KAREN & THE CONSTABLES

2019 was a pretty big year for me. I turned 40, which sparked a bit of a fire under me, and encouraged me to change job, focus on my mental and physical health, and basically get my life together!

I had a Hawaiian themed birthday party, holidayed in Krakow, Auschwitz, Lyon and Carrbridge, celebrated our first wedding anniversary, saw our youngest off to nursery and had lots and lots of family adventures!

2020 will match last year in adventures but also in change. Our eldest heads into primary one and our youngest will be full-time at pre-school, meaning we’ll have more child-free hours. That sounds great, but Allan works shifts so it’s not necessarily extra time together, hopefully just less juggling. It also frees me up to work more which would be great as it would give us some extra money and a bit more breathing space in our budget.

With this in mind, my first goal of the year is not to spend any money on anything I don’t need. Being part of a local sustainability group, I realise that I have a wardrobe full of clothes I don’t wear, cupboards full of skincare and makeup I don’t use, and a shelf of books I don’t read. I tend to buy far too many clothes for the girls and am a very impulsive shopper, and that needs to stop.

I need to use up or wear out what I have before I buy anything else. I can swap things and get things for free where possible (our local sustainability group is great for donating, swapping and collecting to each other), and I will still spend money on days out and holidays as I feel that those experiences are important and what we’re ultimately savings money for.

My other goal for the year is to lose more weight. At the end of the year I took part in a fitness challenge at my gym, losing almost a stone and becoming more trim all over. Then Christmas happened and weight went back on, but I’m more confident in what worked for me and that I can be more consistent and keep the weight off.

So there we have it, another year, another set of saving pounds and losing pounds goals, but at least I have a strategy! What are your goals for the year?