I thought it would be fun (and frightening) to take a look at our Before Baby goals list and see where we are so far.
1. Earn More Money
DONE! ~ When we made this list Scott and I were each making about $5,000.00 less than we make now, which is really great. We set out to find ways to earn more money and all of a sudden Scott's job announces that all employees will receive increases so that their incomes would be comparable to surrounding cities who made about 10% more. Then I had to go and write up a new job description for myself and having a couple of conversations with my awesome boss, managed to get a nice little bump in pay. We can check this one off the list. Score 10/10
DONE! ~ When we made this list Scott and I were each making about $5,000.00 less than we make now, which is really great. We set out to find ways to earn more money and all of a sudden Scott's job announces that all employees will receive increases so that their incomes would be comparable to surrounding cities who made about 10% more. Then I had to go and write up a new job description for myself and having a couple of conversations with my awesome boss, managed to get a nice little bump in pay. We can check this one off the list. Score 10/10
2. Finish School
NOT DONE ~ It's going to be a while before Scott is done with school. It's just so hard since he goes part time. Luckily, the grad program he's interested in is almost 100% online. We also hadn't counted on his having such a great job. I was considering grad school for a while, but in the latest conversations with my boss, it's looking less and less like I'll need it. Then the program I was interested in is no longer available. Basically the undergraduate degree I have being in Environmental Studies is a rare enough thing in my field and I'm often surprised how much more comprehensive my education was as compared to my co-workers - 95% of whom did not major in the field. So I do have that edge. I am determined to take a few classes in some of the newer disciplines and community education like the Master Gardener program. I've already taken the Smart Gardening workshop and some others. So I will definitely continue my education, just maybe less formally and we'll have to deal with Scott's continuation in school for now. Score 5/10
NOT DONE ~ It's going to be a while before Scott is done with school. It's just so hard since he goes part time. Luckily, the grad program he's interested in is almost 100% online. We also hadn't counted on his having such a great job. I was considering grad school for a while, but in the latest conversations with my boss, it's looking less and less like I'll need it. Then the program I was interested in is no longer available. Basically the undergraduate degree I have being in Environmental Studies is a rare enough thing in my field and I'm often surprised how much more comprehensive my education was as compared to my co-workers - 95% of whom did not major in the field. So I do have that edge. I am determined to take a few classes in some of the newer disciplines and community education like the Master Gardener program. I've already taken the Smart Gardening workshop and some others. So I will definitely continue my education, just maybe less formally and we'll have to deal with Scott's continuation in school for now. Score 5/10
3. Buy a House
DONE ~ We did it! We bought a house, we love it, we're working on it and it's coming along. Score - 10/10
DONE ~ We did it! We bought a house, we love it, we're working on it and it's coming along. Score - 10/10
4. Remodel Said House
90% DONE ~ We had a list of goals to accomplish in the house in what we call the first phase. You've seen how this place looked when we bought it. Every room needed to be cleared, cleaned, painted and furnished. We did that. We also wanted to buy a new stove - check, buy a washer and dryer - check, get the heat fixed - check, redo the kitchen and dining room floors - check, insulate the laundry room - check, buy dining room furniture - check, and basically make the house livable - check. We still need to put in all new windows, finish the new drawer and cabinet fronts in the kitchen, perfect the plumbing in the tub, tile the shower, new doors for the whole house, and put new countertops in the kitchen. I know this sounds like a lot, but I also know how far we've come. Almost there.... Score 9/10
90% DONE ~ We had a list of goals to accomplish in the house in what we call the first phase. You've seen how this place looked when we bought it. Every room needed to be cleared, cleaned, painted and furnished. We did that. We also wanted to buy a new stove - check, buy a washer and dryer - check, get the heat fixed - check, redo the kitchen and dining room floors - check, insulate the laundry room - check, buy dining room furniture - check, and basically make the house livable - check. We still need to put in all new windows, finish the new drawer and cabinet fronts in the kitchen, perfect the plumbing in the tub, tile the shower, new doors for the whole house, and put new countertops in the kitchen. I know this sounds like a lot, but I also know how far we've come. Almost there.... Score 9/10
5. Get Healthy
KINDA ~ I did lose some weight, I figured out what was going on with my body (I have PCOS) and I started treatment for it. My last blood tests showed some improvement and I started taking a daily multi-vitamin. Scott also started on a daily supplement, stopped drinking soda, and we've cut out meat consumption considerably. We still need to work on weight, regular exercise, and we both really need to go to the dentist & optometrist. We have to stop putting these appointments on hold. 6/10
KINDA ~ I did lose some weight, I figured out what was going on with my body (I have PCOS) and I started treatment for it. My last blood tests showed some improvement and I started taking a daily multi-vitamin. Scott also started on a daily supplement, stopped drinking soda, and we've cut out meat consumption considerably. We still need to work on weight, regular exercise, and we both really need to go to the dentist & optometrist. We have to stop putting these appointments on hold. 6/10
6. Money Management & Debt
ALMOST - Now that we're earning more than ever, finances are easier than ever. We really are amazed by how much we are able to accomplish and or save in a given month. And even though we went kind of crazy in December & January with holidays, purchases and a trip for me (I spent $130 on one meal for myself in Vegas!) we've still managed to make it happen. And this year was the very first time in memory that we could afford to take our entire tax return and bought something we wanted (a completely new laundry room) with it instead of paying off old bills. Things are a little tight as we still work to get adjusted to our new budget with the mortgage and all, but on paper, we are golden. We have well over $1000.00 a month to add to savings (a lot to us) and we have less than $5,000.00 in debt including all credit cards but not including our mortgage, my student loans, or my car. Speaking of cars one of our goals includes finally getting one for Scott so that's something else to think about . But I continue to be shocked by how far our earnings now go and our ability to put some away each month. Better than ever before. Score = 7/10
