New Year 2025: My NEW Goals And Expectations

Sarah Brumley

Sarah Brumley

New year, fresh goals! As we begin 2025, I’ve been reflecting on the lessons we learned from 2024 and dreaming big for the year ahead. In this episode, I’m sharing my top goals and intentions for 2025—not to invite comparison, but to inspire you to chase your dreams with clarity and confidence. Ready to kick off 2025 with purpose? Well then, let’s jump in!

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New Year 2025: My NEW Goals And Expectations

Well, hey there and welcome back to this episode of Financial Fix Up podcast. I’m your host, Sarah Brumley, and today I am really excited to say welcome to the new year. It is now 2025, and I don’t know about you, but it just baffles me that we are here already. I remember when my kids were young – my older girls – and I was thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, 2025, that is so far away.’ And yet here we are. This is the year that my oldest graduates from high school; she is turning 18 in less than two weeks, and it’s just crazy how fast time flies.

Maybe you’re feeling the same way as a mom or as a parent in general or grandparent, but nevertheless, there is a lot we can accomplish this coming year, and that is what we are going to talk about today. I am actually going to share my goals and intentions for the upcoming year.

How to Create Goals for 2025

But before we dive into my personal goals for 2025, though, I want to take you behind the scenes and share the exact process I use to set goals that truly matter – and that I’m confident I can achieve. And let me tell you – we had amazing success with our goals in 2024. It wasn’t perfect, but we paid off debt, we fully funded a family vacation, and I managed to achieve a health goal I’d been working on. There were other mini-goals in there that were a mix of success and what I will call “learning experiences” but overall such a great feeling to come to the end of this year and look back on how far we’ve come.

The key to that success, though – laying the right foundation. Without that foundation, your goals can quickly turn into empty resolutions and no one wants to end the year wondering, “What went wrong?”

And laying that foundation doesn’t have to be complicated, in fact, I use three simple steps each year to help me focus on what truly matters and quite honestly set myself and my family up for success – not just in January, but all year long.

So, let’s jump into that first.

Step #1: Focus on What Needs Attention Most

We all have multiple areas of life pulling at us—family, health, finances, work—and it can feel overwhelming to try to tackle them all at once. That’s why the first step is getting clear about which areas actually need your attention this year.

To do this, I look at 10 core areas of my life:

  • Family
  • Spouse
  • Personal growth
  • Health
  • Business or work
  • Faith
  • Friendships
  • Finances
  • Recreation
  • Home or household

For each area, I ask myself: Does this part of my life need a specific goal right now? Sometimes the answer is yes, and other times it’s no. And there have been years where I’ve set goals in every category, but the true success has come in focusing on the few areas that matter most.

The key here is to give yourself permission to prioritize. You don’t have to do it all. And honestly, trying to juggle too much is a recipe for burnout. Focus on what aligns with your values and what will make the biggest impact for you and your family.

Step #2: Eliminate What’s Holding You Back

Once you’ve identified your focus areas, it’s time to take a hard look at what might stand in the way of your success. This could mean cutting out commitments that no longer serve you, letting go of habits that drain your energy, or preparing for obstacles you know might come up.

For example, if one of your goals is to save money this year, take a look at where your budget is currently leaking. Maybe it’s too many impulse purchases or unused subscriptions. Addressing these roadblocks ahead of time can help you make real progress.

The same goes for recognizing external challenges. Let’s say your goal is to get healthier, but your schedule is packed. Anticipate that challenge and build in small, actionable steps—like 15-minute workouts or meal-prepping on weekends—that fit into your lifestyle.

Here’s the bottom line: success isn’t JUST about what you start doing. It’s also about what you’re willing to let go of.

Now I do want to mention as far as obstacles go that sometimes the obstacles we may identify might not be something we can control, but are something we should still be aware of just in case. For example, and I’ve mentioned this a few times on this podcast, we have a daughter in a Residential Treatment Center out of state.

Up until the time of this recording, she’s been covered as medically necessary by insurance – which is such an incredible blessing, but we understand that it’s very likely that she won’t be covered long enough to complete the entire program, so that’s something we will likely need to deal with sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, we can’t know for sure when or even if that will happen, so we will cross that bridge when we get to it but it’s a good example of being aware of something that might derail your progress in the future. So definitely take those things into consideration as well.

