I cannot believe that I am already setting goals for 2025 because it seems like just yesterday I was not setting goals for 2024. As a rule, I generally do not set goals or have New Years Resolutions. Because if you never set resolutions then you can’t fail or break them right? Afterall, Quitter’s Day is the second Friday in January because that’s usually when everyone has fallen off the wagon about their resolutions. Yeah, it happens that quick. So help hold me accountable, and maybe steal some of these for yourself okay?
1. Save More Money
This is kind of a no brainer, right? I need to save more. I unfortunately depleted my savings in order to pay rent this year thanks to some bad luck and mismanagement of funds. It’s totally on me. Someone took a lovely shopping spree for the holidays on a credit card AND on my debit card via Amazon (both were in my Amazon account so I think that’s the issue). So not only did I have to get a new credit card but also a new debit card, but it was almost $500 that I was short for rent, so I took the money out of my savings to make sure I could pay rent on time. However, I can’t put it back until the cases are closed because I have had an issue with a previous bank where they sided with the vendor and said that I did purchase something when I didn’t. I promptly changed banks because of that.
Practical Tips for Saving:
I am supposed to be getting a small raise at the office job I took, so I will be adding the $3 and hour difference and adding that to my savings account deposit to try and make up for that extra bit I need to recover to get me back on track. That little bit of automating my savings is really helpful.
I also need to find a way to reduce some costs. I’ve cut out all of the subscriptions I could. I switched car insurance companies to find a less expensive rate (which was a miracle).
Side Hustles:
I am still going to be doing all of the Side Hustle Round Up things that I have been doing but I probably won’t be making monthly posts, maybe going quarterly or perhaps I will be making videos on Youtube about them. So Branded Surveys, Mystery Shops, Reselling and I am going try my hand at making some crafts and doing pop up’s locally to try and sell those to earn money.
2. Spend Less: Living Minimally and Mindfully
This sounds like something I should already be doing. However, since being back in an apartment, even for the winter, my spending has increased and I’ve developed this habit of just buying stuff. Maybe it is the ADHD dopamine chasing but it has got to stop. It won’t fit in a camper and I cannot do the storage unit thing again. So I need to really work on my budget and find the areas I need to improve on (eating out is definitely a problem lately).
Minimalism in Motion:
Keeping only essentials for your travels is really important when you are working with limited space. Selling things around you to get some quick cash is a great way to make money but also be minimal. Take anything that you have not used or touched in 3-6 months or more and list it on Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Poshmark or even just take it and donate it for the tax write off so you aren’t tempted to delist it and keep it.
3. Land One Brand Deal or Paid Post
This is a goal for me that I am very hesitant in establishing and I am not even sure I will work on this until the summer or mid-way through the year to be honest. I don’t know how ready I am for this but I want to start putting myself out there for this. Everyone has to start somewhere, so why not start now?
I need to find something that is going to be the right fit, which would need to be something outdoorsy, travel related, or geared towards nomadic people so that gives me a ton of options. It could be a clothing company, an app, a website, a brand, a service for helping you find camping, something to do with your vehicle or rig.
I will need to work on crafting a compelling pitch and be able to showcase my reach and influence and that will only work if I reach my next goal, which is getting monetized on a social media platform.
4. Get Monetized on at Least One Social Media Platform
My facebook page is the closest, although with the holidays it has fallen off a little. Threads I am doing surprisingly well on too. However, you have to be doing well on Instagram in order to get an offer on Threads, which I find bizarre but maybe I can leverage both. Ideally, I would love to make it on TikTok and Youtube but finding the time to create content then edit and upload is so much. I wanted to do it over my Winter Break but that has come and gone and I did none of the things I wanted to in that respect.
5. Travel More in 2025
This is a big one for me because obviously, my blog is about travel. In 2024 I only went to two places, Yankton and Colorado. In 2023, I went to one place and I didn’t even write about it. I did not travel at all in 2022. I have been slowly growing how much I travel each year and I want to continue that progress. So far for 2025 all I have planned thus far is a trip to Indiana in August. So with that on the books, that leaves a lot of time on the calendar to fill up.
Integrating Work and Travel:
Ideally, a brand deal or sponsored content that goes with a trip that would be amazing. That could help cut down costs and allow me to achieve two or three goals in one trip. Working up the confidence for this is something I have to build to. I have been blogging for a long time, but not consistently. So I don’t necessarily have the audience I need to be able to really leverage that. I am thinking something mutually beneficial like a a discount code others can use if they book a stay, etc. When reading comments or stories from both creators & sponsors on social media, they often say it wasn’t beneficial for them so I am trying to be mindful of everyone’s experiences.
What are your goals for 2025?
Those are my goals for 2025. I want to be able to save more, travel more, work on getting monetized and shoot for some kind of sponsored content. What do you want 2025 to bring you?