20 goals for 2020 is just too irresistible to resist. So after reflecting on this past year, I have come up with 20 goals that I would like to accomplish this year.
Some people don’t believe in new year’s resolutions and there is a lot of data that supports not making them. Although people start off the year with good intentions they often disappear by February.
Will I achieve all 20? Probably not. But that doesn’t make me a failure because all of these goals are steps on my path to financial independence. And whether I achieve them or not is arbitrary, because just working towards them is a good step.
Being the overachiever that I am, I am going to try and achieve them all. But let’s be realistic – that probably won’t happen.
Which of the 20 goals for 2020 will I achieve and which ones will fall short? You will have to stay tuned to follow along with my progress. In an effort to keep myself accountable I will be providing quarterly updates on my progress.
Table of Contents
The Power of Habit
I recently read Atomic Habits by James Clear and I highly recommend it if you haven’t read it yet.
You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.
James Clear
In an attempt to apply this knowledge, I am going to create habits and systems to help me achieve my 20 goals for 2020.
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Health & Fitness Goals for 2020
#1 – Be Able to Touch Toes at Least Once a Month
Currently, I cannot touch my toes. Whenever I have stretched to touch them in the past, I stop stretching and the benefits go away. This year I plan on consistently being able to touch my toes at least once a month.
Supporting Habit
This goal will be assisted by #3 below.
#2 – Exercise a Minimum of 3 Times a Week
I always feel better when I am physically active. I consistently weight lift three times a week when I’m at work. This often gets forgotten during school breaks. But not this year!
Supporting Habit
Create a reminder alarm on my phone for periods of time when I am not at work.
#3 – 1000 Sun Salutations
This past summer I tried to make it a goal to complete a certain number of sun salutations. Although I failed at achieving my goal, on days I did do sun salutations my body felt that much better. For this reason, and to help me stay consistent with touching my toes, I’m bringing back this goal for the year.
Supporting Habit
I have put a post-it on my bathroom mirror to remind me. That way my sun salutations are some of the first things I do in the morning. Every morning.
#4 – 1 Massage a Month
I have great benefits through my job and I’m not taking full advantage of them. Whenever I do go for a massage I always feel much better after. So this year I am going to make it a priority to go for 1 massage a month.
The best part is that combining my benefits with hubby’s means that these massages will not cost a thing out of pocket.
Supporting Habit
When I go in for my first massage, before I leave I will book in the next month’s appointment. Once it’s in my calendar I’m less likely to cancel it.
#5 – Wear Sunscreen Daily from May – September
This is something that I can be more consistent on especially when it comes to wearing sunscreen on my face. I often forget and then my nose burns and hurts for weeks. Once my nose burns it is essentially burnt for the rest of the summer.
2020 is the year that I don’t burn my nose because I will be wearing daily facial sunscreen.
Supporting Habit
During the months of May to September, I will put my facial sunscreen on my bathroom sink counter. That way I will see it every morning and remember to apply it.
Personal Goals for 2020
#6 – Read 20 Books
Before having a little one I read a ton. The most books I have ever read in a year was 35. Now that there are other demands on my time I can’t just read for hours on the weekend.
But I want to make reading more of a priority this year so I’m making it a goal to read 20 books in 2020.
Supporting Habit
I’m going to go to bed early enough to read every night before bed. This will also align with goal #10 below.
#7 – Wear Everything I Own
I first saw this goal on Smile and Conquer. Sarah had it on her 20 before 2020 list. I was inspired by this as I continue to look for ways to decrease physical clutter in my life.
This year I am going to make it a point to wear everything that I own. At the end of the year, anything that I have not worn I will look to either sell or donate.
Supporting Habit
I’m not sure of the supporting habit for this one. I have a few ideas but not sure what will stick yet.
#8 – Volunteer Quarterly
Volunteering more is something that I hope to do once I reach financial independence. But why wait until then to do so?
By adopting a financial freedom mindset, I’m constantly shifting what my today looks like. I want it to slowly start to resemble what my financial independence days look like. By doing this there is less immediacy to reaching FI.
Supporting Habit
I’m not sure what the supporting habit is for this one yet either.