Step #3: Break it Down

Big goals can feel exciting at first, but they’re also overwhelming if you don’t have a clear plan. That’s why this final step is all about breaking your goals into smaller, actionable chunks.

Let’s say one of your goals is to pay off a debt by the end of the year. Start by figuring out how much you need to pay each month to hit your target. If your timeline is shorter—like six months—adjust the monthly payment accordingly.

Breaking your goals into smaller milestones not only makes them feel more manageable, but it also helps you build momentum. Each little win along the way keeps you motivated and moving forward.

Another tip? Set regular check-ins to evaluate your progress. Maybe it’s monthly or quarterly—whatever works for you. These check-ins give you a chance to celebrate your wins, adjust as needed, and stay on track. I choose to do my check-ins every quarter, but you may find a different time frame works for you.

My Personal and Financial Goals for 2025

After working through each of these steps and having thoughtful conversations with Justin and other trusted people in my life, I’ve finalized my goals for 2025. As I share them with you, I want to gently remind you not to compare your journey to mine. We all come from unique circumstances and are navigating different stages of life. Instead, I hope this inspires and encourages you as you create goals that are meaningful for your journey.

When I went to put my goals together initially – I normally start my planning and reflection toward the end of November just to give myself some time to really consider where we’ve been and what matters going forward, but as I sat down to do that, my first thought was “I don’t want to have any goals next year.” To which I immediately texted my accountability group and told them the same thing. So unlike me, because I ALWAYS have goals and can’t wait to get started working toward them.

The truth, though, is that we accomplished a lot in 2024 as a family and even personally. I’ve made the switch from my marketing business to more of a stay-at-home role, even though I do still take website clients here and there, but it’s been a wonderful change for our family as a whole. With that change has come the need to rework and rethink my approach to different areas of my life, because while I do still have responsibilities and a to-do list, there’s not the same level of urgency to most of the tasks on my list. And that’s a good thing, but it’s taken a lot of time to embrace the calmer, less hurried version of me.

So, and I might just be rambling on now, but I think that being able to identify that was key in putting together goals and intentions for 2025. And it really does speak to the fact that my goals do not have to look like anyone else’s and neither do yours.

Goal #1: Increase Savings

My first goal for 2025 is a financial goal and that is to increase our emergency and general savings funds. And while I do have an idea of how much I’d like to see in both of those funds – I won’t share those numbers here – but my intention is to place as much extra money as possible in those funds specifically over the first three months of this year. Ideally this will help us continue to maintain our financial security if and when unexpected expenses arise.

Part two of this goal is to increase our Vacation fund, which quite honestly, is zero at the moment. Justin and I are hoping to take a trip with friends sometime in the next year to eighteen months, and I’d like to get a head start on that. Once again, I have a number, but I’m going to keep that to myself.

Categories: Finances

Goal #2: Building Community

My second goal for 2025 is to continue to focus on building community. One of the biggest blessings of stepping away from the marketing end of things has been the freedom and flexibility to show up for play dates, to meet up with other families, and just to spend more time in community with like-minded individuals. My intention is that 2025 will be a continuation of that.

To do so, I’m being intentional in offering invitations for play dates each week and making sure that I’m also touching base with those in my life that can use a little additional encouragement or support. I’ve been doing this in some form or fashion for a couple of years now, but I want to increase the importance I place on this in 2025.

Categories: Family, Friendships

Goal #3: Food as Medicine

My final goal for 2025 is health related and family related, too, I guess. I’ve been really looking at the things that we put in our bodies and how it affects our health and hormones and such. And knowing what I do now, I really want to spend 2025 focusing on using food as medicine and making sure that myself and my family are consuming the foods that we need to maintain our best selves. I know that this method works, because I’ve had Rheumatoid Arthritis and other autoimmune issues for years and have been able to manage it without taking medication by eliminating inflammatory foods.

So, this involves doing the research, eliminating processed foods and chemicals we don’t need in our systems, making more foods at home from scratch and then ensuring that we have a meal plan in place that helps us stay on track.

Categories: Health, Personal, Family

Goals for 2025: Quarter 1 Intentions

Obviously each of these goals is really important to me, but they are also really big goals. Knowing that, I’ve broken them down into three specific intentions to focus on during this first quarter.

