Happy New Year! I’m starting off 2013 with the sickness that infected the husband and kid last week. Flu season is serious business this year. Everyone we know has been affected. Hopefully it passes soon, because it’s back to work tomorrow, no sick day allowed.

Recap: 2012 was stressful, yet productive. We managed to create a budget and stick to it. We paid off several debts. We brought in close to $15,000 in extra income since April (that’s when I began keeping track.) We struggled with daycare costs, managing our food budget, unexpected medical costs, and a short sale. We also were able to keep our emergency fund in tact for most of the year! A fund that I hope grows significantly in 2013.

Now that I’ve recapped 2012, it’s time to figure out my 2013 goals…

1. Figure out my job situation.
More on this later, but I really need to get this figured out this year. Either stick with it, find a new job, or quit and stay home. We’re weighing the options right now.

2. Double our emergency fund.
We just have a small emergency fund right now, nowhere near the 6-8 months all the financial gurus recommend having. While I don’t think we’ll hit the 6-8 months worth of expenses in savings this year (due to debt pay off) I am confident we can double what’s in there.

3. Pay off remaining credit cards.
I think this is doable if we stick to our budget and throw every extra penny at the debt.

4. Take a vacation.
Our last vacation was in May 2009, before my pregnancy. We need a break, even if it’s just a long weekend away at the beach or something.

5. Have our wills made!!
This is something that should have been done a long time ago.

6. Reopen my etsy store.
This use to be my favorite hobby and it’s been packed away since we moved in October 2011. I use to bring in some decent cash every month from sales and would like to get back to doing that soon.

7. Get our food expenses under control.
Less eating out, more cooking at home! This is an absolute must. I swear the prices in the grocery store are rising weekly. $100 use to get me a cart full of food for two weeks, now I’m lucky if $100 is half the cart and lasts a week.

There we have it. Seven goals for 2013. Keeping it simple. I’ll end this post with some pictures from our holidays.  Perhaps I should add ‘get a real camera and stop using the crappy iPhone camera’ to my goals, haha…

Took the kid to the aquarium. Best thing we did all year. He loved it!

Beluga whales! They’re so sweet and playful.

Enjoyed the Christmas lights in midtown.

Christmas at our home was simple this year, just a few gifts. We placed the tree in the middle of his ride on train, it was perfect.