#9 – 15 Minutes of Writing Every Day
Writing is something that I truly enjoy and was the catalyst for me starting this blog. By writing every day I will consistently get better at it. Who knows, maybe I will write a book someday. But until then I am not going to break the chain and am going to write every day for the next year.
Supporting Habit
I would love to be able to make writing the first thing I do every morning once I am up and moving. Sometimes this is a reality and sometimes it’s not. I am going to keep my laptop handy and out in the kitchen so that it will be a visual reminder for me to take the time to write.
#10 – No Phone in Bed Before Bed
I find that I sleep way better when I am not on my phone right before bed. For that reason, I am invoking a phone ban in bed before bed. This also aligns with my goal to read 20 books in 2020.
Supporting Habit
I am keeping a book on my nightstand instead of giving that prime space to my phone.
Family Goals for 2020
#11 – Potty Train our Little One
Our little one will be turning 2 in 2020 so it is our goal that she is fully potty trained before the end of the year. This will definitely take a team effort on our part. And to be honest, we have no idea what we are doing. Do any parents out there have any tips?
Supporting Habit
More to be detailed in this section as we get closer to trying to potty train.
#12 – One Family Holiday
Travel is something that we highly value. For that reason, we are planning to take at least one holiday as a family this year. Not sure where we will go yet but I would like to leave the country.
Supporting Habit
We have already talked about this and are making arrangements to have time off from work at the same time. From there it will just be a matter of deciding where to go.
#13 – Set up Work Space at Home
This past year we recently moved into our new home after spending the summer living in someone else’s house. Our previous home had a built-in office and a desk upstairs that I could work at.
Currently, our spare room is set up as an office, but eventually, we hope to use that as a nursery so we will need another plan. Not sure when it will be needed as a nursery but better to find an alternative workspace before we need it.
Supporting Habit
Every time I use that workspace it is a reminder that something needs to get done.
#14 – Find a Reliable and Trusted Babysitter
Currently, we rely on family for childcare when we need it. It is great having our little one raised by not only her parents but also her grandparents.
But when we want to go out in the evenings or weekends we do not want to ask our family to help out even more. As we are in a new community we would like to seek out a babysitter in our neighbourhood. We are not looking to go out often, but it’s nice to have the option should something come up.
Supporting Habit
I have recently learned that our community has a babysitter registry, now I just need to contact them.
Money Goals for 2020
#15 – 1 Month Eating-Out Ban
We did this last year and had great success with it. It really made us appreciate going out after the ban.
I’m all for not depriving myself and we really do enjoy going to eat out. The problem is, out of convenience we often will eat out more than we would like. And when we eat out for convenience we are often not enjoying the food.
So this year I’m bringing back our eating-out ban for one month. Not sure what month it will be yet, that is still to be determined.
Supporting Habit
The supporting habit for this one relies on both of us supporting each other. When one of us decides to stay home and cook then the other goes along with it. We just need to focus on not tempting each other to eat out.
And it’s only for a month – we can do this.
#16 – $250 in “Found Money”
For this goal I am considering “found money” as any non-income money, such as making money through apps on my phone, cashback from online shopping or interest in my high-interest savings account.
My favourite apps to make money on my phone are Checkout51 and Field Agent. If you are new to Field Agent, check out my friend Katie’s review here.
Whenever I order something online I always go through Great Canadian Rebates. You can get $3 just for signing up with my referral link.
I recently switched my high-interest savings account to EQBank and have been very happy so far. I love signing in at the beginning of the month to see how much interest I have gained. It’s much more rewarding than the interest I was earning at my primary bank.
I’m hoping to use this found money to buy Christmas gifts in December.
Supporting Habit
I have a few different apps that make money on my phone, I just need to remember to use them. Every Thursday I am going to create a reminder in my phone to check out the offers for the week. I really think this will help.
#17 Input Money Tracking by the End of the First Week of the Month
I am a big fan of tracking your monthly expenses. It is something that I do every month, but some months I get really behind and have to catch up.
Not only do I track our personal finances, but I also do all the bookkeeping for our real estate investments. All and all this doesn’t take much time if I stay up to date on it. By setting aside an hour a month to do this I will not get behind and will be on top of things this year.
