So, 2020 is finally over and 2021 is here. Every year, I set New Year’s resolutions. Most people who set resolutions don’t end up sticking with them throughout the year. I’ve had mixed success in years past. In any case, the start of the year is always a great time to work on goals because of the increased motivation that comes from the start of a new year.

At the beginning of 2020, I posted my 2020 New Years Resolutions. Let’s see how I did.

1. Payoff Consumer Debt Early

At the beginning of 2020, I identified two debts that I wanted to payoff early. Namely, they were the following:

• 2018 Honda Civic – $21951 owed at 3.99% interest rate. Payment is $356 per month
  
• Furniture – I anticipated an approximately $20,000 to be owed at 0% introductory rate for a year. This loan was not yet secured and so I didn’t have a monthly payment.

Well, regarding the Honda, I did not payoff the Honda. Given my current situation, I am still trying to decide which bank I will be utilizing to close on my Condo. One of the banks that has approved me requires that as part of the deal, I will pay off the Honda in order to be within their debt-to-income ratio requirement. If it weren’t for the many delays with closing, this goal would have been achieved. I do anticipate closing sometime in January or February of this year.

Finally, regarding the furniture, I still don’t have any debt associated with this. I did buy a sofa but I paid cash for that. I chose not to buy anymore furniture until I have a solid closing date on the condo. There is the small (or quite frankly distinct) possibility that I will have a new contract that will allow me to back out of the deal. If I’m presented with that option, I may very well do so. Regardless, I will update the community accordingly. If I do close on the condo, I will need furniture and will likely have to borrow to get it. The bottom line is that this goal was not applicable for 2020.

2. Start A Business

I had a goal of starting a business. Technically, this was accomplished in part. Specifically, I went through the trouble or hassle of starting an LLC and opening up a checking account in the name of the LLC. I almost applied for a business credit card, but chose not to do so until I close on the condo.

Part of the reason I did this was that the portfolio lender I was using allowed me to close on the condo in the name of the LLC. However, the LLC doesn’t hold any assets as of yet since I don’t have a closing date. But, if and when I close, this resolution will be fully completed.

3. Create A YouTube Channel

As early as the beginning of last year, I had thoughts of creating a YouTube Channel. And although I created a YouTube Channel, I never made any videos or went live. The plan was not just to create a YouTube Channel but to take it live. So, I clearly did not meet this goal.

Despite procrastinating for a year, I’ve decided to give this a try. I will be creating a new channel and take it live sometime in January 2021. It won’t be perfect, but I figure I can learn as I go and that the most important thing is just to start. Once it goes live, I hope you will check it out and even support the channel by subscribing (and hitting that notification button). Ha!

4. Transform My Body

When I included this in my resolutions last year, this is what I said:

“Ok, every year I have a goal of working out at the gym. Every year, I hire a personal trainer and every year I pretty much look the same. But, for some reason, I feel 2020 will be different.”

Well, 2020 was not different! This was a dismal failure. For what it’s worth, this will be in my 2021 New Years Resolutions. Rather than sounding like a broken record saying that I “feel” like this year will be different, I can already announce that I’ve taken actionable steps towards achieving this goal in 2021. I have a personal trainer who is going to train me at his gym for a very affordable price ($20 a session if done 5 sessions per week) and I jumped at the deal. If I achieve my goal of getting shredded in 90 days, I will post about it.

But, unfortunately, this goal was not achieved in 2020.

5. Buy A Primary Residence

I did not achieve this goal either in 2020. I did indicate it was a stretch when I made it, but regardless, it didn’t happened.

In order for me to purchase a primary residence, I would first need to close on the condo – I am locked into a contract and so I have to maintain my current financial situation to satisfy the banks. The good news is that I should hopefully close on the condo in January or February and so I will have the rest of the year to work towards purchasing a primary residence.

If for some reason I get the option to back out of the contract, and I do exercise that right, I would purchase a primary residence first, before attempting to purchase another beach condo. So, this will likely be part of my resolutions for 2021.

6. Resume Dividend Portfolio Contributions

I am happy to report that I have met this goal. I had forgotten about this but at the beginning of the year, I chose to halt my contributions to dividend portfolio while I sorted out the condo situation. Well, I’ve since resumed the minimum contributions to my portfolio finishing out the year contributing a minimum of $740 per month.

Although I am still finalizing my resolutions and financial plan for 2021, I do intend on increasing this amount some more. You can expect that I will publish my resolutions soon, so stay tuned. But, regardless, I did complete this goal for 2020.

Conclusion On 2020 Resolutions

There you have it. Out of the 6 resolutions I made for 2020, I successfully completed a whopping 2 of them. So, 2 out of 6 is the equivalent of a third of my goals. I guess it could be worse, but it is also very consistent with how a crappy year 2020 was.

Not to sound like a broken record, but I know that 2021 will be different!

Did you have any resolutions for 2020? If so, how did you do on your resolutions? Or, do you not believe in resolutions? Let me know your thoughts by commenting below.

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