Plans for 2015-2016?

[zacb]

Have any plans for the next year or so? For me I want to go to Colombia, going through Cartagena, Medellin, Bogotá, and maybe Cali. What are your plans?

[fightforlove]

Aside from going on a serious mission to find a girlfriend...

I'm going to strengthen my Spanish/Castellano conversational skills

I'm going to get better with my Salsa dance skills and build a solid combo

I'm going to clean up my diet a tad, work out whenever possible, and gain 10-15 lbs.

I'm visiting Ireland in May, not sure where I may go next. Depends heavily on how I assess my gf search. If a local search continues to not work out, I may start preparing for a trip to Colombia.

I'm also going to find a better job in 2015. More design-oriented engineering environment and hopefully better health benefits than my current gig.

The rest is details...

[Jester]

Aside from going on a serious mission to find a girlfriend...

I'm going to strengthen my Spanish/Castellano conversational skills

I'm going to get better with my Salsa dance skills and build a solid combo

I'm going to clean up my diet a tad, work out whenever possible, and gain 10-15 lbs.

I'm visiting Ireland in May, not sure where I may go next. Depends heavily on how I assess my gf search. If a local search continues to not work out, I may start preparing for a trip to Colombia.

I'm also going to find a better job in 2015. More design-oriented engineering environment and hopefully better health benefits than my current gig.

The rest is details...

Quality response there... Specifics in every area.

[Ghost]

.

[xiongmao]

Well my short term plan for 2015 got totally ripped up and put in the trash!

But I am now doing my CELTA, and in all honesty it's head and shoulders above any other TEFL qualification so I'm glad I took the chance to enrol on the course. Even if I don't become an English teacher, then a 3 day COMPTIA course on top of a CELTA opens the doors to a lucrative career in IT training.

It was a last minute decision to quit my job and move to Barcelona, but I have no regrets about that. We INFJ's bumble through life but we are geniuses at strategic decision making. Barcelona is a wonderful city and it is telling that 90% of the CELTA students I have met here want to stay here. Also my school is great and we are exceeding the basic CELTA requirements by teaching at 3 levels not the required 2.

I am going to Germany in the Summer. I'll see if I can find a job there, but if not then I will go back home or start my teaching career. I have really enjoyed my time in the classroom, but I have not enjoyed the lesson preparation at home.

Finding out about personality research was a huge eye opener to me and I am working on becoming less INFJ and more ENFP.

Oh well carry on having a great 2015 guys

[S_Parc]

I guess this 2015 is the year of planning, perhaps better described as the engagement period. The wedding is going to be in the spring of 2016, somewhere in the Caribbean, as we're not lavish spenders.

As for everything else, Newton's law applies, everything currently in motion, stays in motion, until something changes.

[starchild5]

Its all ME ME ME ....

ohhhh god...have we not learned anything past our 20, 30, 40 + years of existence on earth?

I blame the school structure, our parents, our society for it....All this me doing this year does nothing but make us go around in circle...

Stop being a Kid with silly goals and dreams...Its because they always made you feel empty and told you to do better...eventually, all it will do is make you come back to square one...Get the big picture guys...

For gods sake...We do not have a separate destiny...We all need to work collectively ..for like 10,000 years of individual goals have led us into NOTHING...ZERO....Stop Chasing your Individual Dreams and Lets work Together.

Its impossible for us to achieve anything unless we all do it collectively for one Goal..That is freedom of entire human race...

Stop chasing ..mehhh goals...Start thinking bigger...The game is rigged against humanity....This much we should already know with the experiences we had on earth by now....

You are much better than they tell you...Human Goals & Destiny is Same for everyone...

Is there anyone out there...who would want to put humanity first...Chase Humanities Goals and Dreams and become a one collective force...?? Count me in...

[Jester]

Its all ME ME ME ....

Man is a selfish creature sometimes, Starchild. Seems to be the default setting. My "me, me, me" isn't just about me... it is my ambition to elevate my entire in-laws from poverty to middle class one day, and I am taking the first steps to ensure that. The intention is to help my own wife and our children first and foremost, but her poorer relatives will also ultimately enjoy the benefits from what we intend to do.

Our success and well-being will ensure the success and well-being of others. On special holidays and occassions, we will not just buy food and drinks for ourselves but we hope to see those from the houses around us equally well-fed and satisfied.

