I recently read Reaching For Fi 20 for 2020 Goals post and was inspired to do my own! I have a few goals this year but was really only documenting one of them.
However, I think that having a post about all the others will really help me with my accountability.
I have various personal, financial and health goals I am aiming to accomplish in 2020.
Money Goals For The Year
1. Pay Off Student Loans
This is one of the 2020 goals I was actually documenting before this post. You can find my full debt story here.
This December will mark four years since I have finished grad school. I think it would be an awesome milestone if I can also finish paying back these loans by then.
I have about $16k left and a bucket list of what I want to do immediately after those loans are gone.
2. Finish my year (9-Months) Clothing Ban
Last October I came up with a plan to do a year long clothing ban. I got extra workout gear, extra sock and Marie Kondo the crap out of my closets.
However, there might be an issue with this plan. My sorority has our bi-annual
My office is pretty relaxed. This means I only have one pair of slacks and some maybe possibly could almost fit the definition work-shirts.
We have to be dressed up for our business sessions and a formal gown is needed for the gala. This means I need to re-think my no clothing ban.
However, since Boule is in June, I should at least be able to accomplish a 9 month clothing ban. All in all, I think that is still pretty impressive for the girl whose clothes broke the bar in the closet.
3. Reach a 40% Savings Rate
Every time I do my budget, it tells me that this is a possible goal. However when I look at my actual spending, it tells a different story.
It is clear that I need to make some adjustments. Most of my unplanned spending revolves around getting things for my family or loaning money out.
I think ‘2020 Me’ needs to start a sinking fund for family needs and set better boundaries when that money is gone.
I am going to count savings as money I put towards my Roth IRA, Emergency Fund or my travel savings account.
4. Contribute 3,000 to my Roth IRA
My primary goal for the year is to pay off my student loans. Still, I want to contribute something to my Roth IRA. I did not max out my Roth IRA in the first two years I had an account.
In year 3, however, I was able to contribute more to my 2019 IRA and it was such a great feeling. The goal this year is to contribute $3,000 into my Roth IRA for 2020.
Physical Goals For The Year
5. Finally Get To My Ideal Weight
This has been a goal of mine for years. I would do really well for a while and then fall off that bandwagon. Well, falling hurts. I want to finally stop having the same goal of losing 10 pounds on my vision board each year.
I think I have some pretty solid strategies to help me get there along with a personal trainer who actually keeps me accountable. So by the end of the year, I hope to report back that I have crossed off this goal once and for all.
6. Achieve An 80% Yearly Active Rate
On my calendar I keep track of how many days I am active out of the week. I usually see my personal trainer 4x a week and then go hiking on the weekends. Keeping track of my active days weekly helps to keep me focused.
One of my goals for the year is to move more. I recently joined StepBet, thanks to my sister. It’s a series of 6 week competitions that challenges you to be more active. The goal is to have 4 active days throughout the week and 2 power days.
They look at your average steps from whatever device you choose (phone, fitbit, applewatch, etc.) to calculate those days.
- active days (usually 1,500-2,000 steps above what you average)
- power days an additional 2000-2,300 steps above your active days.
The cool thing about this app is that your steps are not based on some crazy metric. It is based on what you already do and the whole point of the challenge is for you to do just a little bit more (que Jidenna song).
7. Hike The Bright Angel Trail
Last year my friends did the rim to rim trail. They wanted to do the trail in one day and I did not lol. Thus, I missed out on that trip. One of my goals for the year is to hike the Bright Angel Trail.
I want to make it to the suspension bridge so technically I will be hiking a little more than the 12 miles from the trail head to Plateau Point. I am most excited for this goal and I plan to do it in October 2020. Check back here for the awesome pics.
8. Hike More Trails
We go hiking every weekend, usually on Saturday and Sunday, so doing 52 hikes this year is very achievable. I want to stretch this a bit by hiking more trails.
I use All Trails to keep track of the various trails I have completed and to be honest, not all of them have been something to write home about. However, one can only do Camelback so many times before you never want to see boulders again.
We recently picked up a cool Phoenix Adventure hiking magazine I have been eyeing at Walgreens since January. I am looking forward to doing more of the adventures listed in there.
9. Get my 5k Time Down to 25 Minutes
Once upon a time I ran cross country. So I know this goal is doable. My last 5k I ran my time was 33:01 seconds. I finished 2nd in my age group, but there were only 6 of us in that group. My next 5k is actually on Feb 22, 2020 and my goal is to cut my time to 30 minutes. I am tracking my year of 5ks here.
Personal Goals For The Year
10. Become Better With My Makeup Routine
Right now I only put on lipstick and some Fenty eye shadow when I am going out. However, I have bookmarked many beautiful tutorials on YouTube and I want to be able to confidently re-create these looks.
