I just signed the sale agreement for my flat yesterday and I’m really hoping everything goes through smoothly!
Hello! How was your September? Mine was pretty great; I enjoyed spending time in France with family and friends. As for my goals, here’s how I did:
**Blogging Goals**
– **Wins: 5**
– **Fails: 2**
I changed the theme on my blog and I’m pretty happy with it. I just need to get avatars back on comments and re-categorize my articles, but I’m nearly done. Social sharing on Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms works fine now, and I also nailed the SEO optimization.
However, finding a picture for each post was a big fail. It takes up too much time, which I prefer to spend interacting with other bloggers on Twitter and their sites. I’m trying to upload my own pictures and also use photos from a website I found, which eats up about 10 minutes per post and adds up to around 5 hours of work I’ll need to do in October.
I also failed to complete the 30-day Dreamweaver trial, but I’m content with my new theme for now.
**Financial Goals**
– **Wins: 3**
– **Fails: 1**
– **Tie: 1**
I spent very little this month, almost nothing. My rent was non-existent thanks to my mom letting me stay with her, and my food expenses were also minimal. I bought a $25 bottle of champagne for a friend’s 35th birthday and spent a bit here and there but didn’t exceed $100.
I did splurge on a weekend trip with my girlfriends, which cost around $100 for gas and tolls since I took my motorcycle. Other than that, we mainly stayed home, so I didn’t spend much. My other expenses included $15 for a medical visit, $10 for a new air chamber for my bicycle, and some more gas when showing my flat for sale.
My biggest expenses were $1000 in taxes and $400 for condo fees of my empty flat, which I’m hoping to sell this week. I signed the sale yesterday! If the buyer backs out, I’ll have to start renovations and rent it out.
I cycled most of the time after fixing my bike and only used the subway once, which was a win. I still use my motorcycle to show the flat because it saves time and money. Work-wise, I had two interviews but haven’t heard back yet. I did manage to replace my leaving tenant with a new one on the same day the old one left, ensuring no loss of rent money.
For my studio flat, we’re supposed to close the sale tomorrow, and I’m cautiously optimistic about it.
**October Goals**
*Financial and Personal*
– **Quit Smoking:** I don’t smoke daily but enjoy it when I go out. I decided to quit as of October 1st, and I haven’t smoked since September 25th. The recent price hike is an extra incentive.
– **Budget for Going Out:** I want to spend less than $150 on going out. Since I save on rent and food, going out is my biggest expense. I plan to use an envelope system and find free activities if I run out of money.
– **Finish Mom’s Living Room Cleaning:** I’ve done the walls and kitchen but still need to clean and paint the ceiling.
– **Job Applications (if flat sells):** If I sell my flat, I’ll look for short-term jobs to save up for my next house.
– **Renovate Flat (if not sold):** If my flat doesn’t sell by October 10th, I’ll start renovating it to find a tenant by November 1st to avoid the condo fees.
*Website Goals*
– **Fix Gravatars:** Figure out why they don’t show up on my comments.
– **Update Blog Roll and Info Sections:** Change the “related sites” section to a blog roll with cool blogs and update the “information” section.
– **Alexa Ranking:** Aim to break the 500K Alexa ranking.
– **Twitter Followers:** Reach 600 followers by adding personal finance and lifestyle bloggers and following back those with common interests.
– **RSS Feed:** Understand my RSS feed since Google and Feedburner show different follower counts.
– **Daily Comments:** Comment on at least 3 sites a day.
– **Weekly Roundups:** Continue doing weekly roundups to build friendships and show appreciation for others’ hard work.
What are your goals for October? Anything fun planned?