Q2 2019 Goals Check In

I know what you’re thinking… the second quarter isn’t even over yet!

Good point, and I must admit I was fully prepared to write on another topic this week… However, this work week has totally kicked my butt (hence the Friday post) and I didn’t think I could do the other post justice quite yet.

In addition, looking ahead I’ve got my posts planned out (and one already written!) for several weeks ahead so perhaps it’s best to do this now instead of August!

Besides, there’s less than 9 days until the first half of the year is over so close enough right!? 🙂

Anyways, let’s get on with it and see how those goals are doing!

Financial Goals

Max Out 401K/HSA

With my high salary, this one is a fairly easy goal for me to hit, but I find it one of my favorites nevertheless.

Just seeing the impact of contributing to these pre-tax accounts on my overall tax burden over the years was so cool, and makes me wish there was more I could put into them!

Both of these accounts are growing at a steady rate with the biweekly contributions, and watching this progress has been very motivating.

Status: On Track

Purchase Rental Property #1

I gave a real estate update, detailing how I made my first offer on a property in the DC area this quarter! Unfortunately it did not work out, but it was a good learning experience.

In my May Net Worth Update I also mentioned that I had put in an offer on a second property in the area. I was feeling good about this offer, seeing as it was $10K above asking price and I had taken off virtually all the contingencies.

However, I was sorely mistaken as we were informed that of the nine offers, we were not even in the top three… It was later discovered the property sold for $50K above asking price. Welcome to the insanity of a hot real estate market… 🙁

So, the search continues, but is getting put on hold for a bit. My apartment lease ends in August, and my girlfriend and I have long been ready to take the next step in our relationship and move in together. We just found an apartment in DC and we’re very excited! (well, at least I am 🙂 )

Status: In Progress

Fully Fund Roth IRA… with ONLY Side Hustles

This one… has not been going so well… The scooter side hustling has been put to the side and is not something I’ve done for quite some time as I’ve mentioned in past net worth updates.

My next apartment will be in a new area, so if the scooter hunting/app interface proves to be a little better over there, I may return to it! The payoff right now just isn’t worth it.

Thus, this may be a tough one to hit with only a total of $311 earned so far this year.

I’m not ready to give up on this one yet though. I recently just created a profile on Upwork, to perhaps make a few bucks freelancing with the financial analyst skills I’ve learned via my full time job.

I think there could be some potential to earn some extra money here, as well as through a few other freelance platforms, but we’ll see. Will keep you all in the loop as always!

Status: Needs Work

Savings Rate of 65%

Doing the math out on this one, it’s just going to be a tough one to hit. Despite another promotion that goes into effect for my first July paycheck, I’m not sure that will be enough to boost me over.

I’m currently sitting at a 63% savings rate through May, but I’m planning to give a large charitable contribution at the end of the year that’s going to negatively effect my savings rate by quite a bit.

Really the only way to hit this one is to become more successful with my side hustling, or come in lower on my expenses for the year.

With a move coming up, the lower expenses is a long shot, but there’s still a chance!

As always, you can keep up with my status of this one on my Net Worth Updates page.

Status: In Progress

Raise My Pre-tax Income > $100K

Another tough goal to accomplish (considering my salary at the beginning of the year was $83K), it also got a boost from the recent promotion (on top of the bigger than expected raise in Q1).

Through June, I expect I’ll be at close to $46K in pre-tax income. Having the promotion salary for the entire second half of the year will certainly help close the $4K gap, but without at least a couple thousand more in side hustle income, I’ll likely fall short of this goal as well.

If that’s not motivation to get my butt in gear I’m not sure what is!

Status: In Progress

Personal Goals

Read at least 12 Books

This was the same goal I accomplished last year, but one I found very worth it. Reading is a great way to learn new things, or simply activate your imagination and take yourself into a different world.

Right now I’m through roughly 5 1/4 books so far, so not far off pace! I’m hoping to have the sixth book read by end of June (really hoping, since it’s due back to the library July 2nd and the wait list is 35 people long!) so I’d be right where I want to be.

I’m a slow reader, so I’ll never be able to read the insane amount of books others can read, but one per month is manageable for me and definitely a priority.

Status: On Track

Work Out More Consistently

I’ve finally found a way that has helped me really get this in gear! I can officially say I went to the gym, went for a run or gotten other strenuous physical activity in at least 3 times a week for every week in the second quarter.

Well, except last week when I only had 2 days – but still, that’s better than my worst weeks before, which were zero days.

I owe this all to the shift in mindset I had around the start of the 2nd quarter, and how I aimed to start building and tracking healthy streaks. I had a streak of 10 weeks in a row going before missing the 3 times last week. I’m now motivated to start my streaks back up and make a streak longer than 10 weeks!

Another streak I’ve been doing is 100 push ups everyday. I had a streak of 70 days (!!) going on that one, before mistakenly forgetting to do my last 40 one day and prematurely ending it. I’m already back up to 25 days in a row, and like with the workouts, I’m motivated to keep this going and beat the current 70 day streak record!

After months of trying to figure out something that worked, I think I’ve finally found what it takes to get me back to consistently getting exercise!

Status: Getting Better!

At Least One Long Walk/Run/Hike Per Week

As I mentioned last time, if we look at this goal from the technical side, I achieved this no problem.

My walk to work (on the 1-2 days a week I get to walk there) is 4 miles round trip. As long as I go to this office once per week I’ve technically accomplished this goal (which I have).

But the spirit of this was to do one of these outside of a commute. I’m really kicking myself for not tracking something like this, but I seriously doubt I’ve done this every weekend.

However, with the spring/summer in hand, I know for sure I’ve got a hiking/running streak going of roughly 4-5 weeks, so maybe I need to add this to my tracker as well!

Status: In Progress

Meditate, Yoga, or Stretch every day

This has pretty much been a great success! While I have not tracked this on a daily basis for the month, I’d say I did one of these over 95% of the days which is awesome for me.

Sometimes I don’t have the time to get a good stretch in, but on those days I’ll still just relax for 5-10 minutes and try to clear my head, focusing on my breathing.

My streak for this has pretty much been in tandem with the push ups streak mentioned above. As I typically take a few minutes to stretch after finishing up all my push ups for the day.

In addition, I think people underestimate the benefits of simply laying in bed and controlling your breathing and practicing gratitude for the all the good things you have in your life prior to falling asleep, and before getting out of the in the morning.

I find that whenever I do this, I usually will fall sleep faster, and wake up more relaxed and ready to get the day started. Now if only I was consistent enough to do this part every day!

Status: On Track

Post (at least) Once Per Week on Blog

I’m happy to say this has been a success so far! I’ve got a different streak going for this one too and don’t want to break it! 🙂

Flexing my writing and creative muscles is something that I’ve found extremely valuable. Just thinking of new ideas for future topics has me using my brain in different ways to analyze and determine what would be the best structure/opening/content/etc.

Doing this on a weekly basis is good enough for me, where my writing doesn’t get too rusty, yet at the same time I don’t get overwhelmed with having to write with all the other things going on in my life.

I hope to continue this streak of as long as I can!

Status: On Track

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Q2 brought some notable progress on these goals, and I hope to keep pushing through! Perhaps Q3 will be the quarter will everything comes together…

With a couple big vacations/events, a big move, and a new family member expected, that could be easier said than done!

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How did your quarter go? Any goals you have accomplished, on track or are struggling with? Let me know!