2015: a year of focus (part three: financial and personal goals)

hip, hip, horray! weve made it to the last part of my 2015 goals series, and after today, we can jump back on the exciting new blog schedule that ive been working on!

today im talking about my personal and financial goals, which ive tacked on to the end here because while in past years financial and personal goals have consumed my whole life. but this year, things are different, and im really excited to start a year with way less pressure in these departments. 

but, of course, this doesnt mean that im not going to make financial and personal goals, because theyre still important. just not, as important as they used to be. and without further ado, here we go: 

financial goals: 

1. set a reasonable monthly budget and stick to it. after spending years in bare-bones survival mode, our recent (relative) financial stability has been a HUGE relief. but its also been a HUGE learning curve as weve had to adjust everything that we do as we figure out the balance of fitting what we need, what we want, and saving money for later (seriously, having leftover money for those last two things is completely foreign to me), within an income thats not quite predictable (construction has its ebb and flow over the course of the year). my goal for this year is to find that middle ground (frugal and intentional, but not austere and depriving), and consistently keep it month-to-month. 

2. keep improving my credit score and get a card with better rewards. over the summer i was finally able to get my first real credit card, and i have been using it very responsibly every month, both to improve my credit score (which was nothing) as well as to earn a tiny bit of cash back on all the money we spend anyway (might as well make the bills we pay anyway work for us, right?). now id really like to get a card with nicer rewards to maybe help us save up for a vacation and my credit score is almost to the point where i would qualify for one of the nicer cards (and not get dinged for having too many accounts in too short of a time), so while i wait til the right time, i also need to research my options. 

3. get at least 1/2 way to our emergency fund goal. james and i have been doing a lot of talking about our long-term financial goals. and while there are a lot of things that we just arent ready/able to do much work on (like buying a house, funding our retirement, possibly dabbling in investing), there is one thing we just need to get cracking on: a decent emergency fund that would actually be able to float us out of an actual emergency. we sat down to decide what that would entail (six months expenses plus all our insurance deductibles), and came up with the very, very scary number of $13,500. obviously, we are not going to be able to get there in just one year. but two? yeah, maybe we can. 

personal goals: 

1. stay in school and continue to get straight a's. maybe this seems really obvious and like it should be something i can just do and not something i have to make into a goal, but let me tell you something: im totally a quitter. it is really, really, really rare for me to finish a thing that i start. and well, this is one thing i really want to finish. to learn the skills i need to build my business, to be actually employable should the time come for me to need a real job, to prove to myself that i can finish big things. also, because i was such a crappy student the first time around, it would really be awesome to graduate with honors this time (though, given how few classes i have left, i dont know if that will be possible, even if i do get straight a's in my next eight classes). 

2. maintain a part-time income with jamberry. this is another area where im easily discouraged and prone to want to give up. lots of women are out there making jamberry a full time career, pulling six figures, and going on all-expense-paid incentive trips in cancun. but honestly, my goal isnt to advance in the company, turn this into my career and make the big bucks. i just need a part time job so that we can have some fun money/a little help in the slow months until i graduate/am actually bringing in money with PL. and with jamberry (and the super amazing team of thirteen ladies working with me), this is totally possible. but only if i keep with it. 

3. experiment in the kitchen more and learn some new recipes. im not a naturally adventurous person, and in general prefer to stick to what i know works. especially when it comes to cooking (much to the dismay of my husband). when it comes to the dinners we eat at home, we tend to stick on a pretty solid rotation of the same eight or nine favorites. and its kind of getting old. so this year is going to involve a lot more cook books, a lot more pinterest, and a lot more sucking it up and taking the risk with a new recipe. 

so with that, does anyone have any recommendations for rewards cards or food blogs? 

p.s. stay tuned for next time when i introduce 2015's first regular feature!

p.p.s. dont forget that ALL sponsorships are 50% off with the code JAN15! check my sponsor page for details!

2015: a year of focus (part two: family and home goals)

hello everyone! welcome to part two of my 2015 goals series! in my last two posts, i unveiled my word for 2015 (focus) and outlined my (very focused) goals for the blog and shop. today im continuing the series with my family and home goals for this year. 

in keeping with my theme of focus, i chose just a few, specific goals for each category, to keep me focused on whats most important. i also put this post in the middle, because, well, family and home are in the middle of every thing i do. 

so what are these goals? 

family goals:

1. commit to one "real date" per month. confession: james and i have always been terrible at dating each other. we werent even good at it when we were actually dating. but over the years weve learned how important this is (even if to my logical, unromantic brain it seems like a waste of time and money). so i want to commit to one real date every month. not a redbox movie, not takeout because i dont feel like cooking, not a walk in the park. a real, babysitter, thing we need reservations or tickets to grown up date. 