Your whole "lets help humanity" thing is sweet, but we have to be realistic too; we cannot help everyone on this earth. To only help ourselves would be selfish as well. But if we find the right balance, we can each help a lot of people. And help ourselves in the process. I cannot help an entire country, or an entire continent, but I may help a family, a community, a village even.

And sure I want to help "me" too. I want to improve the life of me. Because if me is happy, I find myself capable of a lot more then when I am miserable. It's okay to be a dreamer, and to be optimistic. I am a dreamer, and I am optimistic. But if I don't stay realistic, that will hinder me. It's good to have clear cut goals and make step-by-step plans on how to reach them, one goal at a time. I am not humanity, I cannot steer or guide humanity. I only got myself, and my own actions will determine what will happen to me and a fair share of others. So that's where my focus is on.

Stop being a Kid with silly goals and dreams...Its because they always made you feel empty and told you to do better...eventually, all it will do is make you come back to square one...Get the big picture guys...

There is a saying that goes: "He who does not appreciate the small, is unworthy of the big". If you are unable to find enjoyment and happiness in realizing small goals for yourself and your loved ones, don't even bother to think about the collective force of humanity and solving all the world's problems. It's good to be ambitious, but lets not get carried away. If you can improve the lives of a few, you will already have done more then those who only improved their own lives. And even those who improved only their own, will have done more then those who failed to even do that.

Word.

[S_Parc]

Stop being a Kid with silly goals and dreams...Its because they always made you feel empty and told you to do better...eventually, all it will do is make you come back to square one...Get the big picture guys...

There is a saying that goes: "He who does not appreciate the small, is unworthy of the big". If you are unable to find enjoyment and happiness in realizing small goals for yourself and your loved ones, don't even bother to think about the collective force of humanity and solving all the world's problems. It's good to be ambitious, but lets not get carried away. If you can improve the lives of a few, you will already have done more then those who only improved their own lives. And even those who improved only their own, will have done more then those who failed to even do that.

Hey Marcos, looks like for the first time, we'd completely converged upon an idea. Talking about saving humanity, without engaging hefty resources like the Gates Foundation, etc, ends up becoming exactly that, a bunch of talk.

And yes, it's the small stuff which also count in life, because that's what's in one's direct experience.

This February, we had 7 feet of snow, a monthly record. Instead of acting like a majority of ppl, complaining about the Alaskan conditions, we had a blast helping others remove their snow, building snowmen, and Mel even had time to carve and showcase an amazing snow sculpture of a Basilica.

[starchild5]

Its all ME ME ME ....

Man is a selfish creature sometimes, Starchild. Seems to be the default setting. My "me, me, me" isn't just about me... it is my ambition to elevate my entire in-laws from poverty to middle class one day, and I am taking the first steps to ensure that. The intention is to help my own wife and our children first and foremost, but her poorer relatives will also ultimately enjoy the benefits from what we intend to do.

Our success and well-being will ensure the success and well-being of others. On special holidays and occassions, we will not just buy food and drinks for ourselves but we hope to see those from the houses around us equally well-fed and satisfied.

Your whole "lets help humanity" thing is sweet, but we have to be realistic too; we cannot help everyone on this earth. To only help ourselves would be selfish as well. But if we find the right balance, we can each help a lot of people. And help ourselves in the process. I cannot help an entire country, or an entire continent, but I may help a family, a community, a village even.

And sure I want to help "me" too. I want to improve the life of me. Because if me is happy, I find myself capable of a lot more then when I am miserable. It's okay to be a dreamer, and to be optimistic. I am a dreamer, and I am optimistic. But if I don't stay realistic, that will hinder me. It's good to have clear cut goals and make step-by-step plans on how to reach them, one goal at a time. I am not humanity, I cannot steer or guide humanity. I only got myself, and my own actions will determine what will happen to me and a fair share of others. So that's where my focus is on.

Stop being a Kid with silly goals and dreams...Its because they always made you feel empty and told you to do better...eventually, all it will do is make you come back to square one...Get the big picture guys...

There is a saying that goes: "He who does not appreciate the small, is unworthy of the big". If you are unable to find enjoyment and happiness in realizing small goals for yourself and your loved ones, don't even bother to think about the collective force of humanity and solving all the world's problems. It's good to be ambitious, but lets not get carried away. If you can improve the lives of a few, you will already have done more then those who only improved their own lives. And even those who improved only their own, will have done more then those who failed to even do that.

