Day 344 - Nightly Roundup.

1. Happy and passionate marriage to Greg. Check.

2. Enjoy and nurture the kids. Lots of time snuggled up reading nursery rhymes that I had gotten as posters.

3. Publish my book, The Frugal Millionairess, in 2010. I'm really enjoying The New Writer's Handbook, though I'm only to page 22. I had thought it was a list of editors and agents, but it's a compilation of inspiring essays from published authors. Here's a passage that spoke to me and hopefully you too if you're also using this year to write a book.

For the next week, sit down with a kitchen timer for five minutes without lifting your keys from the keyboard.....no matter how busy you are, devote five minutes. Most people can write about 250 words in five minutes. That's about one page of a double spaced manuscript. Do that every day for a year and you'll have a book.

4. Found and build a successful company of dual use educational products.

Found another business plan template at www.score.org. This is terrific and in HTML, not PDF so I was able to start right in. There are 150 questions and I got through page 10 of 32 in about half an hour. Some of these questions will need to be flushed out with further data, but this was MUCH, MUCH, MUCH more effective than just trying to write it from scratch. If you too are building a business this year, I can't recommend it highly enough. From the SCORE website.

The real value of creating a business plan is not in having the finished product in hand; rather, the value lies in the process of researching and thinking about your business in a systematic way. The act of planning helps you to think things through thoroughly, study and research if you are not sure of the facts, and look at your ideas critically. It takes time now, but avoids costly, perhaps disastrous, mistakes later.

It typically takes several weeks to complete a good plan. Most of that time is spent in research and re-thinking your ideas and assumptions. But then, that’s the value of the process. So make time to do the job properly. Those who do never regret the effort. And finally, be sure to keep detailed notes on your sources of information and on the assumptions underlying your financial data.

5. Complete the four sides and middle of the back yard to become a groomed, beautiful, bird sanctuary. Brought in another geranium to winter in the comparative tropics of our kitchen...

6. FI in 2010 in part due to new revenues from book and business and in part due to reducing living expenses. Big, cheap, crock pot casserole that should get us through several meals.

7. Spirit/catchall. Be in the moment. Experience and give joy each day. Laugh a lot. Nice chat on the phone with a friend today.

8. Be and feel beautiful and healthy - 30 minutes cardio.

9. Lovely organized home that rises up to meet me and adds enjoyment to each day.- Spent about 10 minutes on the front foyer and front stoop to make them a bit more festive. The kitchen, on the other hand, is a disaster full of dirty dishes and food that needs to be put away, but it looks nice in the entry hall;-).


10. Continuous advancement of my business knowledge through a strong and growing business vocabulary. Supply elasticity, chief information officer, cost efficiency, cost per inquiry.