2020++ - smiling and waving and looking so fine

mark55man

Hello welcome to my shiny new 5 years (I hope) diary.

The title is based on my favourite lyric from the Bowie song 5 years - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bcnO3VQ_fc - I commend you to go and have a listen - its the live Old Grey Whistle Test version and is hauntingly beautiful.

Why a 5 year diary - well its is significant period for a number of reasons, each reason will lead to some goals which are my targets in this significant and hopefully transitional period

5 years will bring me (very nearly) to the age when my dad passed - so fitness and health goals

• Lose 1kg a month to end up at 100KG or under in 2021 and under 200lbs in 2024
• Steps / Keep fit - at least 3 times a week over 10000 and always over 5000

5 years is my target to be debt and mortgage free (currently £140K) - budget and financial goals (numbers below)

• 2020 - clear CC debt (ambitious)
• 2020 - banish the overdraft and my louche attitude to it - overdrafts are evil not financial lubrication
• 2024 - clear Mortgage (current slightly aggressive trajectory)

5 years to be more green (the earth is really dying - another song lyric) - environmental and carbon footprint goals

• reduce consumption and more recycling (frregle, ebay, whatever)
• greener personal environment - car / garden / house

5 years is how long we have the current parliament - so community and volunteering goals to make up for its lack

• At least one day a month charity or community volunteering
• Online and ongoing support for activity groups, especially food bank and homeless

5 years is my target to be retired - organisational and household goals. Not going to make a meal about this, but it is a factor that should be there for us all

• declutter one trip a week
• less procrastination - eat more frogs more often
• Better use of existing utility and work related benefits/coverage
• Restart an outdoor hobby

In the great words of the famous and lyrically gifted S'Express

Enjoy this trip - And it is a trip
Countdown is progressing

mark55man

To set the baseline for this diary her are my starting numbers - including 2019 to set some context

• Jan 2019 - Debt 0% CC:£8351 - Car Loan:£12K - Mortgage: £132K - Savings:£0 - Weight:117KG
• Jan 2020 - Debt 0% CC:£15407 - Car Loan:£6K - Mortgage:£117K - Savings:£3k - Weight:120KG

To set these in stone albeit with a slight suspension of disbelief (in the same way the budget is set), I present my target numbers for the 5 years

• Jan 2021 - Debt 0% CC:£0 - Mortgage:£101K - Savings £4K - Weight:110Kg
• Jan 2022 - Debt 0% CC:£0 - Mortgage:£75K - Savings £8K - Weight:100Kg
• Jan 2023 - Debt 0% CC:£0 - Mortgage:£50K - Savings £12K - Weight:90Kg
• Jan 2024 - Debt 0% CC:£0 - Mortgage:£25K - Savings £16K - Weight:90Kg

Most important of all is the snowball number or my DFD Target (Aggressive) 31st May 2024 - DFD Target (OK-ish) 12/12/2024 - the theoetical last day for GE2024, although I suspect it will be May

I will be diligent in reporting monthly progress, but won't chat about targets more often than that, the rest of the time I will post more on day to day things, but noting these don't actually come every day so I won't promise daily posting

doingitanyway

Good luck with your new diary.
Great targets and good to see a 5 year plan.
Your planned combination of wittering and concrete goals is one I will emulate

in_need_of_direction

Loving the categories that you are working within. Based on experience working in the homeless sector, can I suggest that you consider offering your day job skills as opposed to just general volunteering? You may find that this could allow them to divert resources to cheaper front line delivery. I am however making a big assumption that your day job skills would fit.

Good luck with the diary.

mark55man

doingitanyway wrote: »

Good luck with your new diary.
Great targets and good to see a 5 year plan.
Your planned combination of wittering and concrete goals is one I will emulate

It would make me happy if my approach helped you, and while I don't quite think you should do it, "Wittering and Concrete Goals" would be a great diary title.

Maybe replace wittering with nattering or (a good Scottish word) blethering

mark55man

in_need_of_direction wrote: »

Loving the categories that you are working within. Based on experience working in the homeless sector, can I suggest that you consider offering your day job skills as opposed to just general volunteering? You may find that this could allow them to divert resources to cheaper front line delivery. I am however making a big assumption that your day job skills would fit.

Good luck with the diary.

Thank you INOD

My day skills are technology and sales so I'm not sure how helpful I could be on the ground. My thoughts were more about supporting local foodbank/homeless organisations in any local initiatives and awareness and (to some extent) money. Practically I think my actual physical (rather than online) volunteering will be litter picking and enriching local spaces

doingitanyway

I love the word wittering and 'wittering and concrete goals' would be a great title. I need to think about the way I want my diary structured but we shall see

Yellow_mango

Happy new diary and I love the 5 year goals!

I’m very poor at concrete goal setting. I tend to just bibble along and hope I’m going in broadly the right direction. You’ve inspired me to try and spend some time thinking about my real goals and plans to get there.

mark55man

Yellow_mango wrote: »

Happy new diary and I love the 5 year goals!

I’m very poor at concrete goal setting. I tend to just bibble along and hope I’m going in broadly the right direction. You’ve inspired me to try and spend some time thinking about my real goals and plans to get there.

Everyone thinks long term planning is easy - I beg to disagree.

In a way setting a 5 year target for me is quite a change as I have tended to use an emergent approach looking at where I am each year and adjusting slightly - which works when you are happy within the parameters you have set for yourself, or when your life has so much change 5 years is just too distant. But when you are reasonably stable (moi!) have a big change/life event (also moi!) to aim at well then, it would be wrong not to factor it in and make a go for it. Good luck with your pondering

[Deleted User]

I don't think I have really posted on your diaries before but always read along, looking forward to seeing you smash your targets

FootyFanDan

Hey!,

Loving the focus you have to set some concrete goals in place, I am really settled but not sure if 5 year goals are even close to been in my line of vision yet haha. I am currently mapping out my 2020 goals. I love following your ideas/journey as I tend to find you are very thorough with everything and I'm looking forward to following you in smashing the targets

Good Luck.