My husband is back from NTC and we have started to knock off items that are on our pre-deployment to-do list.
The first thing we tackled was deployment goals. What did we want to achieve as individuals and as a family during this deployment?
This may seem silly to some, however, deployments are a great time to work towards goals; for one it helps make the time apart go by faster.
First, we worked on our family goals. What did we want to achieve during this deployment as a family? Our biggest goal is to save money since Jerry plans to drop his retirement packet upon returning from deployment.
The thought of his retirement stresses me out. While we have worked diligently the last couple of years to prepare for that day, will we ever truly be prepared? We have taken advantage of putting money in the Roth TSP, and of course, will have his retirement paycheck. He also plans on working in the civilian world after retirement.
What if he can’t find a job right away? Can we survive on his retirement paycheck, the savings we have now, along with my paycheck? It makes me nervous.
We are currently working on our Dave Ramsey baby steps. If you have never heard of Dave Ramsey, I highly suggest you look him up and attend Financial Peace University!
We both agreed that our family goals for this deployment would be to save up three months of living expenses, have $5000 in the home maintenance fund, $5000 in the car maintenance fund, pay off my truck, pay off the last remaining credit card, and maybe save enough to go on a trip when he returns. In other words, our backyard pool is going to have to wait!
Those are some pretty big goals, but upon doing our deployment budget it is feasible. It will definitely require sticking to that budget, however, it can be done and that is important.
It’s important to come up with feasible and realistic goals. If you only make $50,000 and year and your living expenses and debt payments equal $50,000 a year, don’t make a goal to save $30,000. Unless you plan on selling an organ (which is illegal) it’s not going to happen.
As for our personal goals, I would like to lose 20 pounds and learn to take more time out of my hectic life in order to simply enjoy life and get spend more time out in nature. My husband’s goal is to lose fat and gain muscle, more specifically in the belly area. He even said he would be happy with just a two-pack.
Even if you don’t have a spouse deploying, we are still at the beginning of the year, which makes it a great time to create your own goals that you would like to have completed by the end of the year.
Let’s work on our goals together! Tell me what goals you would like to accomplish this year by leaving a comment on my blog.
Bridget is a military spouse of 17 years, Mom, Professional Photographer, Writer, Avid Hiker, and Editor at the Harker Heights Evening Star.
Leave a Comment or Suggestion