Hello 2011, Goodbye 2010!

The time has come once again to review my resolutions from the year gone by. I really am making this quite a regular thing arn't I? So proud of myself...

Here's my review from last year.

I think if I took a (pretty large) step back and saw the whole year of 2010 pan out in its entirety, 2010 has been a fairly good year for me. There were alot of downs, but then there were alot of ups too. In fact I'd say there were way more ups than downs compared to the year before that. It has been another year of reflection, learning and growth once again, but more importantly, maturity has also egged its way to the frontlines.

It is a year where I hope I've improved on my financial situation. Keeping debt as low as possible and trying to work on different pronged outlets for passive income. It's also a year that heralded the new addition in my family, and my role as a father which is only at its infancy. It is a year where I feel a deep mellowing inside of me, for reasons yet unknown. Also a year where I hardly made any new friendships, lost a few, but spent more time re-enforcing and maintaining my existing circle.

There is alot to hope for in 2011...

Anyway, here's a review of my 2010 resolutions.

1) Persue A Healthier Lifestyle
This is abit of a downer because I hardly play football anymore, except for the occasional Saturday kickabout. I hardly go to the gym anymore, even though I extended my gym membership (waste money), which I now only use to take the occasional mid-day shower. And I don't exercise any way else. So there's no excuse for this. A definitely a failure. FAIL

2) Save More Cash
I'm still a big spender and its something that will take a long time to change. That said, I have made strides. Tremendous strides, at turning this around. With that, I've seen a nice steady increase in my savings over the months this year. Am also utilising all avenues to save for retirement (bit of a cliche, but its true!). So this has been a success. PASS

3) Earn More From Investments
At this point of publishing, my overall investments are up approximately 20% to date for the year. It is short of my overall target of around 50% because I have taken significantly higher risks in my trading and investment decisions hoping for a better return. Still I guess going green is always better than going red right? PASS 

4) Spend More Effort Keeping In Touch With Old Friends
Oooh, this one I think I definitely have done quite well at. Like I mentioned, I haven't really forged many new friendships, but at least I can say that I've made more effort reinforcing my existing ones and I'm thankful for this. It is a well known fact that the older you grow, the harder it is to make true friends. People just come and go as aquaintances. Trust becomes less forthcoming because people have different agendas. But the one thing you cannot take away is the past camaraderie and experience you've shared when you were younger. I've even actively cleaned up my Facebook on a quarterly basis. PASS

5) Spend More Time At Home
Well, with a baby in da house, how can I fail this one? I'm spending more time at home and going out less. But it's not like I'm complaining, because coming home to the wifey and son is just about the best thing I look forward to in recent memory. PASS

So 4/5 really is a pretty good result when people always say resolutions are meant to be broken!

2011 is going to be a year of hope for me. Hope for things around be to become even better than they already are. Wealthier, healthier, and happier.

May everyone of you readers have a very happy 2011!