A new year, for some people, means a fresh start. I remember when I was in elementary; the teacher will ask us to write an essay about our new year’s resolution. I honestly can’t remember exactly what I wrote before but I’m sure it’s something like to obey my parents. Life is easy when you’re young. For this year, I wanted to try things and create healthy habits. So here are my 7 resolutions for 2019: 1. Read and finish at least one book every month. I joined the book reading challenge of Goodreads for this year. This app has helped me track what books and how many I managed to read in a year. I’ve joined last year’s and I managed to reach my target of 10 books. This time I wanted to up my game by reading 15 books this year. Reading is good and it hones vocabulary. I wanted to make this as a habit as I tend to get distracted by binge-watching TV series (I easily get addicted if I found something really good. I binge seasons 8 to 13 of Criminal Minds last Christmas holidays! Oh boy, tell me I’m still normal.).
2. Save and transfer regularly (applies to both UK and PHL accounts). I’ve opened a separate savings account last June. And since then, I’ve been religiously setting aside some money. It’s very important to have funds easily accessible during emergencies than putting yourself into debt.
I have a local bank in the Philippines that serves as my savings account. I’ve transferred enough money last year and invested a big chunk of it in the stock market. I believe saving is good but investing is better. Just imagine the interest rate the bank gives you compared to the inflation rate of the economy, it isn’t fair. Money in the bank is only good for emergencies, but not if you wanted growth.
I’ve not transferred as regular as I should last year and I’m a few thousands behind my PHL pesos savings target. Hopefully, this year I can manage to reach it and more.
3. Invest more. I’m into stock market since last year. And I can say, I’m far from being an expert but I’ve learned a lot of lessons. This year, I wanted to diversify and venture to other types of investments. ‘Never put all your eggs in one basket’ they say.
4. Travel at least once a year. I love travelling. Since my first solo backpacking in the Philippines, I’ve come to realise that there is more to life. Travelling has helped me broaden my knowledge and experience. For this year, I want to travel to a new country, may it be a country part of the UK or anywhere in the EU. Good thing, hubby loves to travel as well.
5. Spring cleaning! I’ve already did a bit of cleanup before Christmas but we still have a lot of things in the house that needs to go. Spring cleaning is a must!
6. Lose at least a stone and eat more healthy foods. Since moving here in the UK, I’ve gained more or less 2 stones. That’s a lot! I’ve had a very active lifestyle in the Philippines before moving. That lifestyle didn’t continue due to various reasons like cold weather. No more excuses this year!
7. Be thankful every day. Sometimes when I’m having a bad day, it’s easy to focus on the negative things and miss to see the good things of life. That’s understandable, we all do that. But I wanted to change it by feeling thankful with everything before I go to sleep.
A bad day is pretty common, but being thankful will make a difference. Thankful we’re still able to wake up in the morning; thankful for the food on the table; thankful we still have a job; thankful we have a family; thankful for the good health; thankful for having a great partner in life and many more. What we need to remember is ‘It’s only a bad day, not a bad life’.
By end of the year, I’m going to give you updates on how I managed. What’s your new year’s resolution?
I wish you all a great year!