I understand that completely...I have been in myself...

The problem is one of Assurance, guarantee...Can you promise yourself and to your family that all the goals you set for yourself and your loved once will be fulfilled? all we can do is Try...

Why are some of the goals with all good intention we have for our-self not get fulfilled..Is it lack of effort or something else?

I found the reason for all our goals not completing is because of state of entire human race...Our individual goals are intrinsically linked to each other....

I believe, if human beings are free and not controlled by external forces...All our goals will be done...100% guaranteed.

Your goals are great...I want to see each and everyone of it fulfilled...now imagine..everyone's goals getting completed...We will be a new civilization itself...No one sets a bad goal for himself or want bad to others...We all have positive goals...

lets just say that my goal is to defeat this control over humanity that hinders the goal completion of human beings

[djfourmoney]

People don't really care if you complete your goals or not, especially if they are miserable.

Goals completed from 2014 -

Re-apply for GR - Done (till July 2015)

Repair Credit:

Six Month Goals -

Apply for two credit cards = Done

Increase baseline income = Done

Buy a car? That wasn't in the plan but I needed reliable transportation to do the work I was assigned too, enter -



Zero Down, though I got hammered on the interest rate. That has added re-financing to the list of six month goals which is fine because most banks and credit unions want to see six months of on-time payments.

I am working 35-40 hours per pay period (bi-weekly). I also applied and was approved for Lyft and Uber, but I have decided to put that on the back burner for the moment.

Right now, the pay periods haven't been consistent enough to generate an accurate picture of earning potential.

That said the month of March 2015 looks like this (Net Pay) -

GR - $221
Merchandising Company #1 - $120.57
Merchandising Company #2 - $ 579.52
Merchandising Company #3 - $ 500*

* Mileage hasn't been calculated, plus one day of wages/hours is currently unaccounted for. Pay period ended on Saturday (3/21), so it should be updated soon.

Cash On Hand: $30 (Paper Money, Coins)
Current Checking Account Balance: $433.16
Current Savings Account Balance: $68.40
Current Donation Debt Card Balance: $94.41

My Credit Score is starting to rebound from the car buying search, it dropped to 590, it's now back to 640.

I will loose GR in either June or July 2015, so Merchandising will have to become more consistent. It should now that I got scheduling under control

I should clear $2,000 net from April till at least July.

My expenses are still fairly low and will improve with a refi of the car. I will try to save $1,000 a month starting in April.

You have to start with small goals, it makes no sense to set goals so large that you can't even imagine achieving it. The first thousand will go towards my emergency fund. The next thousand will go into a money market account; that hasn't been sorted out yet. Latin American banks are giving you way more interest to hold your money but have no FDIC if something goes wrong.

To do Brazil properly will cost $4-5K. That's 60 days or so of doing exactly what I want, on every level. That is 2015's end goal, to be on a plane to Brazil in Late Sept, Early Oct.

I will be re-focusing on DJ'ing the closer we get to graduation season, which will also run into the bulk of wedding season. Since my weekends are open, I will be able to do DJ gigs for increased income.

[Jester]

People don't really care if you complete your goals or not, especially if they are miserable.

Goals completed from 2014 -

Re-apply for GR - Done (till July 2015)

Repair Credit:

Six Month Goals -

Apply for two credit cards = Done

Increase baseline income = Done

Buy a car? That wasn't in the plan but I needed reliable transportation to do the work I was assigned too, enter -



Zero Down, though I got hammered on the interest rate. That has added re-financing to the list of six month goals which is fine because most banks and credit unions want to see six months of on-time payments.

I am working 35-40 hours per pay period (bi-weekly). I also applied and was approved for Lyft and Uber, but I have decided to put that on the back burner for the moment.

Right now, the pay periods haven't been consistent enough to generate an accurate picture of earning potential.

That said the month of March 2015 looks like this (Net Pay) -

GR - $221
Merchandising Company #1 - $120.57
Merchandising Company #2 - $ 579.52
Merchandising Company #3 - $ 500*

* Mileage hasn't been calculated, plus one day of wages/hours is currently unaccounted for. Pay period ended on Saturday (3/21), so it should be updated soon.

