Year 2016 and Personal Expectations

2016 is going to be the 8th year of this blog, and I (somehow) feel very proud that I’ve managed to run this blog for that long even though my posting has been somewhat inconsistent for the last couple of years or so. What are my plans for 2016 for myself and this blog? I’m not sure I can answer that but if you’re craving to read some ramblings about this, then read on.

1. Save more money

I’m quite unsure about what I specifically want to achieve this year, but I made a strong point about wanting to be more responsible in saving money for myself. Saving money is something I used to be good at while I was still studying and during my early years working however due to expected changes, I have regressed at it.

Saving money will be somewhat tricky for me being the breadwinner of the family, but I’m devising a plan on how I can allocate our budget more efficiently which will hopefully enable me to save more. Of course saving money includes minimizing unnecessary purchases and personal expenses so good luck with that!

2. Revive my freelance and consulting gig

I’ve been helping friends/clients since 2009 in various online projects but for the past 2-3 years I have neither been productive nor efficient in doing that as a whole. I have a day job and a long commute daily which makes this tough however it’s not really an excuse. Just like saving money, I am hoping to come up with a plan on how I can begin doing these things again without burning out quickly. In general, just be more productive and efficient I should say without compromising my health and social life.

3. Planned family vacations

We don’t really go on vacations due to practical reasons but this year, I have planned a couple for my family. It’s always been a dream of mine to bring them to a popular local beach called Boracay and I’m excited to finally do that this coming March. Other than that I am hoping to do a couple more during the latter part of the year so cross your fingers for me. 🙂

4. Do more blog writing

I don’t think I can go back to the old days of writing 10-15 blog posts a month but I don’t really need to actually. I am aiming to write around 4-7 per month and just like with freelance work, I just need to find a way to be more efficient in doing it.

My love for writing (or more precisely blog post writing) hasn’t been as strong as it used to but it’s something that I still love doing when I’m in the right mood. :p So hopefully you’re looking forward to that as much as I do. 🙂

5. More cooking!

This one is minor compared to others but I have been fascinated with my progress since I started cooking two years ago. No I’m not a pretty good darn cook still but I feel like I’ve amassed a lot in terms of general knowledge in cooking, and things like flavors and techniques. 😀

The fire in me is still lighting up very strongly and I intend to take advantage of that to hopefully produce more yummy dishes, specifically the ones I have not tried doing before.

6. Offline ventures

Remember the ‘so-far’ failed Uber business? Maybe 2016 will be more kind to me and will actually allow my Uber business to do what it’s supposed to do.

We also now have chickens in our farm. Perhaps I can allocate a budget so we can grow more chickens, or pigs or ducks, or what have you? (Easier said than done of course).

How about some small investments that can maybe yield me some good results? Whatever it is, I will definitely be keeping my eye on them and see if I can do more to either make more money or learn more from experience. I prefer the former of course 🙂

That’s it for now. Maybe priorities will change as year 2016 goes by? There’s not really a way of knowing but I’m wishing myself the best. I’m wishing you the best too for your own set of goals and personal expectations. 🙂