In this blog post, I share eight highlights and achievements from 2019. This was all possible through setting goals for 2019, I wrote a post on how to set goals here. Having these goals in place really helped me have a productive 2019. While I didn’t accomplish all I set out to achieve this year, I definitely was able to achieve a lot and I’m very excited for what’s to come in the New Year!

 

A Recap And Highlights From 2019

 

They say you don’t know where you’re going till you know where you’ve been…

With the busyness of life, it’s so easy to just keep going without pausing to take stock of your achievements and accomplishments. Too often we’re so focussed on the next goal and milestone that we want to attain, that we never take a moment to commend ourselves for what we have been able to do.

With that being said, I wanted to take some time out to reflect on my 2019. It’s been an eventful year. I’ve had many highs and a few real lows, but overall I’m thankful for how far God has brought me and excited to see what’s in store for my future.

There have been many highlights this year which I could write about, however, without running the risk of boring you or losing your interest I settled on the top 8 things that I wanted to share.

In this blog post, I share nine highlights and achievements from 2019. This was all possible through setting goals for 2019, I wrote a post on how to set goals here. Having these goals in place really helped me have a productive 2019. While I didn’t accomplish all I set out to achieve this year, I definitely was able to achieve a lot and I’m very excited for what’s to come in the New Year!

Without further ado, let’s get into my 8 highlights of 2019:

 

1 – The Birth Of My 3rd Son

 

Photo by ET Photograpy

 

This year I gave birth to my 3rd son. He’s been the biggest blessing and the perfect addition to our family. It was around this time last year that I had a gender reveal and found out I was having a 3rd boy. I’ll admit I was initially disappointed, but fast forward a year later and he really was the perfect addition to our family. God really does know best and I couldn’t imagine our family any other way!

 

2 – Tolufrimpong.com

 

It’s nearly a year since I launched this blog. I can’t believe I committed to it for a whole 12 months. Granted I’ve definitely slowed down my pace over the last few months, however, I’m pleased to report that I’ve published at least one blog post every single month this year. That’s a huge accomplishment in itself for me, as I start and stop things all the time. I’m committed to this blog for the long haul and I’m determined to make it a success. Thank you for reading this post and thanks to all my subscribers that have been reading my blog posts. Every comment, every repost, every share every email, motivates me to keep going and keep putting out useful content.

 

3 – Etsy Printables Store

 

2020 Yearly Daily Exercise Habit Tracker for Planners and Bullet Journalling

 

Do you find it hard to create and maintain new habits? I know this is something I’ve always struggled with. I’m good at doing challenges, but once the challenge is over I very quickly slip back into my old ways. In November I attempted to develop a few new habits (see below) and I was consistent with these habits throughout the month. The sense of accomplishment and satisfaction I got from colouring in the completed boxes each day motivated me to do it again the next day, and the day after that.

 

November 2019 goals (4)-min

 

Because of this, I decided to create new yearly trackers for 2020 for different areas I want to develop daily habits. I decided to open an Etsy Shop to share these Printables with you, in the hopes that you’ll find them as useful as I do. If you grab a copy please take a picture and tag me in it #toluprintables.

I’ll be adding more items to the store over the coming months so stay tuned.

VISIT MY ETSY STORE

4 – New YouTuber

I’ve wanted to start a YouTube channel for the longest time – I’m talking years and years! However, I always talked myself out of it because of the fear of other people’s judgment. In December 2018, while drafting my 2019 goals I decided to add creating a YouTube channel to my list. The goal was to launch the channel in March 2019, however, I procrastinated all the way up to December! When I was reviewing my 2019 goals at the end of November, I knew this was one goal I did not want to fail at achieving this year.

Feel the fear and do it anyway is my 2020 mantra. I launched my channel a couple of weeks ago and guess what? I didn’t die – people have actually watched my videos and subscribed to my channel! What’s standing in your way of pursuing your goals? On the other side of fear is greatness. I mean I don’t exactly have hundreds or thousands of subscribers. But there is something freeing about doing what you have in your mind to do without concerning yourself with what others have to say about it. Don’t let fear stop you from unlocking your greatness.

 

 

5 – Read 10 Books

I had a very ambitious and unrealistic goal of reading 52 books in 2019. Given that I had only read a handful of books in 2018, why I thought I’d be able to read so many books in a year is beyond me. I did however manage to read 10 books this year, a few of which I’ve written reviews on. Check out my 2019 reading list below.

 

  • The Richest Man In Babylon, by George S Clason – Book Summary
  • The Total Money Makeover, by Dave Ramsey – Book Review
  • Slay in Your Lane, by Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené – Book Review
  • Becoming, by Michelle Obama – Book Review
  • Crush It! Why Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion, by Gary Vaynerchuk – Buy Now
  • Rich Dad Poor Dad, by Rob Kiosaki – Buy Now
  • Heart and Hustle: Use your passion. Build your brand. Achieve your dreams by Patricia Bright – Buy Now
  • How to win friends and influence people, by Dale Carnegie – Buy Now
  • Think And Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill – Buy Now
  • Raising Boys in the 21st Century, by Steve Biddulph – Buy Now

 

I’ve also started a new Finance Online Book Club on Facebook. I literally launched the group a few days ago and already have over 20 members. We’ll be reading and reviewing one personal finance book a month. The first book we’ll be reviewing is The Meaningful Money Handbook. You’re more than welcome to join us.

 

6. Deluxe Crochet Braids

 

Deluxe Crochet Braids

 

In September I decided I needed to proactively start looking at ways to generate additional income. While passive income is the goal, it’s a slow burner, and I knew it would take time before I will see real financial gains from all my passive income pursuits. I decided to start looking at ways to generate active income and started to declutter and sell things from around my house.

Additionally, I decided to put my hairdressing skills to good use and start doing crochet braids from home for clients in my local area. I’ve know how to do hair for years and it’s great to get paid for my skills. It’s convenient for now and works nicely around my family life.

Check out my hairdressing page on Instagram Deluxe Croch;et Braids  

 

7 – Raising Future Kings

 

Soon after giving birth to my 3rd son I started Raising Future Kings (RFK). It’s a page on Instagram celebrating families just like mine with all sons worldwide. I wrote a whole post on why I started Raising Future Kings here, have a read if you want to find out more. In 7 months we’ve grown the page to over 800 followers worldwide. I’ve connected with so many amazing women and it’s been great to hear their stories and refreshing to know my family isn’t incomplete, it’s perfect just the way it is! #proudboymana. I have some exciting ideas for RFK in 2020 and can’t wait to share them with you in the coming months.

 

8. Mortgage Overpayments

 

I’m pleased to report that we have made it through another year without acquiring any debt. This is despite me being on statutory maternity pay for most of the year. What’s more, we’ve managed to overpay our Mortgage every single month. While the actual amount varies each month, we’ve been able to overpay a minimum of £100 each month.

This isn’t because we are rich or extremely high earners; this is the result of living below our means and budgeting.

 

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, these are just some of my 2019 highlights, I haven’t even touched on all the personal and family events that happened this year. All in all, 2019 has been an eventful year and I’m excited to see what 2020 will bring!

How has your 2019 been?