2014 Goals

“I feel it in my fingers… I feel it in my toes… that 2014 is going to be an awesome year! I am going to lose 5 kg/squeeze out the 6-pack abs/save 30% of my salary every month/learn a new language/learn to invest bla bla bla… “

With 2 days to go before Christmas, it’s time for everyone to make some wishes and maybe even *drumroll*…some new year resolutions. Unfortunately, these things are just like setting up a business, in the sense that 90% of them eventually fails. Yeah, the gym is going to get crowded for the first few weeks of the year and some of us will be trying to stick to some new fad diets. However, all these is likely to peter out by the end of January, isn’t it?

So am I saying that setting goals and new year resolutions do not work and that one shouldn’t bother with them? Quite the contrary. Instead of grappling in the dark, I believe that having goals enable us to have a clear target to aim towards. The crux is then really about having the persistence to keep on working towards the goal. And we can only help ourselves if we are being held accountable to these goals. Since nothing works better than public accountability, here’s my 2014 goals.  😉

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1. Financial Goals

Increase portfolio size to $250k – I have chosen this metric instead of using the amount of dividends as the benchmark, even though dividends tend to be less volatile as compared to share prices. This is due to the possibility of the market turning frothy and me conserving more cash instead. Since most of the cash will be parked in the CIMB savings account if that outcome materialises and the balances are accounted in my monthly passive income updates, $250k (a $70-80k increase) seems to be a good target.

Limit expenses to $40,000 (excluding vacations) – There’s already a caveat as we are planning a longer trip in the middle of next year which is likely going to cost a bomb. But even then, taking into consideration our expenditure patterns in recent months, $40k is still an ambitious target.

2. Fitness Goals

6km in 30 minutes; 120 burpees in 15 minutes; 20 laps of breaststoke in 40 minutes – These are stuff that I do on a weekly basis but obviously at a reduced intensity currently. Pretty self-explanatory and shows that I am still far from peak fitness.

IPPT Silver – I have been struggling to pass IPPT in recent years and the minimum target I am setting myself next year is a Silver.

3. Relationship Goals

1 surprise for Mrs 15HWW/quarter – It’s really time to buck up. I guess deep down, I can be a romantic but I am just too practical/rational in recent years. It’s time to put in more effort or bear the brunt of Mrs 15HWW’s unhappiness!

Meet up with friends once/two weeks – I am the first to admit that I ain’t really a good friend. But that’s not because I am a jerk or some self-centred moron. Being an introvert, I generally feel that my “me time” is not sufficient, so I rarely feel the urge to take initiative and organise a meet-up. Unfortunately, most of my friends are like that too. As a result, there have been some individuals/groups that I haven’t seen for almost half a year! Things gotta change…

Make new friends – That’s actually one of the main purposes of starting this blog. I am pretty keen on meeting up with some readers/fellow bloggers (several names come to mind) although obviously, it has also got to be weighed against my still anonymous status.

4. Personal Development Goals

Cooking – This is something that has been around such lists for the last couple of years and progress is really negligible. This is a skill that will vastly improve my life on many fronts as I will be able to eat better, spend less time commutting to other places for food and also save money. This will without doubt be one of the priorities this year as I learn to cook with healthy ingredients and turn them into great dishes in an efficient way. Mrs 15HWW is still waiting for a home cooked meal prepared by yours truly.  😕

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And here’s wishing all readers a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!