Dear Universe,
I have three main resolutions for 2008. Please feel free to suggest ways to facilitate their accomplishment and check in during the year to see how things are going.
1. Be more green.
[Any suggestions on how to measure this?] I did not own a car in 2007. That may not seem strange if you live in New York, London, or Tokyo – however, I live in Boston. Unfortunately, externalities require that I buy a car this spring (but I’ll still take the train to work). So I’ll compensate by trying to be more green in other ways. For example, we’ve piloted a coffee mug program at work, where I’ve been told we use over 5,000 paper cups a week. I may never go as far as my childhood friend and wind power guru Dave, but it’s a start.
2. Lose some weight.
Metric: 10 pounds – what I’ve gained over the past two years. Okay, I may not need seat belt extenders when flying, but I haven’t exercised on a regular basis since joining Forrester in December 2005. Thankfully, my analyst picture was shot the month I started.
3. Save more money.
Metric: break-even cash flow. You may find this silly, but I got some great ideas from watching Oprah. I think for the past five years it’s been easy for any self-directed investor to think that they’ve made good choices. A 60% gain in the Dow Jones Industrial Average…doesn’t take much skill to buy an index fund and forget about it. But life has become more complicated with 401(k)s, 529s, and a global credit crisis looming – time to find a good financial adviser.
That’s some of what being me will be like in 2008.
Sincerely,
Pete