Are You On Track With Your Goals? Here’s Our Honest Mid-Q1 Review

Welcome to The In Between Podcast, a show for women navigating the space between where they are and where they want to be.

This is your go-to holistic business podcast where we dive into strategies, mindset, habits, and of course, making a meaningful income so you can live your dream life.

I'm Astrid, a multi-six-figure luxury wedding photographer and a former corporate marketing girly.

And I'm Alexis with 10+ years in tech as a senior brand partnerships manager and business coach. Think of us as your business besties cheering you on as you level up. Let's get into it.

Welcome to The InBetween Podcast. This is one of your hosts, Astrid, and the other half, Alexis.

And today on the pod, it is halfway through Q1. We are already mid-February. That's crazy for me to say. So we thought that it would be fun to do a mid-quarter goal check-in. Um, if you haven't listened to the podcast we did back in December and early Jan where we were talking about our goals and like what's really top of mind, how to set goals. Highly recommend going and listening to that if you haven't done that yet already. Totally fine. You can start your year whenever you want. Um, but we thought it might be helpful to kind of go through and say where we are with our goals. I think a lot of times we can set our goals and our intentions, our New Year's resolutions in the beginning of the year, but we don't always have that intentional check-in. And so it's mid-Q1. We're going to do a check-in on both of our goals on the career, business, and life side of things. So I'm really excited for this because I love talking about goals. I love talking about the progress I've made on them. And then I also like, like gut-checking myself and being like, oh, this is something I want to do and I have not made any progress. So we'll also be exposing ourselves. So I think that's like the best part of this conversation is for you to see what we haven't done too.

Absolutely. I feel like any episode where we expose ourselves, everyone loves and everyone loves to DM us on it and be like, me too. But yeah, I, I'm so excited for this. I feel like this is my very own or our very own mastermind where we get to hold each other accountable. And as I was prepping for this podcast, I was like, okay, one, I'm not very good at stopping and celebrating the things that I have done so far. And 2, there's these things that I have in my radar that I have not started, but there's still time to do. So I'm excited for us to chat through it and hold each other accountable. And just putting it back in the radar and being able to actually finish a quarter off and be like, I got it done because we intentionally checked in.

Yeah, 100%. Um, before we dig in, let's do life updates and in-betweens. So life update for me, Matthew and I just got back from a ski trip in Breckenridge, Colorado. We had the best time and it was my second ski season ever. I learned how to ski last winter, and this was my second time, and I had so much fun. Like, I feel so much more comfortable learning, going slow. Like, I'm truly on greens only. If you are a skier or a snowboarder, you know what that means. Basically, I'm on like the easiest runs possible, but I was able to do much longer, steeper runs this time. And we got down from one green, and Matthew was like, I didn't want to tell you this while we were up there, but this is a green, but really there are parts of it that are blue, which is the highest— or sorry, the one level up. And I was like, ooh, okay, great. I'm making progress. I didn't fall once. I wore my fur coat that I thrifted a couple weeks ago the entire time. I was so happy. I am a cabin girl at heart who is stuck in the heat of Texas. I like it here, but you know what I'm saying? I really do feel like I'm born to be in cold all-season weather. So my little Midwest snow bunny heart was very, very happy. So that's my life update.

I love that so much for you. I feel like you really thrive in the mountains. It's like your own little magical place.

Yeah.

And she's a ski girl now. She's like, I go every winter to ski.

Wait, did I not look so hot?

Girl, you looked amazing. I added it to my Pinterest board immediately.

I know that that's so ridiculous to say, but I've been working on my confidence journey And like also my content journey and really wanting to like step up content. And I was so proud of my content that I filmed or like took on this, this trip. I was like, okay, we are slaying, we are confident. And I loved it. I loved my outfit.

So you look like an Alo model. Thank you. Like the set. I'm obsessed with you.

Thank you. I appreciate that so much. I will tuck that away for a rainy day. What life updates do you have?

I love you so much. Life updates. Honestly, just getting back on my feet after being so sick.

Yeah. Yeah.

And also just feeling really grateful to be an entrepreneur during a time where I'm sick because I can just take the time that my body needs to rest. And that felt really good. And I canceled my trip to New York last week. And even though I didn't want to do that, just having the flexibility to do so, um, was really great, honestly. And I have zero regrets. It was exactly what my body needed. And I had a great week at home, just like resetting the house, cleaning things up. Doing laundry. Uh, we had a great, like, little Super Bowl party of 2 with my boyfriend and I.

I love that.

