Here we are at the beginning of a new month! I love the beginning of anything – the year, the month, the week, etc. I love it because it gives me a chance to reset. I believe that most of us need this reset on a monthly basis but we rarely do it. I think that if we take only a few hours at the beginning of every month to really look at a few things, it would help greatly. I say this not just for organization or goal setting, but for our families as well. This is ensuring that we are intentional about our time and our months.
Most of the things I have listed are done with my family. Some months, I bring a lot of this to them and others I desire their input. You know your family best so do whatever works for your family!
Here are 3 things that I look at during the first few days of each month:
Goals
This is a big one for me. I have my yearly goals, 90 day goals, and then monthly goals. Now is the time that I look back over all of those and see what is realistic for this month. Here are my suggestions for having goals and actually achieving them during the month:
- Write them down.
- Put them where you see them daily.
- Figure out how to track them (daily or weekly).
- Share them with people so you will have accountability. We have a Facebook group that you are more than welcome to join. Just send me an email or comment on this post.
For our family, we have started to do monthly goals. This includes what projects we want to do, how much money we want to save, and what adventures we should consider doing this month. We write them out and post in our kitchen.
Budget
This is so important to look at monthly. Many people set one for the year or for one month and then do not go back and revisit this. Be sure to look at last month and see how you did before jumping into this month. Here are some questions to ask:
- Does it look any different this month?
- What different expenses might you have (holidays, birthdays, etc)?
Then, don’t forget to schedule weekly budget meetings with your spouse or family. This ensures you stay on track throughout the month and that you aren’t caught off guard at the end of the month!
Meal Planning
If you want to help make meal planning a little easier, I suggest trying to plan for the month. I know it might seem overwhelming at first but I would much rather spend the time doing it once than spending time every week on this. Here are some suggestion on how to do this:
- List out favorite meals first
- Spread them out throughout the month
- Start filling in the gaps
**This doesn’t have to be all the way filled in. I realize that some weeks with look different with after school activities and things come up but this way you have the bulk of your meals planned and can pull from this when you need it. And if you don’t use all the meals this month, then you just have a head start for next month!
I would love to hear from you and what you do every month to help set it up for success! Leave a comment!