ALMOST - Now that we're earning more than ever, finances are easier than ever. We really are amazed by how much we are able to accomplish and or save in a given month. And even though we went kind of crazy in December & January with holidays, purchases and a trip for me (I spent $130 on one meal for myself in Vegas!) we've still managed to make it happen. And this year was the very first time in memory that we could afford to take our entire tax return and bought something we wanted (a completely new laundry room) with it instead of paying off old bills. Things are a little tight as we still work to get adjusted to our new budget with the mortgage and all, but on paper, we are golden. We have well over $1000.00 a month to add to savings (a lot to us) and we have less than $5,000.00 in debt including all credit cards but not including our mortgage, my student loans, or my car. Speaking of cars one of our goals includes finally getting one for Scott so that's something else to think about . But I continue to be shocked by how far our earnings now go and our ability to put some away each month. Better than ever before. Score = 7/10
7. Travel
NOT DONE - We haven't done nearly as much traveling as we would have liked. We've done some smaller trips together - Mexico, South America, Napa, Central Coast, Northern California, Vegas etc.We just figured we had time for this since we weren't going to have kids. Looks like this one has passed us by. I can't imagine trying to go on a big trip at this point. Especially with all of the other ways in which we need to spend our money. Plus the dollar just doesn't go as far as it used to in many places abroad. Maybe we'll do a US trip that we've both been dreaming of for a while. We'll see. But we haven't done nearly enough traveling. Score 4/10
NOT DONE - We haven't done nearly as much traveling as we would have liked. We've done some smaller trips together - Mexico, South America, Napa, Central Coast, Northern California, Vegas etc.We just figured we had time for this since we weren't going to have kids. Looks like this one has passed us by. I can't imagine trying to go on a big trip at this point. Especially with all of the other ways in which we need to spend our money. Plus the dollar just doesn't go as far as it used to in many places abroad. Maybe we'll do a US trip that we've both been dreaming of for a while. We'll see. But we haven't done nearly enough traveling. Score 4/10
8. Baby Prep
DONE -Remember the summit? Here's what I wrote about it
DONE -Remember the summit? Here's what I wrote about it
The agenda first included lots of discussion about our own thoughts and feelings. Things like deciding on the best time for the baby to be born, what kind of birth I would like to have, which room would work best for a nursery, division of labor for infancy, toddler years and beyond, potential weekend activities, fears, hopes, and working out time for us together and ourselves individually.
So we have tried to think about those things. We even have a potential nanny lined up - a family friend - hooray! I think we have a pretty good idea of what we would to expect. At least, we think we do. If nothing else, we've done our homework just like we said we would. Score 10/10
9. Entertaining
DONE ~ We wanted to make sure we had time to enjoy our new home and throw a couple of parties. We've had the housewarming, Mona & Soren over for dinner, Chris & Jenny over for dinner, Amber & Chirag over for dinner multiple times, Tiff & Donna over for brunch, Ali & Frank over for a BBQ, Steph & Stacy over for dinner, a cocktail party, and I'm hosting Easter for both our families in a couple of weeks and book club in May. This is all in 9 months! Not to mention my sister Amber's bridal shower this summer. I think we're good. Well, maybe one more big party...Score 10/10
DONE ~ We wanted to make sure we had time to enjoy our new home and throw a couple of parties. We've had the housewarming, Mona & Soren over for dinner, Chris & Jenny over for dinner, Amber & Chirag over for dinner multiple times, Tiff & Donna over for brunch, Ali & Frank over for a BBQ, Steph & Stacy over for dinner, a cocktail party, and I'm hosting Easter for both our families in a couple of weeks and book club in May. This is all in 9 months! Not to mention my sister Amber's bridal shower this summer. I think we're good. Well, maybe one more big party...Score 10/10
10. Room for Baby
DONE ~ As much as I've toyed with the idea of using it for other stuff - an office, a library, a lounge, an art room - we've managed to keep the little yellow room set aside for a possible little one. It's basically the perfect size and right off of our room. And we even left the middle closet empty for the possibility of baby clothes. It will probably need a new coat of paint, the closet needs to be reorganized and the doors replaced, and we wonder if temperature control can be a problem in that room, and of course I'll have to design a nursery from the ground up, but we have managed to carve out some baby space. 10/10
DONE ~ As much as I've toyed with the idea of using it for other stuff - an office, a library, a lounge, an art room - we've managed to keep the little yellow room set aside for a possible little one. It's basically the perfect size and right off of our room. And we even left the middle closet empty for the possibility of baby clothes. It will probably need a new coat of paint, the closet needs to be reorganized and the doors replaced, and we wonder if temperature control can be a problem in that room, and of course I'll have to design a nursery from the ground up, but we have managed to carve out some baby space. 10/10
So how are we doing on our pre-baby goals? We have a total score of 81/100! Not too shabby. I'm hoping it goes up significantly by my next baby check-in post.
Love this post, Candice!!! Wow, you have really done your homework and it's apparent you 2 are going to be fantastic parents. Your future baby is one lucky kiddo! :-)Also, my cousin-in-law has PCOS and had no trouble getting pregnant. They have a beautiful little boy now. :-) Thanks again for everything yesterday!!!! It was so great seeing you again!
ReplyDeleteWow! This is a fantastic post! Starting to think about moving in the direction of baby/TTC in a couple of years, so all of this was very helpful information. Great job on working towards your goals - very inspiring! :)
ReplyDeleteCandace, this is really incredible! I applaud your efforts to set and make Before Baby Goals, and to share with others ways to make your house green. Interesting, realistic, and awesome! Thanks for the inspiration!
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