Adult Goals: December 2018

2018 is done and dusted. The last six months of setting adult goals and trying to make better habits
was, well it was interesting.

The second half of December was a great recharge with Christmas holidays. I fell off the adulting goals bandwagon, but I kept my finances in line and I caught up on my sleep for the first time all year.

Adulting

The December goal was body maintenance, specifically yoga. I did not do yoga. At all. For the first half of December I was on the ball with my physio exercises, then I went on annual leave. I don't think I left my house for the first week. At first resting was wonderful, but then I found myself awake at 2am because I had so much energy and my legs wouldnt stop twitching.

Lesson learned, I spent the rest of the month taking gentle walkies, and going for a ride every couple of days. Sleep was easy to find again.

December Adulting: Fail-ish

For 2019 - I need to start up a whole new set of goals. The share market is doing strange things, I honestly don't know if we're lining up for a bear market, or if the current drop is just shenanigans. I'm well versed in emotional survival for market crashes, but it makes it hard to set goals - if the value is going to drop, then I can't set goals for a huge growth. If it does grow, then I don't want to set my goals to low. If you have any ideas, drop them in the comments, because I'm stumped at the moment.

Savings

Six months done and dusted, goals not met. Oh well. We set ambitious goals for a target to chase.

Let's look at the goal numbers, then the overall pictures. I wanted to add $1,000 to my cash cushion each month. Instead I only managed to put aside $613 per month.

For fun numbers, next to that, I also invested $14,600. For the last half of 2018 I successfully squirrelled away $18,280 per month, which works out to 43% of my income.

I might not have met my goals here, but I'm going to take a moment to step back and look at that. I read articles every day encouraging people to save 10% of their income. Articles praising people for saving $50 a month. Stories of people who are greatful they have saved $5,000 in a year.

I am not going to shame those people and tell them they should do better, or work harder. In the last few months it's becoming clearer and clearer how strange, and how privileged I am to be chasing FIRE. There are many people out there who struggle. I am not going to complain that I only saved and invested $3,000 a month. Instead, I'm grateful for all the pieces in my life that have come together to make it possible.

Expenses

For the sake of curiosity, here's what I spent in December, which includes the save-to-spend amounts.

Category	Spent	Budgeted	12 Month Average
Home	$961.78	$1,318	$1,307.10 (down $20.67)
No bills! Booyah.
Investment Property	$767.60	$1,190.83	$1,315.00 (up $7.46)
Two months in a row of no bills, this is lovely, and spooky. I checked, I didn't miss anything
Personal Bills	$126.60	$126.67	$142.10 (down $1.69)
The stock standard usual.. nothing to see here
Groceries	$192.14	$190	$209.56 (up $3.76)
So last month I spent $100 on a gift card for groceries, and I completely forgot to take it to the store. For a whole month. Shame on me, so much shame.
Pets	$210.43	$50	$62.10 (up $14.62)
My poor FIREcat had an upset stomach. For three days. My little fat fluffball didn't eat for three days, so off to the vet we went. I paid $210 for some antibiotics, an anti-nausea shot, and for the vet to tell me that yes, she is fat. It was worth being reassured that she was okay, and with some gentle coaxing I got her eating again. She's yelling at me for dinner as I type this, so she's a-okay.
Roller Derby	$35	$175	$230.93 (up $2.89)
Basically Nothing! I spent a little money for a shared picnic dinner party, and put money aside for safety gear that I'll buy in January, using Afterpay to get the most bang for my buck.
Travelling	$110	$122.50	$48.33 (up $9.16)
Next year I'm hoping to go to Canada! I figured I better start putting money aside.
Comfort Food	$29.50	$40	$51.15 (down $15.13)
I split this out in November and having this category visible helped a lot. Even with Christmas, I kept this spending where I wanted it. Mostly by buying ingredients and making my own snacks
Other	$242.53	$187.00	$262.17 (up $2)
What can I say, it was Christmas! I bought all the Kingdom Hearts games for myself, and a headset so that I can play games with the volume up and chat to friends without annoying Mr. FIRE. I also spent a bit on presents, but my friends and family have long agreed that presence is a present, so we only give small things - like homemade pickled eggs.
Total	$2,675.58	$3,400	$3,628.46 (up $2.44)
Look at that magic number!! Surely i's a trick? After all, I gifted myself a higher budget for Christmas. The numbers are mostly low because I didn't pay any bills this month, that's always nice.