Update on Blogging Goals 2011 & New Goals for 2012

On January 2, 2011, I wrote the following post. I listed my blogging and personal goals for 2011. Since 2012 is only a day away, I thought an update was in order. Plus, I wanted to let you in on my goals for 2012.

Blogging Goals:

1. Increase readership/followers by a minimum of 1,000. This includes increasing my Twitter following to 1,000. I would love suggestions on how to improve my blog so I can increase readership. Is there something you’d like to see more of? Less of? Is there something you wish I did but don’t do?

I totally kicked butt on this goal. Not only did I increase my Twitter users to almost 1500, my Facebook followers are up to over 3500.

2. Create a media kit for my blog. I’m just getting started with this and really have no clue what goes in to such a thing other than listing my stats and some personal info. I’m going to have to do some research, and I would love suggestions!

I accomplished this goal. I still have tweaking to do, but I’m satisfied with what I have.

3. Have a new header created for my blog. My friend Coleen did the current one and I love it, but I think I need to change it to reflect what my blog is about. I’m also toying with the idea of changing the name of my blog, but I haven’t decided yet. Kokopelli has served me well, but it’s a pain to spell.

This goal was achieved just a few months ago. It was a long time in the implementation phase, but it finally got done. I’m pleased with the new look, but will continue to improve the blog over time.

4. Attend a blogging conference. This one is kind of a “long shot” because they can be expensive. However, I REALLY want to go to one because I know I would learn so much.

I wanted to attend a blogging conference, but this didn’t really happen due to time and money. I did, however, attend a bloggers’ event hosted by Price Chopper, so I guess this goal wasn’t a complete bust.

Personal Goals:

1. Stick to my $2600 per year budge for grocery, drug store, and pet supply purchases. In addition, I want have a minimum of at least $300 left over (surplus) from this amount. Basically, I want to see if I can beat my surplus from this year.

Simply said, I have no idea if I achieved this goal or not. I’m fairly certain I did, but I honestly don’t know for sure. Because my work hours increased and I booked a lot more couponing classes than I ever expected, one of the things I let fall by the wayside was tracking my spending.

2. Pay off a $5,000 loan by August, 2011.

Done by June 1st. WOO HOO!

3. After August 2011, double my retirement contribution.

I increased my retirement contribution to 10%, which is actually 5 times the amount I was contributing.

4. Take my calcium and iron supplements everyday. I HATE taking them and often don’t. I also stink at taking my stomach meds. I really need to get back on the wagon and do this. Because I had gastric bypass, I’m really supposed to be good about taking these supplements and medicines, but I’m not.

I went for my yearly check up last February and told my doctor I just couldn’t take the supplements because they made me sick to my stomach (which is true). He told me I could stop taking them as long as I took others instead of the chewables he prescribed. Alas, I have not taken those either. However, I didn’t completely tank on this goal. I have been taking my stomach meds EVERY day.

New Goals for 2012

Blogging

Increase my Facebook “likes” to 5,000 and my Twitter followers to 2,500.
Increase activity and use of the forums on my website.
Continue to expand my media coverage. I would love to expand my presence in newspapers and on the radio. I’m so psyched to have the gigs I do, but I would love to get more.

Personal

Be a better gardener and document the progress on the blog. Last year was a horrible year for gardening and I just gave up. This year, I’m going to make more time and be more diligent with my gardens. I’ve decided to grow most of my veggies from seed this year.
Find the time to go grocery/drug store shopping at least biweekly. Toward the end of this year, I stopped frequently the drug stores. Thankfully, my stockpile was such that I didn’t miss going because I had enough stuff to get by. I do feel guilty that I missed all the free stuff to donate. So I’m not making this resolution to get more stuff for me (I actually could still do without going because I have enough); I just want to be a good citizen and donate more to local shelters and food shelves.
Keep up with the documentation of how much money I’m spending on grocery stores and drug stores. I’ve decided to put $2600 into a checking account and just use that money to buy my groceries and drug store items. I figure this will make it easier for me to keep account of what I’ve spent. Any rebates I get will go back into this account. Of course, I won’t be able to put the entire $2600 into the account at once. I will divide it up into quarters and deposit 1/4 of the money every three months. I think this will help me budget my money better as well.