Supporting Habit
I’m not sure if this is a habit or not, but I have told hubby about my intentions so that he can help keep me accountable.
#18 – Host 2 Women and Money Meetups
This is something I have sort of tried in the past but it didn’t really turn out how I expected. But I’m willing to give it another go this year.
I want to create a space that women feel comfortable and confident talking about money. Space and time where we can learn from each other.
Supporting Habit
I’m not 100% sure what this looks like yet so I’m not sure how to set up an environment to support it.
#19 – 50% Annual Savings Rate
For the past couple of years, I have tracked all of our income and expenses. But I have found it difficult to nail down our savings rate because there are so many ways to calculate it.
This year I am going to clearly define how I am going to calculate our savings rate and I am going to stay consistent at it. This year’s goal is at least a 50% savings rate without compromising our spending values.
Supporting Habit
I have already established a system for tracking all of our income and expenses (see goal #17). So I have all the information that I need, just have to figure out how and what calculation to use.
Once that is figured out might just have to ramp up our savings. One way I am doing that is using the “out of sight, out of mind” technique.
#20 – Pay Down Mortgage by 20%
This will be a bit of a stretch goal for us. Realistically I think 10% is very doable, but I want to try and push us to pay down 20%. I hate having a mortgage, and the faster we can pay it off, the faster we have options and more freedom with our money.
Supporting Habit
We currently have biweekly mortgage payments and have recently increased the amount of them. We will continue to save for lump-sum payments on top of this.
20 Goals for 2020 – Final Thoughts
Now that I have them all down in writing it is very evident that I need to spend some more time on myself this year. Being a new mom has been overwhelming this past year. If there is an overarching theme to my 20 goals for 2020 it would be to take care of myself and reassert my identity.
To be honest, even if I don’t fully achieve all of my 20 goals for 2020, just working towards them is a step in the right direction. That doesn’t mean that I am going to just ignore them now that I have written them down. Just that I am going to celebrate all the small victories along the way.
Goals and resolutions are great at all, but without a plan on how to achieve them, success can be pretty low. I’m hoping that by coming up with supporting habits for each of my goals achieving them will become easier.
By implementing these habits I’m working on the process and not just the outcome of the goals. They will all help in continuing to align my life with my values. And to focus on my financial freedom mindset.
Just writing down these goals and sharing them with you will help to keep me more accountable to them. There you go, that’s it, those are my 20 goals for 2020.
What is your one big goal this year?
LOVE this post. Where to start?
Support habit #6 – I’ve recently put this system into place. Put down the phone and read before bed so I can read a certain amount again. I usually get caught up in my own echo chamber of content ideas, facebook groups and personal finance podcasts. Time to expand my horizons again and start reading books of all genres.
Goal #11 – I also HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I’M DOING! I know my little girl is ready – she told me last night in the library over and over again that she had to poop (but not coherently, she’s only 19 months old so it was more like “sldnfdsnafuisa- Poop!”). My wife and I are shopping for a potty today and getting ready to implement a pooping regiment or whatever you’re supposed to do. Further research is definitely required!
Goal & Support habit #15 – I like that you use the forbidden “d” word – deprivation. I think it’s okay to deprive yourself a tad as long as its an experiment in what works for you. How will you know what you’re capable of without putting in some hardwork, in this case a sacrifice? People are so afraid of making themselves intentionally uncomfortable that they rest on the whole “THIS IS NOT DEPRIVATION” but hey if you have to say it over and over again it probably is. Embrace it for a bit and see what comes of it!
Great post Maria, I really enjoyed it.
Thanks for the support Ryan and the EPIC comment. #6 – I have always loved reading and find that I’m all over the map with my reading preferences, so no echo chamber on that front for me. #11 – Your little one is a few months older than mine so if you learn any tips, please pass them on. #15 – I’m okay with a little intermittent deprivation, often it makes the other side of things that much sweeter. Last time we did an eating-out ban when it was over we found we really enjoyed eating out again and it wasn’t just always for convenience.
This is really awesome. I have been hearing so much about that book lately. I really need to bump it up on my reading list so I know what everyone is talking about. I like the concept of creating the habits around the goal you are trying to accomplish.
