Now that we have established what I have accomplished during the past 100 days, it is time to think about the future. Like the old saying goes, ‘if you fail to plan, you plan to fail’. I must admit that in the past planning has been a bit of a weakness. I prefer to just see what happens and adjust.

Unfortunately, this type of thinking can really get you into trouble. In fact, over the past 24 months, the ‘old bull‘ has managed to pack on about 30 pounds. Since I never really plan my lunches out in advance, I typically get into a crunch for time and just grab Zaxby’s, or something equally as unhealthy. Additionally, my doctor is so frustrated with me that he did not even gripe at me. He simply sighed and told me to come back in three months. Talk about demoralizing!

With that in mind, it is imperative that I do something about my shape! Yes, I know that round is a shape, but I truly need to work on my fitness levels. I have been so focused on trying to become debt free that I have stopped doing the things that are truly important in life. So here it goes…written goals for the all the world to see – all three of you

Fitness Related Goals

• eat a healthy diet (no more McDonalds and Zaxby’s)
• 30 minutes of cardio – 4 times a week
• free weights – 3 times a week
• drink 5 glasses of water and no more than 6 sodas (yes friends – I drink 8 to 10 diet cokes a day)

Personal Finance Goals

• complete a zero-based budget every two weeks
• stop the slippage that is occurring in our budget
• re-establish our emergency fund

Passive Income Goals

• write 10 articles for eHow and Infobarrel
• write 30 articles for my bum marketing experiment
• make 5 sales on new affiliate products not previously promoted
• get ChasingTheBull up to a page rank of 3 (currently sitting at PR2) – which reminds me, if you want to advertise here, just let me know
• write at least 4 posts a week here (I know I have been seriously slacking lately)

So there you have it. My next 100 days are planned out and set in stone.

What are your goals for the next 100 days? What do you want to accomplish by August 8, 2009?

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President Obama thinks he has had his work cut out for him since taking the oath of office. Some people think he has done a good job. If you like deficit spending, socialization of our nation’s banks and complete disregard for the American lifestyle then you probably agree. To be honest with you, I have been pretty busy myself during the past 100 days. Here are a few of my recent accomplishments.

1. I developed my own economic stimulus plan. Unlike our government, I used a common sense approach and decided to cut costs instead of cutting checks. Spending your way of trouble does not seem to be the best answer for me or my family. Call me crazy, but I refuse to participate in this recession.

2. I did not buy a new dog. I already have my hands full with Scottish Terrier (the angel that she is) and my Silky Terrier (who may just be the devil incarnate). Seriously, if you want to save money on carpet cleaning, do not own a boy dog. Trust me, it is a bad idea.

3. Instead of worrying about whether or not I am going to be laid off, I decided to start my own company. It is nothing big….yet, but if I can keep my passive income growing at approximately the same rate, in a few years it may be something to talk about. Of course, Mr. Obama will want to tax it at 50% but that is a post for another time.

4. I got my hair cut just a bit shorter this time. Why? Because change is good, right Obama? This is the kind of change Americans want! Not the complete dismantling of our capitalistic society. I promise you one thing, our founding fathers were smarter than you, me and most people on the planet. Leave the Constitution alone and let’s get back to work.

5. I have worked on my foreign relations. I spent 10 days in Nicaragua learning that I do not want to live in a socialistic society. Call it what you want, but anytime you sell your votes to the opposing party to get out of prison, there has been a fundamental breakdown of the democratic principles. Think this only happens in a third world country, think again. Even today our freedom of speech is being attacked.

As CNSNews.com has reported, some Democrats are talking about reinstating the Fairness Doctrine, a federal regulation that required equal time for the expression of different political views on the public airwaves.

Critics of the move, including many Republicans, say Democrats want to re-impose the Fairness Doctrine to force an end to conservative talk radio.

So there you have it President Obama. Everyone has had a few challenges in the past 100 days. We all want change, but not at any cost. Do not sell our children’s future so that you can write another book and make another $4 million.We both want America to be the great country that it is.

Of course, I am not trying to destroy the United States in the process. I am simply trying to put food on the table.

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This post was inspired by a similar post at Xomba. If you are interested in a new way to make money online for FREE, check out XOMBA.

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I returned from my trip to Nicaragua early Monday morning. I do not think I will ever be the same again. What an awesome experience!

One thing I learned was that the average Nica (the name for the Nicaraguan people) earns only $2 per day. Additionally, unemployment is currently hovering between 50 and 60%. There are simply no opportunities available to the common person. If you do not have a job with the government (or are a member of the opposing political party), you have to figure out a way to make your own income; which is what most people do simply to put food on the table.

These facts got me thinking about how much money and resources I waste on a daily basis. From sodas to electricity to leftovers, I probably throw away more in a week than the average Nica makes in 3 months. For example, last month I spent $40 on sodas (yes…I am addicted). This represents only $20 less than these people will EARN during that same time frame. It makes me wonder how I can justify spending so much on sodas when water would work just fine, and is actually better for me. Additionally, I typically keep my house at a comfortable 72 degrees during the summer. Most Nicas do not have A/C in their houses and survive just fine even when the temperature is above 100 degrees. I am not saying that I am going to live without A/C, it simply makes me wonder if I could raise that temperature up to 75 or so.

What about you? How much do you waste on a daily basis? Is there anything you could eliminate that would help your family financially?

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