Cash On Hand: $30 (Paper Money, Coins)
Current Checking Account Balance: $433.16
Current Savings Account Balance: $68.40
Current Donation Debt Card Balance: $94.41

My Credit Score is starting to rebound from the car buying search, it dropped to 590, it's now back to 640.

I will loose GR in either June or July 2015, so Merchandising will have to become more consistent. It should now that I got scheduling under control

I should clear $2,000 net from April till at least July.

My expenses are still fairly low and will improve with a refi of the car. I will try to save $1,000 a month starting in April.

You have to start with small goals, it makes no sense to set goals so large that you can't even imagine achieving it. The first thousand will go towards my emergency fund. The next thousand will go into a money market account; that hasn't been sorted out yet. Latin American banks are giving you way more interest to hold your money but have no FDIC if something goes wrong.

To do Brazil properly will cost $4-5K. That's 60 days or so of doing exactly what I want, on every level. That is 2015's end goal, to be on a plane to Brazil in Late Sept, Early Oct.

I will be re-focusing on DJ'ing the closer we get to graduation season, which will also run into the bulk of wedding season. Since my weekends are open, I will be able to do DJ gigs for increased income.

+1 for clarity
+1 for feedback on past plans
+1 for sheer balls, as always

[Jester]

Its all ME ME ME ....

Man is a selfish creature sometimes, Starchild. Seems to be the default setting. My "me, me, me" isn't just about me... it is my ambition to elevate my entire in-laws from poverty to middle class one day, and I am taking the first steps to ensure that. The intention is to help my own wife and our children first and foremost, but her poorer relatives will also ultimately enjoy the benefits from what we intend to do.

Our success and well-being will ensure the success and well-being of others. On special holidays and occassions, we will not just buy food and drinks for ourselves but we hope to see those from the houses around us equally well-fed and satisfied.

Your whole "lets help humanity" thing is sweet, but we have to be realistic too; we cannot help everyone on this earth. To only help ourselves would be selfish as well. But if we find the right balance, we can each help a lot of people. And help ourselves in the process. I cannot help an entire country, or an entire continent, but I may help a family, a community, a village even.

And sure I want to help "me" too. I want to improve the life of me. Because if me is happy, I find myself capable of a lot more then when I am miserable. It's okay to be a dreamer, and to be optimistic. I am a dreamer, and I am optimistic. But if I don't stay realistic, that will hinder me. It's good to have clear cut goals and make step-by-step plans on how to reach them, one goal at a time. I am not humanity, I cannot steer or guide humanity. I only got myself, and my own actions will determine what will happen to me and a fair share of others. So that's where my focus is on.

Stop being a Kid with silly goals and dreams...Its because they always made you feel empty and told you to do better...eventually, all it will do is make you come back to square one...Get the big picture guys...

There is a saying that goes: "He who does not appreciate the small, is unworthy of the big". If you are unable to find enjoyment and happiness in realizing small goals for yourself and your loved ones, don't even bother to think about the collective force of humanity and solving all the world's problems. It's good to be ambitious, but lets not get carried away. If you can improve the lives of a few, you will already have done more then those who only improved their own lives. And even those who improved only their own, will have done more then those who failed to even do that.

I understand that completely...I have been in myself...

The problem is one of Assurance, guarantee...Can you promise yourself and to your family that all the goals you set for yourself and your loved once will be fulfilled? all we can do is Try...

Why are some of the goals with all good intention we have for our-self not get fulfilled..Is it lack of effort or something else?

I found the reason for all our goals not completing is because of state of entire human race...Our individual goals are intrinsically linked to each other....

I believe, if human beings are free and not controlled by external forces...All our goals will be done...100% guaranteed.

Your goals are great...I want to see each and everyone of it fulfilled...now imagine..everyone's goals getting completed...We will be a new civilization itself...No one sets a bad goal for himself or want bad to others...We all have positive goals...

lets just say that my goal is to defeat this control over humanity that hinders the goal completion of human beings

MY CHALLENGE TO STARCHILD FOR 2015:

Turn off the internet, completely. Disconnect it. Cut it off. Get the modem or whatever out of your house. Cut off the contract to the phone company or cable company that provides it.

Then see what the Universe brings you.

You can carry your laptop to the library or a coffee shop once a week to stay in touch with family and friends (including us here!).

But live without connectivity for the balance of calendar year 2015.

See what happens.