To accomplish my goal this year, I will take advantage of the FREE classes offered by Sephora.
One of my goals this year is to go to at least 6 of these classes. I’ve gone to a few in the past, and the women are super helpful and knowledgeable. I have already missed January and February classes, so I need to get it together.
11. Be More Consistent With My Bedtime Routine
Honestly, not sleeping enough could be the death of me. I need to set a bedtime and stick to it. I think one of my biggest issues with not getting enough sleep is the lack of organization I allow to creep into my day.
Considering the many benefits of sleep, I need to stop being a member of #TeamNoSleep and get in more Z’s to achieve more of my goals.
12. Read 15 Books
This means reading over one book a month. This should be doable. I was actually a huge reading nerd growing up and won the award in my grade for the most books read.
However, adult life has taken over and moved me away from my passion for books.
I am hoping to regain that passion. This is my book reading list for 2020. These are a combination of books I have at home already and one I have purchased via Audible.
- Children Of Blood & Bones
- Children Of Virtue & Vengeance
- An American Marriage
- The 4 Hour Work Week
- The Other Side Of The Pillow
- Your Money Or Your Life
- The Four Tendencies
- Heavy
- Sistah Vegan
- More Than Enough
- Tiny Beautiful Things
- Diet For A New America
- The Water Dancer
- The Power Of Habit
- Well Read Black Girl
Educational/Self Improvement Goals For The Year
13. Finish My Duolingo Course
I started my Duolingo Spanish course an embarrassingly long time ago. I need to get back to it!
Yes, I know enough Spanish to get around in Mexico. I can also catch about 20% of my best friend’s family conversation.
However, considering that I took this language in high school, have several friends who have tried to teach me over the years and access to several language learning podcasts and platforms, I should be much further along.
My first step is to finish my Duolingo course and then purchase Babbel or another software. I need to get Spanish down because I also want to learn Mandarin and French.
14. Take Two Coding Classes.
I want to learn more about coding. We primarily use SQL and Excel at my job. I think I can get better at both and also want to expand on my coding skills.
On my to-do list this year is to take a Python class and also maybe finish a course via Code Academy or at a community college. The other language besides Python that I would take up would be: Java, C# or HTML.
15. Attend A Coding Event
I really want to learn more about the world of coding. I think going to either a conference or a coding event would be useful in helping me get that insight. Luckily for me, I live in a big city so finding a coding opportunity should not be so hard.
Side Hustles Goals For The Year
16. Blog Consistently
My goal is to produce at least one blog post a week. I have read so many posts about getting started and signed up to various email lists. Talk about information overload! Which then lead to analysis paralysis.
At the end of the year I decided to get it together.
I have wanted to start my blog for at least 5 years. The only thing truly stopping me is me. Since my revelation and my enrollment in the blogging for profit course, I have been pretty consistent. In fact, my track record for January and February are solid. Only 10 more months to go lol.
17. Create 300 Items For My Side Hustles
I have the following side hustles:
- Etsy store that sells Divine Nine shirts & gifts
- Etsy store dedicated to all things Bachelorette
- Amazon Merch account (that will probably be closed)
- A Zazzle Store
My goal this year is to add 300 items across the board. I think I have some pretty cool ideas for gifts, shirts, etc.
However, in order for people to buy things, I must produce them. So my goal is to get my designs out there and bring in some extra cash to fund my FI dreams.
Epic Shit
18. Centennial Boule
I am a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. Our sorority has a bi-annual boule, and what makes this boule even more special is that it is our 100th year anniversary! I am so excited to head back to Washington D.C., this time with even more sisters for this once in a lifetime experience.
I’ve booked my hotel downtown around some pretty cool vegan spots and in walking distance to our conference. I look forward to all the events we have set up and just being in the same place at once with so many amazing women.
19. Go To Napa Valley Or New State
Every year one of my best friends and I do a ‘Best Friends Trip’. Last year we went to Vancouver and had an absolute blast. The year before that we went to New Orleans. I am hoping that we go to Napa Valley – she has already been though.
If I cannot convince her to go back to Napa then I hope we check out a cool new state. We have been quite a few places together, but some cities that we have not explored together yet that also sound cool are: Denver, New York City, Austin, San Antonio.
20. Attend A Blogger Conference
This is a bit of a stretch goal. I want to attend the Blaivty21 Conference in ATL but I do not see much information on their site. Nor do I see a contact button.
Another possibility is attending the Afro Tech Conference. One benefit is that it is closer (it’s in Oakland), but one drawback is that I do not think I am quite at that professional level yet. The conference is not until November so I guess I still have time to twiddle my thumbs.
What are some of your goals for the year? Share them below! Maybe we can help keep each other accountable =)
I plan to update my progress at the end of June or maybe quarterly, check back in to see what I have accomplished.