There are three items that I resolved to work on in 2026.
I will say that in the past, I have been great at returning things that do not fit or I do not like IRL. It is now time to get serious and just not buy. That brings me to, as with every year, needing to cool it on the online shopping. I really should just wear the clothes that are already in my closet. I did a little mental inventory on my closet and did you know that I could wear a “new” outfit every week on the blog with clothes that I have not managed yet to snap a photo in?
In order to wear the clothes I say I am going to wear and my wedding jewelry which I cannot seem to slide onto my ring finger, I need to lose some of what I am assuming is weight triggered by cortisol. On top of that, I eat for comfort. Running and high intensity interval training is out of the question, due to the right foot pain. (Sorry, Barry’s.) But, remember circa 2022 when the embassy gym shut down due to the then-newest Covid-19 variant? I resorted to weight lifting and body weight exercises to get moving then, and it worked! The exercise was something I ended up looking forward to every day. These days, per my podiatrist, I need to skip the lunges, squats, and calf raises. Not ideal, but I can make like Jane Fonda with a broken ankle.
Finally, I have not picked up a book in…months. Unless, that is, a book of Petite Garcon’s or Bebe Deux’s because that is a nightly ritual. Rather than become self loathing that I am becoming unread, I am going to commit to burning through the audio books I have. At the gym, on my walks, during light days at the office: these are all times that I can manage listening to an audiobook. And before anyone says anything sassy, no I do not think of audiobooks as “reading.” But I have eleven unfinished audiobooks; one-ish per month. Baby steps.
how about a few 2025 wins?
My husband and I like to operate under the idea that needs are covered by his paychecks, and my pay could go away any moment. It makes what’s left over after the contribution feel like more than it is. It also keeps us living at a relatively modest means.
While I have ping ponged a 401k to different employer’s financial service hosts ever since getting out of grad school, 2025 was the first year I maxed out my contribution to the Federal limit. I was militant about rolling over my 401k as soon as I was eligible to open an account with my employer, six months in. I also rolled over payout from an ESOP I was a member of up until 2019, and as I always forget about this money, I used it to experiment with different funds.
2025 was the year I started diverting my Lucindervention money to an investment account. (And thank you for being here.) I look forward to starting custodial investment accounts for the boys, (today!) in order to diversify their investments beyond for education.
I continued to contribute to the boys’ 529 accounts, this year more aggressively than last. Did you know that the per contributor, per beneficiary, annual gift tax exclusion remains at 19,000 dollars for 2026? We definitely aren’t there yet. Maybe next year.