2. schedule family time into every week. now this, this is where the redbox movies and walks in the park come into play. last semester was really, really hard on us as a family, not only because i was busy/stressed out all the time, but because of how little time we got to spend just doing things as a family. so in addition to a monthly date, i want to schedule some kind of family outing every week. whether its something free (disneyland, the zoo, the park, the beach), or not (dinner out, a movie, or a new museum). 

3. be more consistent with homeschooling. alice may only be three, but she is very, very smart. and she needs constant intellectual stimulation. this past summer (when james was out of town all the time), i had gotten her a few preschool workbooks from the dollar store to try out. shes been doing great learning her letters, numbers, and shapes and learning to follow simple directions (like circling things or crossing them out), but her patience with school work is short, since shes, you know, three. this year i want to be more consistent with both book-type things (even though she is pretty far from actual formal schooling), but also with field trips to fun places. 

home goals: 

1. continue to purge and simplify everywhere. de-cluttering has been a HUGE undertaking over the past year or so, and it has been AMAZING. the house is cleaner and more organized, i am way less stressed out and anxious (who knew clutter had such a deep impact?), and surprisingly, we spend way less money. but the funny thing about getting rid of stuff is that the stuff you got rid of just uncovers another layer of things you realize you dont need. so it looks like weve got more to clean out this year too. 

2. buy a new bed/mattress. our mattress is starting to get lumpy, and ive wanted a cute bed frame for years. but weve been severely limited in our options since we have a king sized mattress and well, both mattresses and bed frames at this size literally start at one thousand dollars. and frankly, this bed is huge and impractical and im over it. so as soon as we can afford it, were treating ourselves to a new queen sized mattress on a cute bed frame. (obviously i am super excited about this). 

3. replace our vintage hi-fi with something actually functional. this was a hard call to make, but we just had to. the centerpiece of our living room has always been this gorgeous vintage console record player, and we both love it. thing is, its huge. it offers nothing in the way of storage or functionality (other than being a nice long surface for the computer and tv). and the wiring has a short so we cant even use the turntable. so it has to go. as soon as i find just the right midcentury style credenza to replace it with. 

i am super excited about my family and home goals for this year, and i cant wait to get started on them! stay tuned for next time, when i talk about my personal and financial goals!

(and dont forget, everything in the etsy shop is 30% off this whole month with the code JAN15)

2015: a year for focus (part one: blog and shop goals)

hello january! nice to see you around again. if were being completely honest here, ive never been a huge fan of january. i often refer to it as "the monday of the year". but as ive gotten older, ive grown to appreciate mondays. monday is a day to regroup, make a plan of attack, and kick the next weeks butt. and maybe january can be like that too. 

in my last post, i unveiled my "one word" for 2015, and in case you missed it, that word was "focus". i chose focus as the guide for my goals this year because with all the crazy changes and developments of the past year, i realized that while we have lots of REALLY cool stuff going on right now, what i really need to do is step back and focus. 

focus on our long-term plans, focus on why were doing the things were doing, focus on what we actually need to do, not just get wrapped up in whatevers being thrown at us on whatever day. 

and im starting this year of a new, focused mindset with a different kind of goal list. rather than writing a long list of scattered, random goals for the year, i picked six key areas (blog, shop, family, home, financial, and personal) and made just a few goals in each area to focus on. 

and since six topics is a lot to cover all at once, ive paired them up so that this can be a little mini-series. today: we have blog and shop goals, on monday well talk about family and home foals, and finally on wednesday well talk about financial and personal goals. lets press on, shall we? 

blog goals: 

1. solidify my brand and content. ive been writing this blog for (gasp!) almost two years and for basically all of it ive really struggled with my identity as a blogger and the direction/brand of this blog. who am i? what kind of blog is this? where do i fit into the blogging community? what is my niche? if this blog is going to really get anywhere, i need to stop trying to do all the things and figure this out. im currently in the middle of coaching about this, and its really exciting to start the new year already making progress on a big goal. 

2. plan and write posts ahead of time. since im not a full time blogger making a living at this (yet), i have to balance writing and maintaining this blog with all the other things i juggle on a daily basis. this means im not able to write, edit, and promote each post on the day its supposed to go live. i need to use my large blocks of free time (weekends, late nights, days alice is out), to get multiple posts ready to go. and if that is going to work at all, i need a plan. so in the immediate future i need to map out my topics for a, um... long time, so that i can use my writing time for writing. 

