I realized the other day that it’s been a long time since I’ve updated, or even looked at, my Life List. Turns out I’ve actually done a few things since the last time I wrote about it. I also think it’s a good idea for me to sit down and think about whether I still really want to accomplish all these things on the list, and to see if anything is missing.
First, a few updates: The biggest one is that I paid off my student loans, and way before my self-imposed deadline of 2014. That was a big financial victory for me. I also (freaking finally) got my retirement in order. That was another huge, scary hurdle that I’m really glad is behind me. I can now talk semi-intelligently about my retirement savings (which includes my employer-contributed plan and my Roth IRA) and what each of these things means for me. While I’m definitely not an expert, it feels really good not to be completely in the dark and powerless when it comes to this topic. Also, it looks as though I will be able to retire somewhere around 2050, so that’s something to look forward to. Another thing I wanted to do was give yoga another try. I can say with firm conviction that has been a rousing success. While I may never be an expert yogi, I do drag myself to a class about once a week and I can definitely tell that it makes a difference in my flexibility and with my running. Hooray for yoga.
Second, things I’m working on: D is getting some work done on his car, which has a manual transmission, and then he’s going to teach me to drive it. This is something I’ve wanted to know how to do for, oh, 15 years or so. Now is the time. Hopefully I’ll be scooting around really soon, but my goal is by the end of the summer. I’m also tentatively committing to running the Chicago marathon in 2013. I’ve wanted to run a marathon for years, and have been too chicken to just do it. So, Chicago 2013 it is. Who’s with me? Also, a while back I read about a woman who was saving half her income, and I was blown away by the idea. The commonly accepted suggestion is that you should save about a third. That sounded good to me, and it was all I could do for a while. I mean, I was working for a nonprofit and had lots of student loan debt. What I didn’t realize was that once my student loan debt was gone and I didn’t have to shell out hundreds of dollars a month toward paying that down that I could use the money for other things, like savings. So my new goal is to save 50% of my income, for as long as that’s possible, to bulk up savings and get together a down payment for a house. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
Third, there are a few little, ongoing things that I’d like to do that won’t make huge, sweeping changes in my life but that I think are worth mentioning, if only to keep me honest. The first is to give up caffeine, but I’ve tried this so many times who knows if it will actually stick. Next up, I’d like to learn to use my camera. Now that I have a DSLR, I want to take some great pictures with it. I haven’t decided if I’ll take a class or just check out some books and play around with it, but I’m hoping to delve into that more sometime soon. Third, I think I want to learn to sew. Like, actual clothes. I can fix a loose button with the best of them but I can’t construct anything, and I think I’d like to delve into more advanced sewing than simple garment repair. It’s a good skill to have, and something I’ve always wanted to be able to do. I could learn from my mom, who is such a master she used to make clothes for me out of patterns and fabric I got to pick out, but we’d probably kill each other in the process if she tried to teach me. So I might sign up for a class to do that as well. The last thing is one that I almost don’t want to mention for fear of failure, but I’d like to work more on my French. Maybe take a class, maybe just muddle through on my own and practice with D and my parents (who are both fluent). We’ll see.
First, a few updates: The biggest one is that I paid off my student loans, and way before my self-imposed deadline of 2014. That was a big financial victory for me. I also (freaking finally) got my retirement in order. That was another huge, scary hurdle that I’m really glad is behind me. I can now talk semi-intelligently about my retirement savings (which includes my employer-contributed plan and my Roth IRA) and what each of these things means for me. While I’m definitely not an expert, it feels really good not to be completely in the dark and powerless when it comes to this topic. Also, it looks as though I will be able to retire somewhere around 2050, so that’s something to look forward to. Another thing I wanted to do was give yoga another try. I can say with firm conviction that has been a rousing success. While I may never be an expert yogi, I do drag myself to a class about once a week and I can definitely tell that it makes a difference in my flexibility and with my running. Hooray for yoga.
Second, things I’m working on: D is getting some work done on his car, which has a manual transmission, and then he’s going to teach me to drive it. This is something I’ve wanted to know how to do for, oh, 15 years or so. Now is the time. Hopefully I’ll be scooting around really soon, but my goal is by the end of the summer. I’m also tentatively committing to running the Chicago marathon in 2013. I’ve wanted to run a marathon for years, and have been too chicken to just do it. So, Chicago 2013 it is. Who’s with me? Also, a while back I read about a woman who was saving half her income, and I was blown away by the idea. The commonly accepted suggestion is that you should save about a third. That sounded good to me, and it was all I could do for a while. I mean, I was working for a nonprofit and had lots of student loan debt. What I didn’t realize was that once my student loan debt was gone and I didn’t have to shell out hundreds of dollars a month toward paying that down that I could use the money for other things, like savings. So my new goal is to save 50% of my income, for as long as that’s possible, to bulk up savings and get together a down payment for a house. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
Third, there are a few little, ongoing things that I’d like to do that won’t make huge, sweeping changes in my life but that I think are worth mentioning, if only to keep me honest. The first is to give up caffeine, but I’ve tried this so many times who knows if it will actually stick. Next up, I’d like to learn to use my camera. Now that I have a DSLR, I want to take some great pictures with it. I haven’t decided if I’ll take a class or just check out some books and play around with it, but I’m hoping to delve into that more sometime soon. Third, I think I want to learn to sew. Like, actual clothes. I can fix a loose button with the best of them but I can’t construct anything, and I think I’d like to delve into more advanced sewing than simple garment repair. It’s a good skill to have, and something I’ve always wanted to be able to do. I could learn from my mom, who is such a master she used to make clothes for me out of patterns and fabric I got to pick out, but we’d probably kill each other in the process if she tried to teach me. So I might sign up for a class to do that as well. The last thing is one that I almost don’t want to mention for fear of failure, but I’d like to work more on my French. Maybe take a class, maybe just muddle through on my own and practice with D and my parents (who are both fluent). We’ll see.
Do you have a list? What's on it?