Thanks for linking to my Field Agent review as well! =D
Katie – Atomic Habits was one of the best books I have read in a long time. So many actionable takeaways, I took so many notes – haha. Once you have read it you will have to let me know what you think.
Hey Maria,
This is such a fantastic post. You are such an ambitious, driven woman—I can already predict that you’ll meet all these goals and smash them!
Re: #11 — Potty training, it’s been a looong time since we were there, but apparently girls are easier to train than boys—so you and Ryan have a leg up there! Some people suggest, when you have a relaxed weekend at home, to put them in undies all day (real undies, not pull-ups). Then if they have an accident, they’ll feel the wetness and start to get it.
This did not work for us because we used cloth diapers (so my kids were used to that damp sensation)! But it may work for kids who wear disposable diapers.
Re: #19 – 50% Annual Savings Rate, I agree that there are so many ways to track it! I’ve tracked the last five years, and every year, I feel I haven’t done it quite right. Our income is slightly complicated, mostly due to my husband’s stock options. Sometimes we hold them, sometimes we sell them. Sometimes we reinvest the proceeds and sometimes we use it for our monthly cashflow. It became too much of a headache to track, so I officially gave up on it today!
After five years of doing a pretty accurate job of tracking, I have a good-enough feel for our savings rate. I’ll miss having the concrete number to feel good about. But for me, it’s no longer worth the brain gymnastics required to update the spreadsheet!
Thanks for the kind words Chrissy. I am going to remember to come back to this comment when we are ready for potty training, we are not there yes as our little one screams whenever we try to put her on the potty – haha.
As for the savings rate, I feel like I am going to have the same sentiments as you, but I wanted to try and come up with a number just to see what it was. I always agree with the idea that it doesn’t 100% matter what you choose to include or not as long as you always include the same thing and compare your numbers to previous years. I don’t think that there is any value in comparing your numbers to someone else because the calculations are so variant.
I love this! There’s something about a fresh start at the beginning of the year. Or this year, at the beginning of the decade!
#15 I love the idea of a one month no eating out ban! I’m planning to do the Frugalwoods Ultra Frugal Month in February to re-set my spending habits for the rest of the year.
#19 I bet you will smash the 50% saving rate! Agree with your discussion above that it’s so difficult to compare with others, as the calculation is so individual. Then, when you bring early mortgage pay-off into the game it gets even more complicated again! Here’s to crushing our mortgages and our savings in 2020!
Thanks Michelle. You will have to come back and let us know how the Frugalwoods Ultra Frugal Month goes. I have thought about doing it as well, just don’t know if hubby would be in support of it – haha.
Including mortgage pay-ff in annual savings rate is always a matter of debate. I always struggle with including it or not. By the end of the year, I think I will end up calculating my savings rate in many ways and posting all of them 🙂
Okay I love #7. Even almost 3 years into this clothing ban and I know I still have some things I don’t wear.
This one will be an interesting one for me too. I feel like I hang on to a lot of clothes that I might wear someday.
Thank you for sharing such a detailed list of goals, Maria! I like so many of them. Exercise is really important so I agree with that. I also really liked your goal to wear everything this year. I have so much clothes that never get worn. The one month eating out ban is an interesting one as well. I am trying to have more no spend days during the month. Looking forward to more posts!
Thanks, RTC. A lot of people have been commenting on the goal to wear everything I own. I think most of us have more clothing than we need or can wear. I’m not a huge fan of no spend days, they just feel too depriving to me, but that’s just my mindset.
I love that you have ‘supporting habit’ – Goals don’t get hit unless we change something. You have some great queues in there to remind you about your goals.
I hope Covid hasn’t effected too many of your goals. Good luck with the rest of the year 🙂
Thank Mrs. FDU – Covid has definitely had an impact on my goals but it has also helped me reflect on why I made them in the first place. Some of the goals that I’m not achieving just really aren’t a priority for me right now.
Hi Maria,
Do you have a list of goals for 2021??
Carol
Hi Carol – in 2021 I’m experimenting with not having annual goals but rather focusing on shorter-term ones. I do however have a recap of how my 2020 goals ended up – here is the link: https://handfulofthoughts.com/year-end-recap-2020/