Goals for April 2008

On the first business day of every month, I post my update for the previous month's progress, and set goals for the month to come.

Here are my goals for April:

• Reduce my revolving debt to $21,250 (currently at $21,841.86) - At my usual rate of payment, this should be pretty much where I come out. If I reach this goal, it will put me at 23% of my total revolving debt paid off. Note: I'm expecting a tax refund this year, but I don't know when I'll receive it, so I'm not counting on my refund to meet this goal. Any lump-sum payments that I make from my tax refund will be ignored when I determine whether I hit my April debt reduction target.


• Grow my Emergency Fund to $1,310 (currently at $1,283.16) - All I'm looking for here is to keep up my bi-weekly $10 contributions, with a little gravy.


• Update my Equifax credit file with my correct postal code - Equifax has an incorrect digit in my postal code, so this should be a fairly simple thing to change (famous last words). By April 30, I aim to have this one error fixed.


• Walk to and from work every day, and work out at least three times a week - I'm really on a push to get in shape, and with spring upon us, I think I'll be able to meet this easily.


• Lose 4 pounds - I actually lost 7 pounds in March, so if I continue regular cardio exercise (walking, running, and playing squash) as well as picking up my strength training, I'm guessing the trade-off between fat loss and muscle gain should come in at about 4 pounds.


• Blog 30 times in April - With tax season wrapping up this month, I have a feeling there will be plenty to write about. One post per day shouldn't be a problem.


• Bring my lunch to work every day in April - There's not a lot of new or exciting stuff in the goals above; they're mostly repetitions of previous months' goals, so I thought I'd try something new. Similar to Krystal's February-March Lunch Challenge, my goal is not to spend any money on food at work during the month of April. We get free coffee at work, so this basically amounts to not snacking during the work day on anything I haven't brought from home. Let's see how it goes...

That list should make for a productive month.