I came up with the word Betterments as a substitution, mostly because trying to be better at something resonates with me more so than the action of a Resolution. Tomato, tomahto. Regardless of what term I decide to use, the theory behind it and the action applied towards it pretty much remains the same.
This year I've come up with a small list of Betterments. It sounds a little daunting, really, stating that I have a list rather than just one area of betterment to focus on. The thing with this year is that all of my Betterments revolve around changes that I've already been trying to make, but just haven't fully committed to. Betterments in progress, you might say.
1. Reduce spending. If you happened to read my previous blog, you already know this is probably going to be the most difficult Betterment for me to achieve. It's something that I've been working on here and there for years, with marginal success. The thing is, it's not so much the reducing of spending as it is finding contentment with the things I already have. I think this is most people's problem when it comes to reducing spending. The world we live in has us convinced that we need to keep up the Joneses in all facets of life, regardless of whether or not the Joneses happen to be living a similar life to us. Keeping up requires spending money on things we think we need, but might not fit our lifestyles. Another aspect of societal influence is that most everything is either disposable or replaceable. I hate this. I hate waste. I hate replacing things that I've already purchased. From Tupperware to underwear, I subconsciously keep track of my belongings to the point that I might seem overly materialistic. The fact of the matter is that I buy things for a reason, usually with some degree of thoughtfulness, and having to replace them is not only irritating, but it's taking money away from things that I would rather put money towards, like trips, a house, a savings account, etc. I'm making a list of all the things I'm not allowed to buy in the New Year, including, but not limited to: blankets, bars of soap, socks, national parks t-shirts, clothing of any kind (except necessities, and I'm to look at the Goodwill first), non-perishable foods (unless we run out of something, currently we're stocked for the apocalypse), bath products (until current supply is gone...again, apocalypse), shoes, dog treats (he doesn't eat them anyway, he much prefers apple and carrot scraps). So what does that leave? Not much, really. The truth is, there's really not much I need anyway, so hopefully if I can change my mindset, I'll manage to get by with the surplus of things I already have.
2. Increase savings/start investing. Like a lot of people out there, I have an employer-sponsored retirement investment account. In lieu of a traditional pension plan, my employer matches any contributions I make up to 4%, so that's what I've been contributing. I also have a retirement account from a previous employer that I can't contribute to anymore, which continues to sit and slowly gain interest. In addition I have a Roth IRA that is connected to my credit card, and all my points go toward the IRA as incremental investments. I have multiple savings accounts set aside for different things (trips, rent, future college expenses, etc), all with automatic deposits set on a weekly basis. There's money stashed in other random places and accounts, and one of my Betterment goals for 2018 is to simplify all these accounts. Roll things together if I can. I've been reading the Mr. Money Mustache blog, and I think I'm ready to dive into the world of investing. Nothing crazy, and nothing too complicated, but something that I think is relatively safe and attainable. At 38 years old, I definitely haven't been as proactive as I should have been with my investments and preparing for my financial future, and most of all, my financial freedom. I'm in a perfect position at the moment to start saving a significant amount of money, given that I'm completely free of debt, I live very simply and cheaply, I have virtually no dependents (other than my elderly dog who costs me very little these days), and I have a job that pays well. I just need to get that spending under control.
3. Sell the van. Oh the van...dear BAVerly. We've had our camper van for almost 2 years now, and while she's been a lot of fun and taken us to a lot of places, we're realizing that we went a little bit too big with our first van. We're realizing now that we could easily get by with something much more simple, and overall, much less expensive. However, it was a great (albeit expensive) learning experience, and we had a lot of fun along the way. Given the current market on camper vans, there's really no way we're going to get out of this without taking a loss, and we're as okay as we're going to get with that. Keeping the van is only costing us money at this point, and we figure that now is as good a time as any to get out and start putting our money elsewhere. We'll definitely miss her, as traveling in a high-top Sprinter with all the bells and whistles was an amazing treat, but it's just overkill at this point with our current goals. That's just how it goes sometimes. Now where did we stash that tent...
