September was a pretty slow month in terms of progress towards my goals. Not much to really report on here – slight increases to most of the goals which I’m happy about. A lot of work is needed to ensure I reach them by the end of 2021 though!
If you want to see my goals for 2021 and original starting points, with more explanation and background, check out my Goals for 2021 post.
Finances/Wealth
Grow Net Worth to $200,000
- On the 1st of October, my net worth is at $128,783 (an decrease of 0.1% from September).
- The market has been quite volatile this past month – while not an increase, it’s good to see this has been steady given some pretty bad days.
- If you were interested in how I grew my net worth over the past few years, check out the video I made here.
Grow Self Wealth Portfolio to $100,000
- My investment portfolio is now sitting at $97,232.37. Slight increase of around $1,000.
- This is including my house deposit – however, this is still contributing to my goal as it’s now within my portfolio – but also it shows that I have created this amount of wealth (almost).
- Again, great to see this is positive given the market volatility over September.
Spend a Maximum of $30,000 – failed
- In September, I spent $205 less than my goal budget of $2,500.
- September was my biggest savings rate – perhaps on record! Due to the lucky month of being paid 3 times rather than the usual 2, my savings rate was 72.5%!
- As at October 2021, I have spent $34,797.97.
- Yearly savings rate is 43%.
- See below for a chart of expenses:
Grow House Deposit to $40,000
- Over August, my house deposit grew from $37,823 to $38,933.
- I should be able to reach this goal next month!
Health/Fitness
Increase Strength Across the Major Powerlifting Movements, Reassessed Every 3 Months
- Current lifts and goals are updated as below:
- Squat (reach 120kg – started at currently at 95kg – haven’t tested one rep max)
- Bench Press (reach 95kg – started at 82.5kg – currently at 87.5kg – 15 April 2021)
- Deadlift (reach 160kg – currently at 140kg – haven’t tested one rep max)
- Overhead Press (reach 70kg – started at 57.5kg – currently at 60kg – 15 May 2021)
- Gyms have been closed due to lockdown – so no powerlifting training has been happening.
Increase Lean Muscle Mass
- Current lean muscle mass is 64.1kg (-1.8kg from September).
- Weight is sitting at 91.3kg (-1kg from September).
- Fat mass is 23.8kg (+0.8kg from September).
- My door pull up bar has arrived and I’m doing a 30 day planking challenge – so that has gotten me working out a bit. I have also been starting to do a morning workout routine. Given the changes in body composition and such large changes, I know that my scales aren’t completly accurate – and perhaps things like exercise, water intake, etc have a major influence, but overall I’ll still be using these to determine whether I achieve this goal or not.
Nathan Challenges Life
Grow YouTube Channel to 1,000 Subscribers and Reach 4,000 Watch Hours (monetisation criteria)
- Current subscribers = 382 (+19 during September)
- Watch hours = 741 (+41 over August)
- See below for September’s stats. Not quite as good as July, but great to see some subscriber growth.
Publish 100 Videos on my YouTube Channel
- Videos = 78 (2 during September).
- I created 2 videos in September (How I Made 150 Redbubble Designs in 30 Days, and Doing Planks Every Day for 30 Days).
Write 50 Blog Posts on Nathan Challenges Life
- In September, I didn’t write any blog posts on my Medium profile, here!
- Current posts = 19.
Personal Development
Create Nathan’s Mobile PT and Gain 5 Regular Clients – DONE!
- Still maintaining a regular 7 clients
- Currently lockdown in Canberra so trainings have been off since mid August.
- Once lockdown is over, and I’m a few weeks back into the regular routine, I’m definitely going to push hard to find a casual PT who can do more sessions for the business. Currently doing some research into hiring a personal trainer.
Read 30 Books
- Currently at 17/30.
- In September, I finished reading Invent and Wander by Walter Isaacson.
- I post all my book reviews on my Goodreads profile – check them out!
Experiences
I have been thinking about the things I want to do and try. So for 2021, I’m going to keep a list of things to do throughout the year to make sure I get them done. See below for my current list of things – I may add to this list as time goes on:
Test drive a Tesla– DONE (June)!Get my motorbike licence– DONE! (January)!- Get my full motobike licence (I need to book this in August).
- Attend a Jiu Jitsu class – I’ve put this off due to COVID concerns.
- Organise a cycle-touring holiday/trip – I’ve done a bit of research into a few areas, the problem is having the right equipment. I will revisit when the weather is warmer.
- Attend a CrossFit class (Weather is getting nicer – need to book in on a free weekend!).
- Break a Guinness world record (There are two ideas I’ve thought of, I’ve applied for the documents for one of them, and I’m tossing up the other as it will take up a lot of time – I’ll have a think about it soon. It takes roughly 12 weeks to receive documents to start the record, then more to submit).
- Complete an obstacle course race – not completed just yet, there are quite limited numbers around me, may need to travel to NSW to complete this (hard at the moment as I don’t have any leave).
Go to an escape room– DONE! (August).
Summary
Overall though, actually quite decent. I had an awesome savings rate in September (72.5%), increased my portfolio and house deposit, and made some progress on personal development goals as well.
How have you been travelling with your goals?
Are you still focused on your new year’s resolution(s)?
If you don’t measure, you can’t manage!
Nathan
Nathan Challenges Life 