by Nathan Stout (of AccordingToWhim.com)
In Part 1,
I gave you all some pep talk about how great it is to be alive and all
that stuff along with my 2020 goals. Part 2 covered the first few goals in more detail. In this part I will break down my
more goals in a way that makes them do-able. Let’s continue down the list of my 2020 goals.
Goal
I’d like to have a proper savings.
Don’t we all? I have a savings account but it is tiny. A joke really. When you see all those news articles about how so few Americans have a savings, I am right in there. I do have an emergency fund but that’s nothing compared to what a family of 4 should have set aside. For this year I need to save. The issue is how to save. This means having a budget (ugh) so that there is a surplus that is set aside. An additional thought is to deposit any checks I am handed into my savings right away. I also plan to take the 2.5% yearly raise and put it into savings automatically (thanks technology).
Goal
Have a constant and serious secondary income.
I have secondary incomes. I have a collectibles business where I do a few shows though the year as well as a side hustle where I put out realtor signs. They are really small potatoes. What I need is something bigger or more of the same so that the extra money coming in is constant and amounts to something more significant than spending money.
Make some money in 2020 #1:
In the coming year I am looking at finally doing what I have been talking about for years: running a monthly toy show. This would provide me with 2 possible sources of income: running the show and selling my stuff that I usually sell at conventions. If I can get it off the ground I’d like to do one each weekend (Saturday) at 4 different locations in the North Texas area so that every Saturday I had a show and would be making money.
Make some money in 2020 #2:
I have 2 REALLY good app ideas. seriously good. I’d tell you but then I’d have to have all 10 of you sign NDAs so I’ll just keep silent on them. One of the requires ALOT of research and the other requires alot of know how on the app side. I am not an app developer so I am looking for someone who can put my ideas out there. Yes I will be using Scrum to run these. I have reached out to someone I have worked with before that does this sort of work and if she gets back to me I might be on a roll!
Goal
I’d like to visit Disney parks 3 times in 2020.
I have a big family trip for all of us (Brother and his family) going in July so that one is done. That leaves 2 more to do. Now this isn’t the kind of goal that is personal betterment type goal but just something I want to do. A shiny goal. The problem is the price. The average amount we spend is about 3k per trip. Yikes! What this goal should really be about is making the money to go 3 times.
Goal
I’d like to visit Six Flags over Texas at least 5 times in 2020.
This will be easy. We are an hour from Six Flags and I am trying to really make my season and dining passes pay off. You can read about my Six Flags adventures here in this post.Six Flags is my cheaper alternative to Disney. I grew up on Six Flags so it’s a nice retro thing for me.
Goal
I’d like to get 3 of me and Chris’ games published (self published).
Chris was under the impression that the 3 games I want to publish were to be new. This is not the case. We have several games that are in various states of completion. One of the road blocks is my distance from Chris. I am an hour from him and he can’t make it out often. I still think we can do this.
Goal
I’d like knock out a lot of my repairs to my house (there are a LOT).
We moved into our house a little over a year ago. I have some basic repairs, there are alot of things that need to be done. The house was built in 1973. It partially burned down in 1981 and was rebuilt into a 2 story house. This has caused many strange issues over the years (mainly to the frame of the house). Some things I will not be able to fix, but there are plenty of things I can do to increase the value of the house. Gutters, painting, wall texture fixes, trim fixes, crown moldings, kitchen redo, shower in master bath, to name the biggies.
Goal
I’d like to ‘finish’ Season 2 of According To Whim (our public access, now on the net show).
If you have been following this blog for any amount of time you know of the disaster of Season 2 when my hard drive broke after it fell over. You can read it here. You can also read a more current blog about fixing season 2. Its basically all there, it just needs to be assembled and polished a bit.
Goal
I’d like to film Season 3 of According To Whim (our public access, now on the net show).
Season 3 has very little content associated with it. I lost stuff during the crash but we hadn’t shot all that much. Only about an episode and a half. This will be more of a new season than a rebuild. That should be fun.
So that’s all. All these goals are doable. Nothing that is impossible. You might argue that they don’t push me but I don’t feel goals have to be uncomfortable to accomplish. they just need to push you to accomplish things (things wanted and/or needed).