What we did in 2009 and what we plan to do in 2010

[Meadbh]

What is this, a 360? Pay for performance?

I don't think so!

[Moemg]

At my house the list is for my SO
2009
Re mulch the yard
Replace kitchen lighting
stain deck
repair pool filter
Hang new doors

2010
Redo all the molding in living room & dining room
Rip up carpet in bedroom
Replace bedroom ceiling fan
Paint bedroom
etc,etc,etc

As you can see he has a busy schedule and my job is to keep him motivated .

[NW-Bound]

My! I have not had to do a performance review since 1996, the last year I was with a megacorp.

But I will be nice and play along. So, here goes.



NW-Bound's 2009 Great Accomplishments

1) Sat on my butt, and did not sell low during the March market rout (the truth was that I was busy with w*rk, and did not even look at my portfolio. However, I could claim that as an excuse for not going "all in", if had I not been so busy)

2) Portfolio is up 22% YTD. Up 40% since March low. Mostly due to sitting on butt, but there were some minimal "buy, buy, buy" in there, plus no panicking and "rebalancing" after some "wheee" random drive-by postings, despite being 70% in equities.

3) Recovered from a mini personal depression, and subsequently rejoined with this forum after a few month hiatus.

4) Able to find and post some happy youtube videos, to partially cancel out the other "gloomy" music (that I really liked to share - a concurrent poll shows forum members being way too happy!).

5) Passed huge kidney stone without pain killer

6) Stained home exterior to save $4K+, and lived to brag about it (link to posts about this and above kidney stone provided upon request)

7) No foreign travel for pleasure this year, but scored some free business travels, one to an "exotic" locale 7 time zones east of the East Coast.

Goals For 2010.

1) Continue to make lots of money in the market, by sitting on butt.

2) Overcome Mc-Scrooginess to buy an RV for domestic travel. Learn to safely handle the "stinky slinky" and be able to talk wife to come along on a trek.

3) Make good money with part-time work, which would allow splurging on said RV and perhaps a couple of foreign trips without touching the "nest egg", which would allow it to grow and grow for unending counting pleasure.

4) Not losing any more tooth (after the first one lost in 2009).

5) Continue to be able to sneak in "gloomy" music posts (preferably in French), without getting shutdown by moderators.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound 5) Passed huge kidney stone without pain killer

OK, you won!!!

[GoodSense]

I'll play! I make lists everyday at w*rk anyway so I pretty good at it!

Accomplished 2009
1. Vacationed in Costa Rica, Cape Cod, Yellowstone, Glacier, and the North Shore of Lake Superior
2. Refinanced house into a 5-year ARM at 4%
3. Passed the first 2 rounds of a competitive exam into a new c*reer
4. Began painting again after a 10-year hiatus
5. made a few of new friends, lost a couple


Goal for 2010
1. Go to bed at 1:30 a.m. at the latest everyday
2. Eat more organic foods & less sugar
3. Paint (acrylic) more
4. Learn beginner's Italian
5. Work on pottery skills
6. Audition for the opera
7. Get into a new c*reer path (currently am in month 5 in a multiple-year hiring process)
8. Take a caribbean cruise
9. Take a summer trip to Europe
10. Waste less time online, especially on Facebook

Clearly I have more ambitious goals than I am able to accomplish, but it doesn't hurt to dream!

[Bestwifeever]

My most important action of 2009 was finishing writing a mystery novel; in 2010 I'll polish it and shop it.

Happy to have made it through 2009, our first full year of RE, with our family and finances intact, and lucky to have mostly good things to look back on.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever My most important action of 2009 was finishing writing a mystery novel...

Whodunit?

[Walt34]

2009
1. Bought a motorcycle and relearned to ride after 32 years off one.
2. Decided that I like (for now) an easy job with a short commute.
3. Became even more aware of how lucky DW and I are. None of the money or health problems others have.
4. Eat, drink, enjoy DW's company.

2010
1. More of #4 above
2. Go for some longer motorcycle rides.
3. Visit sisters in DE more often
4. Go to Scottsdale, AZ
5. See the Grand Canyon (finally!)

[Moemg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever My most important action of 2009 was finishing writing a mystery novel; in 2010 I'll polish it and shop it. .

Sue Grafton is almost finished the alphabet so there is a hole to fill ! Good Luck !

[kumquat]

Since I'm retired :

What I did in 2009: Nothing
What I will do in 2010: Nothing

Thanks for the memories of mega-corp.

[DangerMouse]

One thing I forgot to add to my list for 2010 was convince DH to quit his job so I will have a playmate with me every day.