It was perfect. We, uh, were both craving chili, so we, we, we cooked together, which is really fun. We, like, put music on, we put some Kendrick, you know, as a little pregame, and then we made some chili, had some dinner, and then just watched the Super Bowl together, which was so fun. It was like what we like to call, like, the best friend zone, the best friend kind of night.

Yeah.

So we loved it. Um, and yeah, just kind of getting things wrapped up in the business, a lot of big projects that happened this in January that I will share later as some of my checkoffs for my goals for this year. And yeah, I got a facial, which I was like so, so happy to do because your girl struggles with very sensitive skin and allergies. And the past few times I've gone, it's all natural products, but I was still Um, reacting to it. And so we finally figured out what works for my skin. And now I'm 30, and now I feel like I'm excited to dive more into professional medical-grade skincare and all that good stuff without fearing the allergic reaction. So yeah, that's kind of where I'm at.

That was so cute. You were like, I'm 30 now, and I'm 30 now. Like, the cutest. Um, I'm so glad that you found a facial That did not break you out or like cause you to have an allergic reaction. That's truly the worst. So I'm so glad that you found a routine with your esthetician that works. Slay! And also, I love that you guys did a low-key Super Bowl. We just did. We did something similar with our friends Danielle and Javi. It was just us four, like on the couch eating chili, and they did chili cheese dogs. Like they had, they like got out the griddle and like. Made hot dogs, and so we did chili cheese tacos. It was so good. But yeah, I loved the halftime. I was like, this is art. This is unreal. I feel like we could do a whole podcast episode just like breaking down the lore that is that halftime show. It was nuts.

Our brains were blown. We like spent the rest of the night and all of Monday sending TikToks to each other being like, this part meant this, and this meant this. And I was like, he's just a genius. He's also my boyfriend's favorite, like ultimate favorite artist. Yeah. So we were both geeking on that too. I was like, yeah, it was so, so much fun. I have a lot of respect for Kendrick and his art and how he puts everything together.

Yeah, same. I looked at Matthew, I was like, I bet Nick is loving this.

Oh, literally, he was, he was having the time of his life.

I love it. Um, well, because this is the In Between Podcast, we always share something that we're in between every week when we record because We believe that you are always in between something. So to share mine, something that's super top of mind is I'm working through a lot of inbox anxiety. So my inbox, like day over day, just keeps growing with my job and I feel really anxious about it. Like I also am at the point where the inbox is so high that I have this false sense of Like if I could just have a whole day with no meetings, I would be able to get it down to inbox zero. And it's just not like every email is an action item too. And so it's not just like, let me just fire off a couple of responses. It's like it's tied to more work. And I'm really working through that right now. I've never had inbox anxiety quite like this before. And it's been really interesting. So I am chipping away every day a little bit by a little bit, but the like self-sabotage of like, I just not going to do it if I can't get it down to zero is not working anymore. So I, yeah, that's what I've been working through right now on the professional side. It's been interesting so much so that I've like tried to find podcast episodes about people that struggle with inbox anxiety. And there really isn't that much out there. And I don't know if it's like. Called something else, but I'm like, am I the only one out here that like stresses the F out over my email inbox? Like, we need to do a podcast episode on this, girl.

No, you're definitely not alone, or we're the only ones because we just get each other. No, literally, when I went full-time and I hired my assistant, my inbox was at 100,000. I hit the 100K unread. Which is— yeah, it was a lot. Um, but I feel you. Like, the anxiety was crippling, and, uh, it's hard. It's hard to like know you have all of this to-do list, but that's just like looming over you, and you're like, I need to get back to this person. Or is there something— it feels like something's falling through the cracks.

Yep.

And you have not—

like, you don't—

having enough time to do that as well is really hard. So I feel for you. I don't have any tips on my end, honestly.

Like, I can't help you.

I was so overwhelmed. overwhelmed and crippled by anxiety that I had my assistant help me and be like, please just take this off my plate. Your goal is— your only goal is to get me back to zero because I need help. But I think you're doing a great job of just chipping away at it every day, not letting it accumulate even more and get worse than where it's at. And I know for a fact that you will be able to catch up soon.

Thank you.

Thank you for sharing. I think I think you'll figure it out.

It's been interesting. It does make me feel like I don't have— every day doesn't feel successful because that looms over me. And so I've been journaling on the fact that the inbox anxiety is stealing the joy of any accomplishment I have during the day or during the week because I'm so focused on what's not happening that I'm not looking at like, this is also all the things you're making progress on. So that's been interesting. Over to you. What are you in between right now?

