I’ll be setting my goals for November on the first of the month so keep an eye out for that post!
