Wednesday 4 January 2012

Resolutions...or something like that

So yesterday I had a lot of time to think about what I wanted to do better at this year on our 9 hour car trip home from holiday.  Luckily the kids were really good and I had time to ponder these things between singing kids songs and promising ice-cream at the next stop!

I say things that I want to do BETTER at, rather then 'resolutions' because I know it is good to have things to strive towards so that I don't end up wandering in a different direction completly...but I know that I am unlikely to actually achieve these goals to the standard that I would love to be at immediately, or even in 12 months!  But i do 'press on' in these areas with a new drive and resolve to do better in 2012 in these areas.

1.  Spend less money on stuff and don't sulk about it.

This is a biggie for me.  We have a great budget that Marty works very hard at.  He is the reason that we are able to go on holiday up north for a week.  He is the one who spends time fiddling the accounts because I have (once again) blown the budget by going out and buying random stuff each week that I tell him we NEEDED.  The girls need new T shirts because 14 is not enough?!  Whatever Nikki..that is rubbish.  This year I am going to say no more, and have encouraged Marty to say no more too.  He is way too soft on me, probably because he can't be bothered with my tantrums that are similar to Jaimee or Kates if he does say no.   I am an adult and need to save like one.

We are also going to give Jaimee a notebook where we can show her how her account is growing and teach her to save and give from her pocket money that goes into her account monthly - we are a cashless society, so we reckon this is the best way to teach her money skills even though we don't give her cash - we tried that once, but kept forgetting to draw the cash out!

I am actually putting in place things to help me do this too - I am setting up a debit card for my pocket money to go into instead of getting out cash.  We get 'sanity' money each month that we can do as we please with, but it was in cash so i tended to buy online (oops) or just forget to take the cash.  With a debit card, i can use it online or in the shops, but can't spend more then what is in there - perfect for me.
 I am going to leave the visa AT HOME so i am not tempted to chuck impulse purchases on it and let Marty sort it out later.  Because we only have essential money going into the EFTPOS account, and no overdraft, this means i will have to phone Marty if I want to buy something outside the budget...and hopefully he will be strong enough to say no!

2.  Make sure I spend time with God, my family and my husband regularly


  I want to be intentional about all these things in my life.  Once again, I have a plan in place to help this happen (I know i need plans!).  Late last year I put into place a schedule to ensure that my busy life still had time for my children, my faith and my husband.  This year I plan on sticking to that schedule.  I asked a wonderful lady in our church if she would meet with me weekly and help me stay on track with my 'God time', and that has been so inspiring and encouraging.  We started doing faith box with the kids, they LOVE it.  Marty and I have had a lovely holiday together, playing games and laughing and talking...Friday night is put aside to do a lot more of this.  I am working hard in my role for the church to put into place strategies to help other families at our church to be intentional parents and live their faith at home too, so this will fall neatly into helping my own personal goals!

3. Snack less, exercise more!


I know this is a standard goal for most females, but it is still going on the list of things to do better at this year.  I am a hopeless snacker once the kids are in bed, I really don't need to eat my way through a huge pack of chips, a large block of chocolate and 3 cans of fizzy drink every single week.  And I don't think i have done any form of regular exercise since before I got pregnant with Luke.  I have all the equipment - fitball, weights, exercise bike, assorted DVDs and books....now I really must use them!  I may be slim, but i am NOT fit.  I would like to be able to run around with my kids for a little longer without being exhausted.    Luckily, the kids have scooters (Kate gets one for her birthday), so a few nice walks can sneakily kill 2 goals with one stone!

Whew.  Now that i have shared these, feel free to remind me about them or ask how they are going through out this year...I need all the help i can get!

2 comments:

  1. Those are worthy goals Nix :)

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  2. An interesting read Nikki and i like your goals, good luck in achieving them!

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