Hello! We have made it to the first day of February!  One month down, a lifetime to go! A lot of us have forgotten about those goals that we set at the beginning of the month and have regressed back into our old habits.  I say “us” because I’m including myself in the group of “regressors”! This post is going to be full of ups and downs because that’s how my life has been going for the past two weeks in regards to my goals.  Let’s get this thing started.

1st Goal-Pay off debt and save

In order to continue saving and paying off debt, I’m constantly looking for ways to save extra money.  Some ways that I am saving money are by not eating out and eating food prepared at home, creating a weekly budget, and using sales papers, coupons, and money back apps.  My favorite money back app right now is Ibotta. It’s basically like using a coupon only instead of them reducing the price of the item when you purchase it, they just give you the money back later in the form of a deposit into your PayPal account or a selection of gift cards from different retailers.  It’s pretty cool and it’s a lot easier than having to keep up with coupons.

I’m also trying to find some ways to lower my monthly expenses.  For example, one expense that I found to be unnecessary in my opinion is my monthly storage fee.  I have a bunch of stuff in storage that I honestly don’t even want.  It’s just collecting dust.  So I have decided to sell or give away 90% of the items in storage so that I can use that money towards paying down some of my other monthly debts.

Also, I have so many articles of clothing, bags, shoes, etc. that I do not wear, have never worn, and probably won’t every wear in my closet.  When my closet gets overwhelmed like this, I decide what items are just not worth keeping, gather them all up and sell them.  Whatever doesn’t sell, I will give it to Goodwill.

I am still focused on getting out of debt and the next part of my mini goal is to pay off another credit card.  I plan to have this done by February 15.

2nd Goal-Spend more time helping others

This past weekend, I attended my first volunteer opportunity with Dress for Success.  It was an amazing experience and it further solidified my desire to be an image consultant!  I was able to help a recent female graduate prepare for her job interview and I was able to help a woman who had just started a new job gather a few pieces to wear for her first week of work.  Both of these women came in looking very uneasy and nervous.  But as we went through the process of finding the perfect professional looks for them, they both opened up and just spoke freely to me.  I could see their excitement in being able to find clothes that they could feel good in.  I was so proud of them both.  It just made me feel really good inside to feel that positive energy.  I can’t wait to go again!

Also, this coming weekend I will participate in another volunteer opportunity that I will get to involve my son in.  The event is called “Be My Neighbor Day with Daniel Tiger” and it’s being thrown by Georgia Public Broadcasting at the Children’s Museum of Atlanta.  We will get to donate clothes, assemble activity packs for patients at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and decorate greeting cards for a special neighbor.  I’m so adamant about giving back and helping others and I want my son to be that way as well.  So, I’m thrilled that he will be able to attend this event with me.  I think he will love it!

3rd Goal-Blog more consistently

I feel like I’m on a roll right now with my blog posts. Of course, I’m constantly trying to create great looks and content to feature on here.  But I also want to make sure that I’m engaging my followers.  I don’t wait to just post and leave; I want to get feedback from you and I want us to have conversations.  Hopefully, there will be more of that in the future!

4th Goal-Practice healthier habits toward my body, mind, and spirit

I finally finished the 15 Day Mommy Fit Challenge workouts. However, it definitely took me more than 15 days to complete the challenge.  I’m not proud of that but I’m glad that I did finish.  So, I have started the challenge again and my goal is to complete my workouts in a timelier manner.  I want to actually do the 15 Day Mommy Fit Challenge in 15 days!!!  But as I stated before, I feel so great after my workouts so that’s what keeps me motivated to keep going with those.  I’m still not doing that great with getting up early in the morning but I’m working on that.  I really have to find some kind of motivation for getting up at 5:00 am.

I have fallen off almost completely with my veggie and fruit intake.  Even though I’m not eating out, I’m still not eating the healthiest of foods.  It’s been a lot of snacks and junk food, in addition to my home cooked meals of course.  But I have decided to get back on track.  For example, some of the foods that I had today included avocado and toast for breakfast, an apple and a banana for snacks, and chicken breast with brown rice for lunch; much better than all the junk food that I was eating last week.  I increased my water intake as well.

As for my spirit, I try to take some time in the morning to just listen to my happy music and prepare for a great day.  That’s the closest that I’ve gotten to meditating.

5th Goal-Increase consistency and organization

Consistency continues to be a struggle for me.  It seems that one week, I’m all in and then the next week I’m so tired from being all in that I start to slow down and eventually stop.  Then I have to get myself back into the swing of things all over again. So this week, I’m trying to go all in again.

I’m slowly getting better with my organization.  I keep my planner with me everywhere I go and I’m constantly updating my calendar with any events or appointments that I have coming up.

Do you have any ideas on how to stay consistent and organized?

In closing

Initially, my reason for keeping you updated on my progress was to hold myself accountable for my actions and to really realize some of my bad habits.  Also, I want to show you that you are not alone in your struggles to complete your goals. It’s so hard trying to stay consistent and disciplined when there are so many outside forces and distractions pulling at you to throw you off your path.  But the most important thing is to always get back on the path and keep going.

I’m continuously reminding myself is if I don’t do it now, I’m never going to do it.  And things will only get worse before they get better.  And, if I do nothing, nothing will happen.  I will not stop trying to be a better me.  I will keep going.

Speak to you soon!!! And let me know how you are doing on your goals so far!

Daneisha