Making 2020 My Year

I genuinely can’t believe that 2020 is almost amongst us, 2019 has felt like an absolute shit show if you ask me. The year has gone through so many rollercoasters, and I somehow don’t feel like I have moved from where I was at this point last year, I have almost the exact same problems and even though I’ve aged a bit nothing is different except a majority of my finances are sorted, and I’ve paid off a lot of debt.

I want 2020 to be my year I’ve been working so hard to get myself into a financial situation where I can afford to move out of my current house come July. I want to be able to have a really love European adventure come the end of the summer. I would also like to start to look for a new job where I will be able to earn more money than I currently do, but will also give me the same freedom as my current job. I currently work a majority of evenings/weekends which gives me almost everyday time free, except Tuesdays and Thursdays where I volunteer at my local university for the printmaking facilities.

For me this is going to be the hardest one, because without being rude to myself I’m too frivolous with money and I chuck it around on clothes, food and coffee like it is nothing. I want to be able to afford my moving out fees when the time comes, and I really want a European adventure later in the year to France or Budapest! I’m desperate to travel more, but obviously moving out and into somewhere more stable is a necessity.

I’ve also found out in my last year of living that it is so important to have savings so as a grown ass adult that I don’t have to go crying go my grandparents every time something goes wrong – which appears to be almost every single month for me.

As far as starting 2020 on a clear financial slate, I still have £162 to pay off my credit card, I’m getting there slowly but I would have liked for it to be done by this point in time. Which unfortunately I couldn’t do but I have put some money away and hopefully it will be completed by the end of January. I know January is a dry season for blogging opportunities but hopefully some bits will land in my inbox.

I guess this is something that has been bothering me a lot lately, but whilst I make money from blogging and vary regularly, I maybe don’t utilise my art skills in the same way and I would like too. I’ve talked about opening a store before on my blog, and a few years ago whilst I was at university I did manage it. I’m not sure how something like this would fit into my current schedule but I would like too try again, it would be lovely to see more of my art on my blog, and too see some of my readers owning pieces too. Especially because normally I keep my artwork and my writing very separate.

I would also like to try and take on some more freelance writing jobs throughout the year especially during the quiet periods of my job when I have a lot more free time to write. It would be a great little addition to my CV too.

I’ve released in 2019 that I’m the type of person that will do a lot for other people but when it comes to doing things for myself I’m not that convinced. I wouldn’t say that I was someone who put my worth in the prospect of how someone else likes me but I definitely can act that way and I need to learn to say no. I need to learn not to do things for people that would not do things for me when it comes back to it.

I need to find the healthy balance of mutual relationships and make sure that I’m no the person putting in all the effort, because I’ve definitely found that I’m the kind of person that will continuously put a lot in when I a) can’t really afford to and b) really should stop and step away from someone who allows me to do so without every paying for anything or doing fuck all for me.

Something else I’ve learnt as I’m getting slightly older, is that online shipping makes it so easy to buy copious amounts of things that you want, but then when it comes down to storing them or to using them that you don’t have anywhere too keep them, and that you probably won’t wear all the clothes that you buy online. Also, if you’re anything like myself then you suck at sending things back when you should and hoard things, like clothes that don’t fit but you can’t bring yourself to get rid of them because they still have the tag on and you didn’t send it back in time.

I think that internet shopping gives you the will to spend money that doesn’t actually feel like real money because you never really see it and it goes straight out of your bank, so online purchases take away the thought process of how much you are spending and the rationality behind needing things. At least that is how I’ve been thinking about it lately.

I want to only use things that I genuinely need because I’ve also been thinking about being more eco-friendly as well as trying my best to save money where I can.

I think if I’m honest my main goal for 2020 is to be good to myself over other people and build the foundation for the life that I want. I’d love to know what you guys are wanting to achieve and how you plan on achieving your goals.