October Goals

My favorite time of year is here, Halloween!

Along with October hosting my favorite holiday, I also enjoy October because that’s when it finally feels like fall in the Southwest. I can wear pants outside and not die, as well as drive my car without oven mitts. That’s what a cheap cost of living will get you, insane weather.

Along with fun plans such as H coming to visit for a week, an adult puppet play and a taco festival, I also need to travel out of town soon to be there for my second family. My best friend experienced a tragic loss over the weekend so I plan on making arrangements to be out of town later this week or next. Life is so short you guys. Make sure you hug everyone and kiss them and tell them you love them .

1. Decorate for Halloween/ Fall. While I usually have my house ready to go by August 31st, I’ve just been so exhausted this year with my arthritis and other chronic conditions. I’ve caught up on some rest so I plan on decorating this week/ weekend. I love Halloween!
2. Eat Paleo 80% of the time. After eating strictly Paleo for three weeks then falling off the wagon, I can now say that I can totally tell the difference IN MY BODY. I’m not as achy or sore, hungry or tired. I lost five lbs without even trying and was still able to have things in moderation or by altering them. Now, I will tell you it’s hard to eat Paleo. While my grocery expenses have happily stayed the same, I am cooking a lot more and have to really think out and prep my days. Can I grab something here? Did I pack snacks? Can I leave early to go to the only coffee shop that offers coconut or almond milk? It’s exhausting and frustrating when recipes don’t come out or I’m tempted to just stop by and buy fast food, my weakness. But, I feel better, so much better, that my cheat day will be Friday and that’s hopefully it.
3. Map out all expenses for the next three months along with savings goals. I have a lot coming up in the next three months. Not only am I traveling to NYC for work, I’m also going to Texas for Thanksgiving and have Christmas coming up. I need to figure out what my expenses will generally be and also how I can still save. And then, student loans are finally coming due. That’s another total budget buster! So, it’s important to budget and plan as much as possible. As Lauren Greutman said in her book, The Recovering Spender ( which I will have a full review of next week,) you need to stay in your fence. The budget is your fence.
4. Read 6 books. Still desperately holding out hope for my Goodreads challenge this year.
5. Get ahead at least one week in all client work. Self explanatory.
6. Find an additional client. Self explanatory.
7. Start my blog business plan outline. Now that I’m back from FinCon and have found some motivation, it’s time to sit down and actually do it.

What are everyone else’s October goals?