Revisiting Goals for 2008 and Looking ahead to 2009

Update on my "Goals for 2008" post on 12/17/2008.

• Studied for in-house CFA Certification and took exam.
  
• Read only one book, but many magazines!
  
• Always working on being a better person.
  
• Worked out for several months, but fell out of the habit about three months ago.
  
• Ran the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge.
  
• Haven't looked into ToastMasters
  
• Haven't volunteered at all.
  
• Haven't sent many b-day cards.
  
• Haven't created a disaster preparedness kit or plan.
  
• Take pretty good care of my teeth, have a dentist appointment for 12/11.
  
• Looked into Kiva, but haven't yet lent.
  

I haven't done a very good job of keeping up with my list of goals for this year. I think next time it would be prudent to create a timeline for the specific items on my list. I'm going to try and get the earthquake plan/kit taken care of before the end of the year, as well as donate to Kiva, but the other items are not as likely to be completed.

Preliminary Goals for 2009:

1. Continue studying for the CFA (Exam in April).
   
2. Start an online business with Lisa.
   
3. See a dentist regularly.
   
4. Workout at least 3 days a week.
   
5. Find a place to volunteer and go once a month.
   
6. Get more organized around the house.
   
7. Blog regularly (weekly).
   
8. Subscribe to a magazine about managing money.
   
9. more to come...

Earthquake tips

Earthquake tips from the American Red Cross

Starting an Online Business

I'm interested in starting a small online business to generate some additional income. I pretty much have no idea of what I want to sell at this point, but here are some thoughts and links:

• How Creating an Online Business Works
  
• Use Google's Merchant software
  
• Buy a server for web-hosing
  
• Register a domain name and several similar names
  
• Create a list of all possible product ideas, it's better to have a niche than to try and sell a broad range of products (e.g., Spatulas vs. Kitchenware).
  

Site ideas

1. Online Shopping List
   
   
   
   • Store recipes online and sort by category (e.g., main ingredient, cuisine)
     
   • Have check box or drag/drop feature to pick several meals at once.
     
   • Generate a shopping list and printable recipes based on this list.
     
   • Allow users to enter their own recipes/lists.
     
   • Allow users to share lists and add other recipes to their own profiles.
     
   
   
2. Shared Online Calendar
   
   
   
   • Start an online calendar for Lisa and I to share.
     
   • Tag pictures to event names on specific dates.
     
   • Post notes or reminders.
     
   • Have the day's events emailed first thing in the morning.
     
   
   
3. Simplify
   
   
   
   • Create a site devoted to making everyday life easier.
     
   • Start a list of all of the things that I am doing to ease my daily pains.
     
   • gmail on blackberry, shoe rack, organized recycle bins, paper shredder, file cabinet, shred/file baskets
     
   
   

Pic of the Month

I've decided that I'm going to post one pic each month of me doing something interesting. The first installment in this series will be a pic of me on my birthday, when my mom gave me a gift to remind me of one of my childhood accessories, a beenie copter.

Forgot the link...

www.nevblog.com

www.nevblog.com

I stumbled upon this blog while looking for recently posted investment strategies to see if anyone had any useful advice for long-term equity investing during these turbulent times. I googled "blog finance" and this was the first item that came up.

It's a far cry from what I had been searching for, but an hour later I still found myself reading entries. This guys is exactly 4 days older than me. I think it was his b-day post that prompted me to continue reading instead of hitting the back button. Anyway, as I kept reading I found myself becoming more inspired to continue blogging and to look into creating a side business of my own. Both of these have been goals of mine sometime in the recent past.

After some thought, I think I'd like to get in touch with Nishikawa again and see how things are going. It might even be possible for me to create a niche site for some his products and use the business as a drop-shipper. I've already got a great in and it would be nice to add a few bucks to my income each month.

I think one of my first steps is to create a list of goals. I believe I've done this in the past so it would be helpful to cross-reference while giving my new goals some thought.

Thanks for posting your blog, Neville. I'm looking forward to a more enriching future.