4. Commit to a low-carb diet. I really don't like the word diet. It implies that you're sacrificing foodstuffs that you like with the overall goal of being more healthy, but slightly more miserable in that you don't get to eat your favorite things. I've also found that you have to be careful who you say the word "diet" around, as people are oddly very easily offended by the food choices of others. I still don't understand that, and it baffles me. I'll never forget the uproar I caused amongst my friends and family some time ago when I had given up bacon. It was a dietary choice I was trying to better my health and well-being, and I was shocked at how upset people were about it. Why should it matter what I'm eating or not eating? I've found that it's almost easier just to not mention it at all. When making any dietary changes, I've always been very up front with people in telling them not to go out of their way for me, and if they're making dinner for me I'll eat whatever they're making because a) I love when people cook for me, b) I'm a social eater, and I'm not about to let my dietary goals get in the way of that, and c) I love trying new foods, even if they're not exactly part of my current meal plan. I'm really a very low-maintenance eater, even when trying to cut certain things out. So let's talk about what I'm going to be cutting out...hopefully no feelings will be hurt...hahaha! I'm going to try to significantly decrease or even eliminate complex carbs, better known as bread, pasta, tortillas, most grains, and some starchy veggies. I'm looking to also decrease the amount of processed sugar that I eat while still giving myself the option to eat fresh fruit. I've been trying to decrease the amount of sugar and carbs in my diet over the past few months, and truth be told, I don't really miss them. The holidays are always tough, of course, as there are more cakes, cookies, and treats both sweet and savory than I could shake a stick at, and of course I wanted to try a little bit of every single one. So I did, but rather than eating three of something I ate only one, or I just took a bite, or I shared with a friend. There are ways around all those indulgences without feeling deprived, even during the holidays. I was actually really good this summer when I ate a mostly whole-food diet. I ate meat, veggies, fruit, a sparing amount of dairy (mostly goat cheese), and minimal grains, mostly in the form of rice. I can't tell you enough how good it felt. I lost 8 pounds almost immediately, and these were pounds that I'd been carrying around for months and despite going to the gym, I just couldn't seem to lose them. I didn't have that after-dinner bloat, I had great energy, and dare I say my skin even cleared up. There's definitely a lot of truth in the correlation between what we eat and how we feel.
5. Drink less coffee. Is there nothing sacred in this world?? Christ in a sidecar, first I give up bread, and now I'm giving up coffee. A little background on this one is probably in order. I'm one of those weird people who is unresponsive to caffeine. I can drink a huge cup of coffee and take a nap or sleep fitfully through the night immediately afterward. In fact, I've been noticing that after drinking coffee, I frequently feel more tired; I get that 10am exhaustion thing going on. I've also come to the realization that without copious amounts of cream and sugar, I don't actually like the taste of coffee all that much. I've also been noticing, whether it's related to the cream, the sugar, or the coffee itself, that I don't really feel all that well after drinking coffee...sometimes it gives me heartburn, sometimes it makes me nauseated. Sometimes it makes me have to pee five times in the span of an hour. I find myself wondering what exactly it is that I actually enjoy about coffee. So how does this bode for the creator of the High Altitude Coffee Club here in Flagstaff? Well, I'm clearly going to make exceptions for frou-frou coffee with friends, because I love the social aspect of conversing whilst holding a warm cup of sweet coffee. In the meantime, I'll drink tea. I've actually been drinking a cup of tea almost daily for the past week, and truth be told, I'm enjoying it. I need to drink more water anyway, so water in the form of tea seems like a suitable substitution to make.
6. Exercise more. Ha, the resolution that makes it onto 99% of American's lists this time of year. Gyms are waiving their initiation fees, the group classes are packed, Target has a plethora of exercise-inspired items in their discount section at the front of the store (not to be confused with the discounted holiday candy section at the back of the store)...on and on it goes. I would say I'm a relatively active person already, although I could definitely stand to add in some form of activity on a daily basis. Even something as simple as a 3-4 mile walk would get me outside, where I could feasibly enjoy the fresh air and see what's going on around the neighborhood or in the woods behind our place. I have a membership to the local YMCA, and while it's not the biggest or most well-appointed gym I've ever been to, it suits my needs at a fraction of the cost of most of the other gyms in town. I really enjoy the classes, which is the main reason that I go. I've been thinking about getting a punch-card to one of the local yoga gyms as well, and conveniently enough, there's one located within walking distance of where I live, so I could get in a walk and a yoga session all in the same outing.
