Resolutions - Revisited

At the beginning of this year I posted my resolutions, and such, for 2010.  Well, here it is, the end of the year.  Let's see if I've accomplished anything of value...

My resolutions for 2010 were as follows:

1. Pray with both my son & my girls before they go to bed.
2. Do coffee or breakfast with all my kids, but especially Carly. (Remember, God has engineered YOU to mesh with your family. You, not Mark, not Ryan, not Will, are the spiritual leader of your family for a REASON.)
3. Continue with small group. It's been a while since I've been encouraged in such a way that I'm motivated to go home and lead my family in the pursuit of following God.
4. Be diligent, honest, & committed to my spending plan. Understand that it's OK to revise the plan as long as we both agree.
5. Join a reading plan on Youversion.com. Make reasonable attempts to stick with it. Hold laura accountable.
6. Pick out a Bible verse with the kids to memorize. Attempt more as time permits.
7. Pray more frequently
8. When is God most apparent to you? Is it during worship? Driving, what?
9. God has placed His desires in our hearts! What are YOU going to do about it?!

Ok, let's see how I did...

1. Fail.  I don't think I did this at all.
2. Neither fail nor success.  Although I didn't really do coffee or breakfast with any of them this year, I did make a point to take them individually out with me to do things, like errand running and such.  It's not nearly the face time I had in mind, but it was something.  And the kids & I did have had some good conversations.  I like this one though, and I think I'll keep it on the list for 2011.
3. Fail.  Joined a small group, but dropped out.  No fault to the group; I was feeling the demand of the commitment I'd made, and I didn't like that.
4. Success!  Although I wouldn't call it a complete success, we did stay (relatively) committed to our spending plan, and managed to come out in the black.  (considering it's post-Christmas I consider that a definite success)  So, to improve upon this goal, I plan to make some revisions, and keep better track of where my money is actually going.
5. Fail.  Although I joined the plan, motivation was nonexistent.  I'm not really sure what the solution is here.
6. Fail.  Completely forgot about this one once I wrote it.
7. Neither fail nor success.  Although I feel I prayed rather frequently, I definitely didn't pray as much as I wanted to.
8. I think this is an ongoing question.  My answer as of now: during Worship.
9. This question fuels a complicated answer that I'm not prepared to answer now.

Although it appears that 2010 was mostly a FAIL for me, I'm not looking at it that way.  I did manage to carve out a new position at work, that I actually like.  Football this year was a success.  The hopes I have for my kids have not subsided. I have worked out at the gym a bit...

That leads me to my resolutions for 2011:

• Continue working out at the gym, but progress toward a 5 day workout week.
• Significantly reduce my daily sugar intake.
• Revise budget to include 401k contributions, and better weekly expenditure tracking
• Read a novel
• Better refine my work duties, responsibilities
• Create an actual schedule for one-on-one time with each of the family members - especially Laura.  (see number 2 above)
• Find a Disciple that works with me.
• Take more pictures, and publish them.
• Create and develop long-term goals
• Pray with, and for my children.
• Learn Mandarin (a little)
• Get another tattoo
• Do at least 1 fun thing with my cousin, Eric
• Visit my sisters (both of them)

It'll be interesting to see how I do this year. 

Discipline is a challenge

For over a year I've been stashing money away for the purchase of a new car.  I decided on what I wanted last August, but was nowhere near the down payment I wanted.  I had even considered purchasing the car late last fall, to take advantage of the sales tax savings, but decided that a larger (30%) down payment outweighed the good interest rate, & tax savings.  It was then that I decided to buy a 2010 model toward the late spring of 2010. 

A couple weeks go the 2011 models were announced.  I reviewed the specs & looked at the pictures, but decided that I didn't really like the styling changes, and was glad that I had decided on the 2010 model.

So, it was yesterday that I had contacted the dealer to see what's available and place my order if need be.  Come to find out, the last date to place an order for the 2010 model was a month ago (March 19th), and there's no cars on the lot in all of Michigan, Indiana, & Ohio.  I'm screwed.

People keep trying to talk me out of the new car purchase.  I completely understand the difference in value new vs. used.  I am conscious of the whole “the car goes down in value by X% as soon as you drive it off the lot” argument.  I have 2 rebuttals: 1) I'm not going to sell my car as soon as I drive it off the lot; I plan to keep it for 10+ years,  and 2) This car is absent in the used market; people buy these cars and keep them.  Buying used isn't really a viable option. 

So now that I have to wait an additional 3-4 months, I must stay diligent with my saving.  It's very difficult to see a woot-off and not press the I Want One button.  I see the deals at Newegg on a weekly basis, & have to close the site as soon as I open it, because I know that I'll be tempted.  There's a video game that I want to get next month, and it pains me to know that I can't.  Keeping my 'eye on the prize' takes more willpower than I had originally thought.  I just hope I can make it.  :)

Photo courtesy of Autoblog

Soon to be debt free(ish)!

Come this December 2nd, the Nielsens will be debt-free!  Well, for the credit card anyway.  We've been credit card debt-free before, but I actually think it'll stick this time.  We've made some mindset changes that has enabled both Laura & I to stop using the credit card, but use the bank card instead.  We still have a little more to go (some weeks we run out of money - oops!), but for the most part it's working out.  The next step is budgeting.  I have a feeling that is going on the New Year's resolution blog entry; stay tuned.

Shoot, I have to wait. >:o|

Welp, I think I've decided that I need to wait probably at least 6 months before I can buy a (new) car. I realized today that I need to dig myself out of debt before I plunge into more debt. It's like ripping the bandaid^(r) off. I know it's going to hurt, I sure as hell don't want to do it, but I know it needs to be done. It doesn't help when I see events like this going on:

Capture by AmateurX on Zooomr

I'm a sucker for financing...Canon 70-200mm yummy goodness

70-200mm...yummy

Amazon.com: Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L IS USM Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras: Camera & Photo

No Interest if Paid in Full in 24 Months...
when you purchase this item or other select Camera, Photo & Video products using the Amazon.com Store Card. Minimum monthly payments required. Applies only to products sold by Amazon.com. Does not apply to products sold on our site by third-party sellers. 1-Click and phone orders do not apply. Offer ends September 30. Additional restrictions apply.

I saw this today, on my usual check-for-deals web searching. I've been wanting this lens ever since it came out a couple of years ago. I haven't really been able to justify the expense. In fact, last year was the first football season where I really wished I had that lens. The girls are cheering again this season, so when I saw this financing deal (and a good price to boot), I started shuffling around in my seat. Picture a 10 year old boy jonesin' to go to the bathroom during a test in class.

Now, all I have to do is justify the cost, v.s. the financing, & see if I can wedge it into the budget.

Photo by GregCee
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