If you read the title of my post and thought I was going to share the profits and losses of financial investments last year… sorry to disappoint you. It’s actually a reflection post. It’s a post sharing how I went with the investments I wanted to work towards in 2019.
If you’ve never written down your intentions for the year ahead, may this post encourage you to do so.
This time last year I wrote a post on investments I wanted to make for 2019. You can read it here.
When I read back through the post a few things stuck out for me.
Firstly, this time of year is a downer for me emotionally and physically. It was interesting to reflect on how some of the feelings and questions I’ve started the year with, have repeated again this month. Coupled with the bushfires and what’s going on with Iran…and the constant stream of opinion on social media it’s been an eventful start to the year and one where everyone will need to dig deep to initiate change for the future and helping each other.
But I digress.
I thought I’d share how I went with last year’s investments. It’s a very self indulgent post, but one I’m happy to share and reflect on with you. Please scroll away if it’s not your cup of tea.
On reflection, some investments weren’t achieved. The main reasons for this was because
- I had too many things going on
- I wasn’t intentional
- I was tired often gave into my feelings
The only way 2020 is going to be different is if I’m intentional and make some investments in my health. Easy to say, hard to swallow.
2019 Investments – How I Went Last Year
Investment 1 – Spend more time with God – Tick
The first investment I made for myself was to spend more time with God. I’ve now made a habit of grabbing my bible before my iPhone when I wake up in the morning. This has become out of necessity for my mental health of late. I was proud of myself for reading all of Luke in December as it was an advent calendar challenge I saw on Facebook. To make bible reading easier for me, I read The Message version. I also followed a Joyce Meyer devotional.
Investment 2 – Invest in my Marriage – ½ tick
I find you need to be super organised to have date nights and a bit of cash to splash to enjoy dinner out. Date nights can be simple of course – but again you have to be intentional to organize time together.
We didn’t do as many date nights because by Friday night, we would both be exhausted.
But we did have some great nights out – and one outing every couple of months is better than nothing! It also helps when the kids ask grandma when can they come over next for a sleep over… sometimes half my work is done organizing babysitting.
Some date nights we got to do
Two dates we did together which were firsts for me were only possible because of my part time job.
I received free tickets to the NRL and AFL from work due to performance and it allowed Jacob and I to enjoy two new experiences we’d never done before, together. I’ve never been into attending live sport, but after getting those tickets, they were some of my best memories from 2019.
Catching public transport together and chatting with no kids interrupting – well it was bliss.
Investment 3 – Invest in experiences with Phoebe and one on one time with my girls – Tick
Definitely did this with the girls last year, and Phoebe and I did have some fun times together.
Sometimes, it was nice just to hang out at home and craft together or head to our local sushi station where it wouldn’t cost me an arm and a leg paying for 3 kids.
This is going to be something I intentionally do this year with all three girls at school. But I’m also looking forward to helping out in the classroom too. My child free days were limited time to do work… but now that I have more child free days, I can spend a morning to volunteer at school.
Investment 4 – More experiences, less stuff – Tick
We definitely did that last year. We had a mini weekend away to the Gold Coast, headed to the beach for day trips, went to Alstonville (for a family funeral but spent time together as a family), went to the EKKA, went to Eat Street Markets and of course went to New Zealand. I’m going to make sure 2020 will be more of the same.
Investment 5 – Invest in my personal development – ½ Tick
I said yes to more blogging work last year which was an intention I had back in 2017 (proof that good things take time to achieve). I have created content for May Gibbs, Katrina Chambers, The Interiors Addict, Be a Fun Mum and various plumbing and interior related small businesses. I have loved writing the articles, but sometimes I may have said yes to too much. It’s a juggle writing for others, for yourself and then running a household and working part-time. 2020 is going to be the year where I change a few things so I’m not juggling so many balls.
I didn’t write any books or publish any videos which I intended to do for the blog in 2019. Although, I just remembered I did do filming for the Today Show and had my 5 seconds of fame in an internal work video. So while I didn’t do videos for the blog, I did them for others.
Investments in Friendships 6 – No Dinner Parties – Fail
An intention Jacob and I had for last year was to have more dinner parties. We failed on that front.
But, we did connect with our neighbours more by having a street party.
And I caught up with friends when I could. There were dinners and shows – Hugh Jackman and Chicago. I also had some friends over for my Birthday.
Can’t forget how I attended some special Birthdays for friends too. Dressed up as Mario, and just went as myself to another.
While the dinner parties was a fail, making memories with friends was definitely part of my 2019. Some catchups had no photos of proof. And that’s ok because being in the moment is more important than showing off it happened.
Dinner parties take a lot of organisation because there is always something on. We probably won’t achieve this investment till 2030 – ha! But catching up with friends is always time best spent. Definitely more of that this year for sure.
So there is my reflection on the past year. Now I need to write what I intend to invest time into this year. Some of the list will be the same, but there will be other projects on the list, which will naturally be blogged about.