7. Start my own IVs at the hospital. I figure that while I'm at it, I might as well throw in a Betterment related to my profession in nursing. The other night, I started my first IV in probably over three years. I told my patient afterwards that I hadn't started an IV in three years, as I figured that telling him that beforehand might have resulted in a refusal...he still somehow managed to be impressed, and commented that he was happy to help. Unlike some hospitals, we don't have an IV team at the hospital at night, and while we do have one designated person in the hospital to help us out if we have an IV that we can't get ourselves, it is an expectation that floor nurses are to at least attempt to start IVs themselves before calling in backup. Over the past few years I have definitely inappropriately relied on them more than I should. It's almost to the point where I can see their disappointment when they show up, knowing that I'm completely capable of starting IVs myself. It's embarrassing for me as well. As a nurse, this is a basic skill, and I need to quit making excuses for why I don't try. The truth is, I don't like starting IVs. It's really about the only thing related to patient care that I actually loathe. It's something that I've never really been all that good at, it's painful for the patients, and it makes me feel like a failure when I miss. But, as a healthcare provider, I feel that I should at least start making more attempts at IVs, especially given that I function as a charge nurse from time to time, and helping out my staff with IVs frees them up to do other things. As of this typing, I'm 1:1 with successful IV starts. No where to go but up, right?
8. Start bike commuting. Given that Flagstaff is a smallish town and is very easily accessed by bike, Simon and I are planning to start riding our bikes more for our daily runarounds. This Betterment ties into a few of the aforementioned Betterments, namely saving money and exercising. This Betterment most likely won't be fully starting until spring, as I hate riding bike in the cold and snow. Not that we have snow yet, but it's definitely cold, at least in the mornings. Excuses, excuses. However, knowing myself and my weaknesses and my penchant for excuses related to weather, I think it's best to delay this Betterment to a time that will result in the best chance of success. So, springtime. Simon and I actually rode our bikes to a class the other day, it was about 4 miles one way and it was 32 degrees outside. I was not physically prepared for the ride or the weather. I was wearing pants that kept getting caught in the front cog, and rather than stopping to adjust the pants, I just kept angrily pulling them up for the entire ride. I also didn't have a suitable pair of gloves to wear that would keep my hands warm at that temperature. I have a pair of snowboarding mittens, but I have reservations about how well I'll be able to pull the brake with mittens, as I prefer to just use a finger or two for that. I guess it's all about adjustment. I haven't actually tried riding in mittens yet, but I will. Simon just bought me a fancy pair of puffy mittens that look like an updated version of choppers to wear while bike commuting, so hopefully those will work out. I don't really have a suitable commuter bike either. It could be argued that any bike can function as a commuter bike, but 2 of my 3 bikes don't have gears, and given the hills I have to ride up and down in this town, gears are kind of essential to my success. The geared bike is a full-suspension mountain bike, and while I love to ride it on trails, I don't really like riding it on the road. It's just not efficient. So I'm going to sell both my bikes that don't have gears and put that money towards a road-friendly commuter bike with gears. There goes my fixed-gear cred. ;) Obviously this Betterment will be a work in progress while I assemble the necessary gear, but like starting IVs on my patients, I really just need to start doing it.
9. Resume writing in my Gratitude Journal. Simon bought me a gratitude journal a couple years back when I was going through a rough period of shitty attitude. I really have no idea why, as life is and has been pretty good for me over the years. I think we just get in those funks where we feel sorry for ourselves and forget to remind ourselves about how good our lives really are. It's a simple little journal, and I basically write in it each and day and catalogue a few things that I'm grateful for, a couple things that would make the day great, and at the end of day, what went well and what I could have done to have made it even better. It doesn't leave whole lot of room to focus on the negative, and I think that's a good thing. Sometimes I look back through my traditional journals from years ago, and more often than not, I had written down things that were upsetting or frustrating, while neglecting to write down that things that were fun and exciting. My life is much more satisfying than it isn't, and I think a daily reminder of that first thing in the morning will hopefully get me and keep me on the right track for the rest of the day.
Nine things to work on in the new year. Traditionally speaking, that's quite a lot, and there's a chance that not all these things will come to fruition like I hope. I think the main thing that'll get me off on the right foot is that I've already started doing most of these things, so incorporating them on a more consistent basis is the biggest change that I need to make. I know I can do it, and while I might come up short in some ways, at least I'm trying. I think that's the best we can do some days. Good luck with your Resolutions (or Betterments!) in the coming year, I wish you the utmost success! And if you need a little inspiration or motivation, let's meet up for coffee (or tea!) and chat about it. Sometimes an alternate perspective makes all the difference in the world. :)
great post stef!
ReplyDeletebest regards,
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