Ok, I’m really late getting this out there. January seemed to come and go and I didn’t get a lot done in the way of blogging. But I’m rested up and ready to jump back in and get the blog running consistently again. It means I’ve got to find some good post ideas, tags, etc. because my reading has been kind of slow and I’m needing some filler between reviews. It’s been pretty tough balancing my Etsy store with the blog and I’m thinking I’m going to have to give one or the other priority. I seem to overwhelm myself on the weekends and then don’t accomplish anything on the blog or in the store.
So, last year didn’t end so well. I went over $300 over budget. There was a con I hadn’t expected to attend and a lot more book purchasing than was intended. I now need a new bookcase. I’m running out of room for sure. There was also some missing local cons to help pay for some of the overages I was spending. I don’t intend to do that this year, but I also don’t have author line-ups yet for these events. That might lead to me skipping and maybe saving if I’m not interested in an event.
Below is the breakdown I’ve given myself for 2019. I didn’t leave a lot of book room, so hopefully I’ll be able to knock down some of this TBR I have on the shelves and on my Kindle.
| Category | Amount | Spent this Month | Remaining Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| B&N Membership Renewal | $25.00 | $0.00 | $25.00 |
| Readers & ‘Ritas 2019 Event Ticket | $231.62 | $0.00 | $231.62 |
| Buns & Roses + Bear | $75.00 | $0.00 | $75.00 |
| Boas & Tiaras | $50.00 | $0.00 | $50.00 |
| Audible Subscription | $292.56 | $0.00 | $292.56 |
| Books (Ebooks, paperbacks & hardcovers) | $320.82 | $0.00 | $320.82 |
| Total: | $1000.00 | $0.00 | $1000.00 |
I’m really wishing there were some other cons nearby. Plus I really wanted to go to Booklovers Con in New Orleans this year, but that is a no go. I’m hoping to do a lot more book and blog related things this year. Focus more on what I’ve got going on instead of taking on more. Here are a few things I’d like to do in 2019!
- Blog consistently. I like to have posts for at least 4 days a week. I want to try and get back to that this year
- Spend more time reading. I’m so behind in my TBR, I need to make sure to take some time to do that on a daily basis
- Visit, comment & share more blogs. I have a very small goal of 5 blogs a day, but I never seem to get to them. I have Feedly, but I seem to only get to the blogs that I have subscribed to via email. I need to start at least meeting my goal.
- Learn and participate more on Twitter. Seriously, someone needs to give me a class on the best way to keep up with what goes on on Twitter. I’m completely lost half the time and I’m not seeing anything on FB! I am so out of the loop much of the time! So I would say this one is socialize more.
- Be more visible on social media. Post more and interact more.
I kept the goals short and sweet so that maybe I’ll actually hit them! We’ll see how I do. I think if I stop trying to pack so much into my weekends and actually use some of my evening and morning hours, I should be able to handle this.
Do you have any book or blog goals set for this year? Are you tracking yourself and how do you do it?