[happy2bretired]

2009
Daughter moved (to my basement) and I now have possession of her old bedroom
Bought 27" TV for my new extra room (daughter's old bedroom)
Replaced dishwasher and hot water heater
Dismantled my old hutch in the basement with a sledge hammer (hard old thing)
Dismantled about 9 metal shelving units from my basement and discarded
Sold my big snowblower and rented a guy and a small snowblower
Had my lawn guy dig me a new flower bed (like I really needed another one)
Didn't travel at all and really depressed me
Another bout of pancreatitis and two days in hospital
Lost about 12 pounds over the year
Began walking more and then stopped after hospital stay and ice/snow


2010
Have my extra room painted and make into a computer room/reading/guest bedroom
Cruise purchased and short trips during the year
Continue to lose a little more weight
Continue eating healthy food
Start walking again

[hankster]

2009
Sold our house, paid off all debts and started shoving nearly half of our income into savings and investments.

Continued to DCA through the downturn and watched our 401k recover

Took some nice trips to Arizona (hiked the Grand Canyon south rim and trails in the Sedona area), North Carolina (drove the Blue Ridge Parkway) and the San Juan Island area of Washington state.

Welcomed grandchild #5 into our family.

2010
DW gets to ER in June! (I'm almost as excited as I would be for my own ER)


Lots more traveling around our great nation!

[vicente solano]

2009 was a bad year fior my wife with her mother passing away. She believes in the annual cycle, and that will be accomplished next January 30. I wish for her own good that her theory works.
I plan to stay connected to all of you via this forum. And struggling on with my guitar. Played it for my friends and they were enthusiastic¿? But then they are very kind....and none of them plays anything
EWatching your weather newscasts I hope all of you gather safe and sound with your loved ones in time, despite the horrible weather you are undergoing.....
Merry Christmas for all of you from Galicia, Spain

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound ... Sat on my butt, and did not sell low during the March market rout (the truth was that I was busy with w*rk, and did not even look at my portfolio. However, I could claim that as an excuse for not going "all in", if had I not been so busy)

My memory is failing me! I looked back at my records, and found out that I was not as passive as I thought when I made the above post.

In Oct 07 at the height of the market, I was 80% in equities. In Nov 08, I had been selling and was up near 70% in cash! That didn't keep me from losing 34% from top of market down to the low in March 09. It's the price of holding high-beta stocks.

I bought back a bit early, from late 08 to early 09. By March, I was too scared to keep throwing good money after bad, and stopped buying, else would do significantly better.

But I can claim personal credit for sitting on my hands and not rebalancing out of a rising market since March. I am at 71% equities now, and 11% below Oct 07 high, the latter including some withdrawals.

[Khan]

I gave much money to the plumbers in '09. Also gave away much money to organizations/individuals.

For 2010: really need to get financial stuff organized/affairs in order. Also need to start withdrawing money from retirement accounts.

[aaronc879]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R donate the majority of my furniture to a worthy cause

All I have in my living room is a 10 year old futon and a 20 year old chair givin to me by my grandmother. I'll PM you my address!

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaronc879 All I have in my living room is a 10 year old futon and a 20 year old chair givin to me by my grandmother. I'll PM you my address!

Sounds good to me!

Seriously it's not worth shipping the stuff but if it was, you would be a perfect person to take it. It's perfectly good, usable, and not too bad looking but not really worth anything to sell (at least not around here). I got it for almost nothing when I bought the house, because the woman who owned it (and my house) died in a car accident and her daughter didn't need it. So it seems like I paid almost nothing for it so I wouldn't be losing anything to give it away (and what goes around, comes around). Wish you could have it.

[heyduke]

2009
-Made the commitment to retire early
-Survived the market crash by staying in and continuing to cost average
-Set a date to retire early March 2012
-Stained the exterior of the house
-Repainted the interior of the house
-Put up a privacy fence
-Reset a date to retire early March 2011 due to xmas bonuses and the market

2010
-Consolidated all my investment holdings under 1 roof.
-finish getting the house ready to sell
-purchase an RV for our future home
-finish the details of getting ready to full time in an RV
-prepare for my last days of w$$k

[Orchidflower]

2009

-Took care of elderly mother, house and made lots of meals for her and son
who stayed here for the year (now gone).
-Finally--yes, finally--came to some conclusions about where I want to
move to. Well, narrowed it down to 3 areas, anyway.
-Set some definite work goals when my eldercaring duties are done and
started doing the groundwork already to get it up and running quickly.
-Kept working out at the pool all year with regularity.
-Got the guts up to finally have some physicals and even a colonoscopy.
-Started working on taking better care of my health and weight.
-Switched brokerages, banks and anything else I wasn't satisfied with.


2010

-Finish with the physicals and get the PAP, mammogram and bone density
test early in the year (different insurance and has to be better plan).
-Take care of elderly mother and continue cooking.
-Up that exercise to include free weights and things like jumping rope and
more walking.
-Stay on that diet and get all excess weight off I've gained by being here,
sitting and eating wrong foods. Take better care of myself!
-Work more on financial portfolio.
-Start cleaning out the collected goodies in this house by either selling or
donating them.
-Get more laughing in every chance I get!