  • So, let’s start with intention number one: Financial Wins. My big goal here is to increase our savings—both emergency savings and our vacation fund. For Q1, my intention is to prioritize small, consistent wins. That means setting up automatic transfers to savings every payday, even if it’s just a small amount. I’m also planning to do a no-spend weekend once a month. These weekends are great because they’re low effort but can make a big impact. Finally, I’m going to look for areas to cut back—like pausing a subscription we don’t use or being mindful about dining out. Every little bit helps, and it’s all about keeping that momentum going.
  • Intention number two is all about building community. For Quarter 1, I’m focusing on making weekly connections a priority. Each week, I’ll plan at least one play date or meetup with friends or family. It’s a chance to nurture the relationships we already have. Beyond that, I’m going to check in with at least one person each week—whether that’s sending a text, making a quick call, or even dropping by with a coffee. Finally, I’m committing to attending one community event each month, like a library activity or a local gathering. These little actions create big ripple effects in how connected we feel.
  • And finally, intention number three: Food as Medicine. If you’ve been following my journey, you know that I’m really focusing on using food to support our health. For Q1, I’m keeping it simple. First, I’m committing to planning and prepping one homemade, anti-inflammatory meal each week. It’s manageable and gives me a chance to test recipes and figure out what works for us. Second, I’m going to experiment with swapping out one processed item for a homemade version—maybe a sauce, snack, or seasoning mix. And third, I’ll be researching and creating a list of 10 go-to recipes that are quick, healthy, and family-approved. Having those recipes ready to go will make meal planning so much easier moving forward.

Goals for 2025: Potential Roadblocks

As I mentioned above, it’s important to recognize and anticipate any roadblocks that might come up along the way. These goals will be challenging and there will likely be roadblocks to their success. The following are just a few that I came up with:

  • Unexpected medical or housing expenses – or even our daughter’s residential treatment needs – could reduce the amount we can save, however, we are planning accordingly by fully funding our savings funds for those categories to the best of our ability. I’m also implementing a budget buffer within our monthly budget with the hope that we can resist dipping into our savings unless it’s completely necessary.
  • Another roadblock – specifically when it comes to building community – could be my tendency to over-commit to too many social events and end up burned out. Knowing that, I’m going to be intentional about saying “yes” to events and people that leave me and my family feeling energized and “no” to those that don’t. It might sound harsh, but I think this is critical for success in that area.
  • Overspending on daily living expenses or unplanned eating out could also eat into our budget AND could make it hard for us to truly embrace my goal of using food as medicine. To counteract that, we are putting in the work ahead of time with our meal planning and grocery shopping.

Of course there are likely other potential roadblocks, but for now, those are the ones we can anticipate and work toward acknowledging and (hopefully!!!) avoiding.

Create Your Own Goals for 2025

If you’re ready to set yourself up for success in 2025 and haven’t put your goals in place yet, now’s the perfect time to start.

Take just a few minutes to:

  • Identify the areas of your life that need the most focus and decide what you want to achieve in those areas.
  • Clear out anything unnecessary that might be holding you back in those categories.
  • Pinpoint potential roadblocks that could get in the way of your success.

Then, break those big goals down into smaller, actionable steps and clear outcomes.

What Are Your 2025 Goals?

As we wrap up today’s episode, I hope these three steps give you the clarity and confidence to set goals that truly matter this year. Remember, it’s not about how many goals you set or how big they are—it’s about choosing the ones that align with your values and your season of life, letting go of what’s holding you back, and breaking things down into manageable, actionable steps.

Goal-setting isn’t just about reaching the finish line; it’s about the growth, learning, and progress you make along the way. So, take the time to reflect, plan, and prepare for a year that feels purposeful and fulfilling—on your terms.

And don’t forget, you’re not in this alone! I’m here cheering you on every step of the way, and I’d love to hear about your goals for 2025. Send me an email at sarah@lemonblessings.com to share what you’re working toward—I’d love to celebrate your wins with you!

Until next time, keep focusing on what matters most, and let’s make 2025 a year of incredible progress. You’ve got this! Have an amazing day and I’ll chat with you again next time!

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