2016 is almost over, which means it’s time for my annual goals retrospective. I was very focused the first six-months this year, but to be honest the past six-months I’ve been pretty lazy as far as monitoring my goals are concerned. I didn’t achieve all of the goals I set this year, but my overall progress is impressive. I achieved five goals, failed one, and missed another; the second miss was by design. I changed my dividend income goal in August, by selling a bunch of stock.
2016 Goals Retrospective
Goals Retrospective – One
Goal – Invest $50,000 dollars of new capital into my Investment Hunting Portfolio.
- $11,000 invested into two Roth IRAs
- $18,000 invested into my 401k
- $21,000 invested into brokerage accounts
Results – $11,000 was invested into Roth IRAs. $18,000 was invested into my 401k. $22,000 was added to my brokerage account. Most of this money hasn’t been used to buy stock. I’m using the cash to sell options. I also added my dividend and options income of $11,563. The total amount of money I invested in 2016 came to $61,563.
Status – Achieved
Goals Retrospective – Two
Goal – Find 250 new blogs of interest and make at least two meaningful comments on each blog.
Results – I knocked this goal out early in the year. I visited more than 500 new blogs and made many comments. This was a fun goal. I found a bunch of new sites, and managed to drive new readers to my site.
Status – Achieved
Goals Retrospective – Three
Goal – Take my wife on two trips.
Results – I took my wife on three trips this year. These were all business trips, which is great because she was able to travel with me for the cost of airfare. We went to NYC once, and LA twice. In NYC, we saw two Broadway shows and had a few nice dinners with old friends. In LA, we went to Universal Studios, the Magic Castle, and a few other tourist traps.
Status – Achieved
Goals Retrospective – Four
Goal – Collect $7,500 in dividends.
Results – I earned $6,252 in dividends this year. In August, I sold $70k worth of stock. I knew I would miss my dividend income goal by doing this, but I did use the money to make more money than dividends could pay me. I used the $70k to sell options. My options income in 2016 was $5,311. Dividend income combined with options income came to $11,563.
Status – Failed, sort of.
Goals Retrospective – Goal Five
Goal – Spend one day a month hanging out with my son.
Results – As expected, this was the toughest goal I set. My son is 15, and 15-year-olds don’t think their parents are cool. I missed the first two months of the year, but I made up for it in the second half of the year. We went crabbing twice (on of our favorite activities). We also spent a few Saturdays playing XBOX all day. We also went to Six Flags, the beach, and spent a few weekends at Lacrosse tournaments.
Status – Achieved
Goals Retrospective – Six
Goal – Lose 26 pounds. I will drop my weight from 226 pounds to 200 pounds.
Results – Sadly I missed this goal. However, I did drop my weight from 226 to 208. This is an 18 pound weight reduction. Considering that I travel one week a month (hotel living), I’m really happy with my weight.
Status – Failed
Goals Retrospective – Goal Seven
Goal – Increase my Alexa rank.
- Global rank increase from 3,049,900 to less than 1,000,000
- United States rank increase from 621,857 to less than 300,000
Results – As of 12/28 my Alexa rank is as follows: Global 389,284, US Rank 122,600. I’ve posted at a slower rate the past 90-days. This has led to the rank I have today. Earlier in the year, I made it up to ranks of Global 223,034 and US 61,344. Overall, I’m happy with my current Alexa rank.
Status – Achieved
Final Thoughts
Overall, I’m really happy with the results of my 2016 goals. I failed at my dividend goal, but more than made of for the shortfall with options income. I also failed at my weight loss goal. I lost most of the weight but missed the goal by 8 pounds.
My 2017 goals, will be much of the same. I set a $50k investment goal every year. Weight loss will be a theme too. I’m also going to set a goal to make passive income outside of the stock market. I’m not sure what this will be yet; either P2P lending or rental income. Stay tuned for my 2017 goals.
Do you set annual goals? If yes, did you meet your 2016 goals?