[djfourmoney]

Thanks Jester -

I had to do something to dramatically increase my income quickly.

When I decided to buy a car, I started out looking at used. Below $3K is dangerous to your financial well-being; at some point that car is going to see at least $1,000 in some sort of work. It could be transmission, suspension or climate control. Not to mention the deployment of air bags would easily allow your insurance company to total your car with no recourse on getting another one.

Also my interest rate while already high would be even higher on a used car. Since my supply of cash was limited, I decided new was the best route. I saved $2K by buying it up in Washington State. Even if with paying sales tax and license fees in California, I still come out $1,200 ahead. It cost me $190 to fly one-way to Washington and about $60 to drive back, but I also did a merchandising job in Paso Robles, CA on my way back. I made $128 on that job alone, so $122 out of pocket.

Unfortunately I wasn't financed by Hyundai so I didn't get the 90 day delay to my first payment which could have been very useful. I made my first payment at the end of Feb and I will be making my next payment this week; it's due by the 28th of every month.

I was already working for Footprint Retail Services but was unable to do most work assigned to me because I didn't reliable transportation. Once I made the decision to buy a new car, I applied at RMSI and Driveline both are retail services companies. I was hired by both to add to the other. I am paid $10.50 by Driveline, my last check (this past week) was $339 including mileage. RMSI pays me $12.00 an hour and I've been getting 20-32 hours of work. I am currently on a project to reset Chevron Extra Mile cold doors (Soda) that is suppose to end mid April but some have been cancelled and will be rescheduled which will extend it into late April.

Footprint pays $12, though some projects go up to as high as $15 an hour.

This type of work is available nation wide so there's no excuse. Some areas will be sparse because of the lack of significant population centers. That said it's fairly reliable work between Jan-Nov. Most companies by Dec are doing Christmas sales and will follow that up with Inventory. I know Footprint, RMSI and RGSI do inventory so if you want to make sure you work all year,then I would apply there.

Not sure if doing merchandising will be my ticket to Brazil, but it's the first step to completing my goal(s).

My official goal list of 2015 -

1) Get two credit cards, possibly a third (Status: Done)

The myFiCO forums are possibly the best place to learn how to control your fiances. The other is Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps, you can easily find these via Google.

I am currently looking at my options for a third credit card. Using the cards frequently boost your and keeping your balances low (under 30%) will boost your credit scores quickly; this is based on the algorithms used by the FICO computers.

2) $1,000 Emergency Fund (Status: $68 in savings)

This is Dave Ramsey Baby Step 1. The easiest way to financial wreck and ruin is to borrow or get into serious credit card debt. A $1,000 will pay for most emergencies that crop up, like automatic transmission failure, high auto insurance deductible, water heater failure, storm damaged roof or appliance failure.

3) Put up a DJ Website (Status: Under construction)

The URL is up and a status page is up but that's it. I need content for it and even if I used stock footage of weddings, it's not free and cost money. So I have put that on the back burner for the moment, I will start this back up in April in preparation for May 2015 and beyond.

4) Re-Finance the Accent

I hope my FICO score (Experian) is 650-660 by June/July of 2015. This will allow me to get down to 3.99% interest from my current 18.23%. This will save me up to $100 dollars a month. I will try either of the two credit unions I am currently a member of.

[onethousandknives]

I for some reason do not think it's good to tell anyone your exact plans. Any plans I tend to tell anyone/a large amount of people tend to fail, and any plans I just do without telling anyone my whole plan or intentions tend to succeed. I really wonder sometimes similar to starchild on this board if people's negatives energies or whatever can affect you and telling plans and dreams too much, too publicly, gets people mad at you, even if not to your face. Then of course, people will second guess your plan, give you all sorts of advice more meant to discourage you, etc. I think in general most people do not like plans as they themselves cannot make and keep them, especially any sort of long game or radical plan. Even in the Bible, for example, with Joseph and the dream. His brothers tried to kill him for his dream.

So, my plan is... to continue making my plan from 2014 work. I don't think it's so much that even you need a perfect plan or whatever, you eventually just have to find a plan and try to stick to it the best possible, at least 80%. Obviously not everything will work out perfect or 100% according to your plan, but things should still be the same as the framework and major details of your plan when you're through. Or maybe rather, your original goal must stay the same or in tact, but the methods or maybe timeframe used to reach it may change.