It’s pretty safe to say that I LOVE setting goals – especially those that are meant to accompany a fresh new year. This year is absolutely no different. In fact, I’ve spent the better part of the last month reflecting on 2023, and prayerfully considering the things I’d like to accomplish this upcoming year. Knowing that, I thought I would take some time today to let you in on my intentions and goals for 2024 – not so you can compare yourself to me, but so that you might find a fresh perspective or a new idea that will encourage you with regard to your own goals for 2024.
How to Create Goals for 2024
Before we jump into my goals, however, I do really want to talk about the process I go through to determine which goals are right for me. Because no matter what area of your life you are planning for, if you haven’t done this groundwork – it’s likely you’re going to give up and end the year without anything to show for it.
We definitely don’t want that, right?
So, let’s chat about three steps I took to determine which goals matter for 2024.
Step 1: Determine Which Areas Need the Most Attention
First and foremost, it’s important to know exactly what you want to give attention to this upcoming year.
I like to look at 10 different areas of my life in order to make this happen:
- Family
- Spouse
- Personal
- Health
- Business or Work
- Faith
- Friends
- Finances
- Recreation
- Home or Household
For each category I take the time to decide whether the category itself needs to have goals for 2024 and, if so, what those goals should include. There are years that I have made goals in each category and there are years – like this one – that I focus on just a couple of those categories.
Don’t get me wrong because the truth is that we can all probably afford to make changes in all of the categories of our lives, but sometimes it’s not the right season AND sometimes there are other things that matter more. Either way, the goals you make are YOURS and YOURS ALONE. So, they have to matter to YOU.
Step 2: Eliminate the Unnecessary + Recognize the Roadblocks
Once you know which areas need the most attention and even have some goals for 2024 in mind, it’s time to consider everything and anything in your life right now that’s just not necessary OR that might become a roadblock to your success.
I don’t know about you, but this step is a game changer for me. Because when we start something new or have intention to create a better habit or lifestyle for ourselves, but continue to drag along the things that just aren’t working – then we are just setting ourselves up for failure.
So, take the time to go through those different categories and determine what needs to go. I shared a bit of my story along those lines HERE if you want to read it.
When it comes to roadblocks, those could simply be things that might come up and get in your way of achieving your goals. These are things we can’t always anticipate, and yet – the more we can identify them ahead of time, the less likely we will be to fail because of them.
Step 3: Break It Down
Finally, it’s time to break down those goals for 2024. By now you know what really matters to you and what you hope to accomplish. That’s a huge part of the process but if we don’t break those goals down into manageable chunks, you’ll likely start off strong and lose momentum as the year progresses.
I like to start by looking at when I need that goal to be completed by. If I want to pay off a certain debt by the end of the year, then I can likely split that entire debt payoff amount by quarters and then again by months of the year, knowing that I can pay equal amounts in each of those time frames. If, on the other hand, I need that debt paid off by June, then I need to break down the total amount over six months so that I can get that end result.
Breaking it down makes those payments easy to make AND I won’t make it to the month before the deadline and go into panic mode.
My Personal and Financial Goals for 2024
After walking through each of those steps and spending time discussing them with Justin and other trusted people in my life, the following are the goals that I’ve chosen for 2024. As always, I want to remind you not to compare yourself to me. We each come from different circumstances and we are all in different stages of our journey. So, please use this as encouragement and inspiration as you create your own goals.
Goal #1: Debt Payoff
The first goal Justin and I chose together is to pay off two debts that we have – our truck loan and our camper loan.
Thanks to two additional debts that were paid off at the end of 2023, we are able to use the debt snowball method to pay even more each month and intend to have the truck completely paid off by the end of June 2024. This is really important to me because we are (mostly!) a one-vehicle family and I’d love for us to own that vehicle free and clear.
Once the truck has been paid off, we intend to use the debt snowball method to pay off our camper by year end 2024 or the very beginning of 2025 (at the latest).
This goal WILL require sacrifice on our end in order to make it happen, but I know that saying goodbye to these loans will be an amazing feeling.
Plus, once that’s completed we will be able to focus our efforts on the final two debts that we have (aside from our home) – a personal loan and a student loan.
Categories: Finances
Goal #2: Summer Vacation Funded
The second goal we chose is also a financial goal, but more closely relates to recreation and family and that’s to fully fund our extended family vacation coming up in summer of 2024.
While I’ll save you the specifics, I want to make sure that the time we get to spend with family isn’t stressful due to financial reasons. That’s why we’ve decided to put money away each month so that we are ready to have fun when the time comes.
Categories: Finances, Family, Recreation
Goal #3: 75 Hard Completed
The final goal I have is to complete the 75 Hard Challenge. I can honestly tell you that I’m super competitive so when a friend mentioned that she was going to do it, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to do it as well.
If you haven’t heard of it, you can definitely search for it and you’ll find tons of information, but the basics are that each of the 75 days you have to:
- Read 10 minutes of a personal development or self-help book (no audiobooks or podcasts)
- Complete two, 45-minute workouts (one of which has to be outside)
- No alcohol
- Take a progress picture
- Drink 120 ounces of water
- Choose and stick to a diet plan with no cheats
…and if you miss even one thing – you’re back to day 1.
It’s going to be a challenge, but I’m really excited about it and I can’t wait to say I’ve completed it.
Because I am already egg and gluten free, I have a lot of foods that I’m unable to eat. So, rather than go on a “diet” and eliminate a lot of foods, I made the decision to stay away from processed sugars and stick to the meal plan that we complete each month. Not only will that help me physically, but I know that by doing so we will also improve our financial situation as well by not incorporating (unexpected) eating out or random grocery store trips without a purpose.
Categories: Health, Personal, Financial
Goals for 2024: Quarter 1 Intentions
I’ve taken the time to break down each of my goals by quarter so that I know the following things will help us to achieve success this year:
- Pay off $3835.62 of the truck loan ($1278.54 per month)
- Save $900 for family vacation ($300 per month)
- Complete 75 Hard Challenge
Goals for 2024: 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:
- One of our daughters is currently in a residential treatment facility for mental illness. At the time I write this, she is still covered as medically necessary by insurance. 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 may have to deal with financial when or if the time comes. 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.
- Unexpected medical or housing expenses could also derail our debt payoff goals, however, we are planning accordingly by fully funding our savings funds for those categories to the best of our ability.
- Overspending on daily living expenses or unplanned eating out could also eat into our budget AND could make it hard for me to complete the 75 Hard Challenge. 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 2024
If you want to set yourself up for success in 2024, and you don’t have goals in place yet – now’s the time to do so.
Take a few minutes out of your day to:
- Determine which areas need the most attention in your life and what you might want to accomplish in those areas.
- Eliminate anything unnecessary from that category of your life.
- Identify roadblocks that might keep you from success.
…and then break down those larger goals into smaller, more manageable tasks and outcomes.
Trust me – you can do this!
Cheering you on!
Sarah
P.S. Leave a comment below and let me know what your goals are for the upcoming year. You don’t have to be specific, but sometimes it’s nice to know that someone else is aware of your intentions.
