Where are we at?
We're at that time of the year when I look back at my life, think about how much free time I’ve wasted, judge myself, and say I will do better. And will I? Well, find out in the next quarterly review.
Before I go in-depth, I had a couple of singular goals I set, and just by looking at them, I can already tell this past quarter isn’t looking very bright.
𐄂 Start an Excel course
𐄂 Buy shares of one Large Cap
𐄂 Read 12 books
𐄂 Apply for my permanent residence
𐄂 Job hunt
𐄂 Host a summer get-together
☑ Save enough to make up for my deficit from last quarter
See where we’re headed? Let’s get in-depth now.
Career
I feel like I had such big plans at the beginning of the year, to work towards a career, and seven months in, I haven’t really done much about it and it’s all I think about. It’s like I’m doing everything BUT.
I was supposed to have completed my Excel course, started studying for an exam I want to take, negotiated my salary, job hunted, looked up different career pathways, but somehow more than half the year is gone and I'm still in a rut.
I’m going to have to threaten myself now. If I don’t tick something off my career box this quarter, I will push these goals to next year. It’s a threat. We’re either in or we’re out.
Personal
Personal goals are a breath of fresh air. Not because they’re easy to get done but because they usually feel like a choice.
Like:
Read 12 books
I read 9 (It's starting to look like a pattern).
Take more pictures
Throw a get-together
Apply for my PR
And then there are other personal goals that are not really specific to any particular quarter, like going on a short trip, getting a new iPad, moving to a new place (preferably a one-bedroom). These goals don't really have a quarterly constraint, but they're things I'd want to get done before the end of the year.
Finance
Saving the best for last (pun intended); financially, this was a great quarter. With taxes coming in, and that one extra paycheque in June, I was able to save more than I spent, (woohoo!), and I also saved about two per cent more than I expected, give it up for that tax return (although at the time I'm writing this, I'm fairly certain I've put that percentage back into my summer expenses, but it was nice to look at while it lasted!).
Once again here's a visual breakdown.
PAC: Pre-authorised card transactions (bank fees, streaming services, apps etc.)
Other Expenses: Literally anything that isn't on a recurring basis, from shopping, birthdays, cabs, travel, etc.
I'm equal part proud of myself and scared of what this quarter is going to look like.
Speaking of this quarter,
I’m adding more personal goals to my list this quarter, like exercising more frequently since I’m going to be working from my actual house now, actively learning new words; I feel like my brain has gotten lax since I left school and I’m getting very 'word-rusty', finding it difficult to remember words and whatnot.
I'm also looking to start a monthly? newsletter for the blog, oh! and take my final road test. Hopefully, I pass on my first attempt. But more on that next quarter.
How did you do this last quarter? Anything you feel like you think about all the time but just haven’t managed to tick it off?
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