3. consistently blog throughout the entire year. this means: figuring out a comfortable (but reliable) posting schedule, finding my rhythm for social media, not taking huge breaks, things of that nature. obviously this is going to take some trial and error, but for now my first step is to determine my weekly posting schedule, both for timing as well as topics. tentatively i have things set like this: mondays - personal/family/random posts, wednesdays - money/home/shopping posts, fridays - food/craft/shop-related posts. this way, you guys know when to expect a post from me, and also, that youre always going to have something a little different to read. 

4. collaborate and connect more. one of the hardest things about being a blogger is feeling like youre in this alone, when really theres a HUGE and super supportive community out there to work with. and this year, i really want to embrace that. how? im not sure yet, this may mean more sponsorships, linkups, giveaways, and guest posting, it may mean something totally crazy and different. well just have to wait and find out. 

shop goals. 

1. apply for patchwork santa ana in the spring. black friday weekend i was invited to sell at a somewhat spontaneous holiday market with some friends, and to my surprise (it was a small event, mostly of people i know), i ended the year with a decent amount of money to invest in my business. and i decided that its finally time to stop being a scaredy cat and apply for my first "real show". if i get in, this would be a HUGE step for me as a person, and poverty luxe as a business. if i dont, well then its off to goal #2. 

2. vend at 2-3 "real" craft fairs. by "real" i mean not the small, community type events that ive done in the past, i mean serious events like patchwork or the silver lake flea market or something else similar (obviously im researching more options). ive learned (over and over) that the smaller events, while lower in booth fees, are lower in attendance, sales, and networking opportunity, and while ill probably only be able to afford a couple of larger events over the course of the year, id rather invest in events with a greater chance of growing my business. 

3. launch my kids line and experiment with womens tops. ive had a kids line planned out for a while: more sizes of skirts, a sundress that doubles as a top as the child grows, and a simple little t-shirt in fun prints, and before i can launch, i need to do a little more sizing research and make the paper patterns. also, in order to launch the shirt, i need to either be very patient and fix my serger, or be extra very patient and save up for a new one. ive also had some ideas for adult sized tops, so by the end of the year, id like to at least have made some prototypes. 

4. turn my stash into inventory. seriously, im just sitting on piles of beautiful fabrics just waiting to be turned into something useful. so this year, my focus is to build my inventory from the fabrics i have until i absolutely need to go fabric shopping (and also to donate/give away anything thats not useful. 

so those are my blog and shop goals for 2015. now, if you notice, some of those goals, well, i could use a little help to accomplish. and im not the type to ask for help without offering anything in return. so to help jump start my goals to collaborate with other bloggers more, and to help finance my future vendor applications, im having two HUGE sales: 

50% off ALL sponsorships with code JAN15 in my passionfruit shop! i have two options: one includes a large sidebar ad, social media shoutouts, AND a full blown guest post on poverty luxe, for just $10 ($5 this month), and the other includes a small sidebar ad and an introductory shoutout on twitter for $3 (just $1.50 with the code). buying a sponsorship from me is not only a super fun (and inexpensive) way to grow your blog by collaborating with someone super fun (me), but also ALL the money i bring in through sponsorships goes RIGHT back into sponsoring other bloggers! 

30% off EVERYTHING in the poverty luxe etsy shop with code JAN15! in order for me to keep things moving with the shop, i really need to keep things moving in the inventory department, both to make room for the new lines, as well as to help fund the application/booth fees for any shows i apply for this year. this means you can score some AWESOME (if i do say so myself) handmade, eco-friendly clothing at an even more awesome price. 

both codes are good for the whole month of january, too!

2014 in review + my word for 2015

i feel really weird writing an end-of-the-year post, when 1. i didnt make yearly goals in january, 2. i totally bailed on my monthly themes in like april, and 3. i havent even blogged consistently for most of this year. but im going to do it anyway. 

because, whether i was willing to admit it at the time or not, 2013 was, basically, the worst year ever. if i could compare it to anything it would be 365 of alexanders terrible horrible no good very bad day in a row. 

and 2014 was very much not that. i mean, it started out looking like it was going to be that, but then it wasnt. 2014 turned out to actually be a HUGE year for the meyers family, it was a year of growth, a year of change, and a year of things in general not sucking so bad. and i dont know if it was the low, low, low expectations i had at the beginning of the year, but honestly i am blown away at how this year turned out. i was not expecting all this. and i am very, very thankful to be able to say that. 

