I know June is actually halfway through the year, but May is halfway until my birthday. Now, I’m not one of those crazy people that obsess over their birthday and have a countdown or anything like that, but back on my 24th birthday, last November, I set some goals for myself and I’d just like to share an update with everyone.
First, a little refresher.
MY GOALS for 24
- Run a marathon
- Take a week long trip to the Czech Republic
- Save $20,000
- Add two more properties to my real estate portfolio
- Visit and drink at every brewery in Georgia
- Run A Marathon – I haven’t yet ran one, but I do plan on running one in June! I did start running and I was doing great and being consistent, then I had some setback these last weeks, due to vacation, three weeks of being sick, then a week of just not feeling like it (the struggles). I’m back to it now though and I’m for sure going to get through a marathon!
- Take A Week Long Trip to the Czech Republic – Okay, so the whole point of this trip was to go visit a friend of mine that is actually from the Czech Republic. I met him while I was on a trip in Seattle and we hit it off. That was almost a year ago and I told him that I’d go visit him when I get the chance. We’ve continued talking since then, through Facebook and Facetime too, which is cool. Well, the plans have changed a little bit and instead of me flying over there, he will be coming to visit this month actually! And instead of one week we’ll be spending two weeks down in Florida together. I’m super excited!
- Save $20,000 – I ended up changing the goal to $25,000 and I’ve been absolutely crushing it. I’m projecting to actually reach it 4 months early! The whole point of the goal is to start building up a reserve for my rental properties in order to build a buffer and keep myself safe financially. I can be a little impatient when it comes seeing progress, but it’s been fun watching my bank account go up and up every month. Once I hit my goal, then I’ll shift gears and focus on saving for my next property, which leads me into the next goal.
- Add Two More Properties to My Real Estate Portfolio – Yeahhh, so this isn’t going to happen this year and that’s totally fine. I’m still absolutely crushing it and I couldn’t be happier. Earlier this year, I took a step back and realized that building the reserves at this stage is much more important than purchasing another property and becoming over leveraged. Not that I think I can’t do it, I just don’t want to put the cart before the horse. I’ve been able to cut down my monthly expenses and have a savings rate of over 50%, which has significantly sped up my progress, but I still use some money to have fun and of course there’s always unexpected expenses that may come up even with all of the best planning. At this moment, I’m not entirely sure when I’ll make my next purchase, but I’m always looking!
- Visit and Drink at Every Brewery in Georgia – I have not even begun to tackle this goal yet, but I have plenty of time to make it happen. The main reason behind this goal is for me to go out and actually see more of Georgia since I live here. I’m not sure when I’ll being moving away, but I’d like to experience what the state has to offer before I do leave and I just love beer. I’ve only been to one brewery this year so far and that was Dogfish Head (my favorite!) back in April when I went to visit. I spent a weekend in Delaware just so I could go to the brewery.
That’s the halfway update folks! Mainly it’s for my own situational awareness and it keeps me more accountable, but I think it’s good to share our goals with others. It’s also a way to help me look back at the end of the year and realize that I didn’t just waste my time. I can look back and say, “hey, this was a great year! I may not have achieved everything, but that’s okay. I worked hard on the goals that I did reach and nobody can take that away from me. I’m proud of myself for the work I did and I can keep on going and tackling some more. Now lets drink some beer to celebrate and keep on rolling!”
What are some of your goals that you set for this year and how are they coming along? I’d love to hear!