i thought about writing a long, emotional post chronicling the challenges we started the year with and how things have changed, but for both yours and my sakes, im going to keep this upbeat and positive by sticking to a list of our accomplishments. because im pretty pumped about what weve done this year, and i want to start 2015 pumped about whats coming next, not being all weepy and nostalgic over how bad things used to be. because nobody wants to read about that. heck, i dont even want to write about it. 

so on we go! awesome things about 2014!

james got a big promotion and worked full time for most of the year! now, promotions are supposed to be a regular, predictable thing with his apprenticeship program, but because of some weird scheduling hangups and having like no work at all for several months, his promotions got messed up, BUT i am now married to a level four carpenter and we are finally past the "this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better" part of him having this job. 

i went back to school! technically this was a decision i made in 2013, but my first classes started in march, and ive now completed FIVE of the classes toward my lifelong dream of a degree in fashion design (only eight more to go!) and i have aced ALL OF THEM! (unfortunately, due to really struggling with most of my important classes the first time i went to college, i probably wont get to graduate with honors. sad face.)

i quit working at joanns and am now legitimately self employed! every year since i was like, 18, ive said, and i quote: "THIS IS THE YEAR THAT I WILL BECOME LEGITIMATELY SELF EMPLOYED". and at 24, I FINALLY DID IT. though, in a surprising twist of fate, not through my own business ventures, but by becoming a jamberry consultant (which, by the way, i had sworn up and down in college that i would never, ever do direct sales again). 

alice turned three and is freakishly, terrifyingly intelligent. alice started this year as a very verbal and observant two year old, and over the course of the year has blossomed into a witty, logical, three year old that can make recognizable objective drawings and WRITE HER NAME. and she doesnt even have an easy to write name. in other news, we have unofficially started homeschooling. 

i did a craft fair (two, actually) and didnt quit the shop or blog at any point even when i wanted to! even though my sales werent great, and i did take a major, unexpected hiatus in the middle of the year (that was only really, really hard to climb out of), i kept the shop running for the entire year, prepped for and did my first craft fair in a looooong time (which meant i was totally ready when a surprise event came up thanksgiving weekend), and kept the etsy shop up and running for the entire year. same with this here blog. 

we still have money in our savings account! last year basically drained our entire savings, so when this years tax refund came, i had hoped and prayed wed be able to keep enough in savings to renew our disneyland passes in full and pay next years car insurance in full (i just like not having monthly bills if i can avoid them, ok?). now its december, and AFTER taking care of some major expenses, way upgrading the disney passes, getting through birthdays, christmas, and the slow months, and going on a real, actual vacation, there is still twice as much in there as i had originally hoped. 

james and i went on real, grown up dates! and a vacation! and not just fancy dinners at actual restaurants without a gift card or coupon, i mean the kinds of things I've always wanted to do but we never had money for, like a concert, and a comedy show. and did i mention our first real vacation after four years of marriage? 

i made some major investments in my business goals. even though running my own business has been a lifelong dream of mine, and over the last couple of years ive figured exactly what that business is, ive always been too afraid (or broke) to make the necessary investments to really get things going. but this year i said NO MORE to holding myself back and invested in: an overhaul on my craft fair set-up, business coaching, a tripod, AND a new macbook. 

so, as you can see, 2014 turned out to be an awesome year for the meyers family. but also, as is plainly obvious by reading back over this list, it was also and absolutely insane and all over the place kind of year. which, yeah, after all weve been through in previous years was exciting and refreshing, it was also exhausting. honestly i mainly wrote this post as a pep talk for myself to remind myself why i ended the year so tired and burnt out, and that it was because of totally awesome reasons. 

which brings us to 2015. more specifically, my goals for 2015. even more specifically, my "one little word" for guiding my goals for 2015. 

see, this time last year, i was too afraid to commit to one word for the entire year. we were very much in a temporary, short term, survival mindset and well, thats changed. one of the biggest developments this year was that weve been able to shift our gears from survival to long term planning. and this time, i have a word for 2015:

focus. 

2014 was the crazy, all over the place year where we tried a lot of different things and figured out what was really important. 

2015 is the year that we zero in on those important things and make some serious progress in those areas. 

2015 is the year of focus. 

focus on what exactly? well, youll just have to stay tuned for my 2015 goals series to find out!

do you have a word for 2015? let me know what it is in the comments!