Okay. I am in between a lot right now. I'm trying to decide which one to go with. I guess the one that's more fresh on top of mind is I shared a bit with you before the podcast, kind of like what was going on, but I just overall I'm in between processing a lot of the things that are happening at work and just everyday struggles of growing your business and all that good stuff. And also taking the time to just be really, really grateful of how much my life has changed since 2020. And that I, in 2020, I had a full-time job with also doing my business on the side and that I barely slept. It was very, very exhausting. And if you've listened to the podcast for a while, I also went through a very traumatic relationship and divorce and it was very toxic. And so now being where I'm at and just like, I don't know, I guess I get so stuck in what's next and What's my goal? And today we're talking about goals, right? It's like, okay, I haven't done X, Y, and Z, and this is where I want to go. And almost like this mindset of lack or it's not enough. And I think I'm just in between wanting to really shift my mindset as I continue to grow of holding both space for how I want to expand and also continuously looking back and being like, wow, I'm so grateful for the life I'm building. I'm so joyful for it. And I feel like I do that often, but honestly, not often enough. I feel like my brain lives more in the space of what's the next thing. And so, yeah, so that's kind of what I'm in between is I really want to lean into that gratefulness, lean into that reflection of how far I've come as I continue to shift into what's to come for my career and my life.

Yeah, I love that. Gratefulness is grounding too. Like, it's like that reflectiveness that you mentioned. It, it really does ground you in how much you have grown and how much you've healed and how much you've overcome as well to get to where you are. So I'm, in a way, I'm glad that you're at this place where you want to step back and, and really like celebrate and and reflect on how much you've grown because you've, you've grown a lot. Like, we met— well, we've met like earlier, but we became friends in 2020. And yeah, like, your, your personal evolution is, is unreal. So I'm so proud of you.

Likewise. Thank you so much, love. Yeah. And, and this is just your reminder to take a step back as you're working through your goals if you feel overwhelmed by them. Like, first start with just how far you've come and celebrate that and all the wins in your personal life and in your career. And we can also work on our goals as we shift forward. So I'm excited for today's conversation and being able to take a step towards the life that we want to create and stop procrastinating on the things that we know we need to do that's going to help us get to that place that we want to go. While still holding space for grace and life and not being there just yet as well.

Yeah. Amen. With that, let's shift to our mid-quarter goal check-in. So a part of this is like us sharing where we are with our goals, but this is also an opportunity for you to build in a practice, whether it's a hold on your calendar or, you know, you're setting a date with yourself, but to really reflect on where you are with your goals, what you're making progress on, what has kind of been kicked to the wayside. Why? Like what has kind of fallen off your radar? Is it something that you actually still want to do? Sometimes we get very, very ambitious in the new year and we pile so much on. We have so much intention and so much ambition, but is that something that you actually want to pursue and prioritize? And I think an aspect of this process is helping you even refine What are my core goals? What really needs my prioritization and needs my attention? And what actually, like, yeah, it was, it was nice, but maybe that's something I could even deprioritize until Q3 or Q4 later in the year. If it's something that's not happening, you know, more naturally or organically, um, with your timing and in your calendar and schedule now. So with that said, um, I kind of want to go through mine first and we'll touch base on the career stuff. So one of my goals in my career, I am a senior brand partnerships manager at a company called Circle. And part of my compensation package is I have quarterly comp bonuses. So if I hit a specific goal, a metric that I've set with my manager, then I'm able to unlock different levels, especially if I like exceed it. I'm able to unlock different bonuses per quarter. So my goal this year was to hit every quarterly bonus target to 101%, which like puts me over that baseline. And I'm on track right now to hit my Q1 bonus. I can't tell you if I've hit it or not because it's not the end of the quarter, but I am pacing well towards that. And that feels really good to something I'm looking at every single week. Where are my metrics? What actions are mapping up for me to hit this metric? So that feels really, really great. And then on the business side, I'm going to share maybe one or two more and then do you want to go or do you want me to just do all my career and business and then you go?

Uh, you can, you can go ahead and do all your career and business and then, um, I can go afterwards.

Okay, perfect. Um, okay. So on the business side for my coaching business, so one of my goals for Q1 specifically was to start sending a weekly newsletter that was attached to a larger 2025 goal, which is to grow my newsletter to 5,000. Right now my subscribers are sitting at around 1,300, which is great. I think I can definitely hit 5K by the end of the year, but I have to start. So this is an area that I have not started yet, but I have been thinking a lot about the newsletter brand and name and the value that I want it to give people. And I have been thinking about that the last couple of of weeks, instead of it just being a newsletter that I send, I want there to be like a brand and experience around it. There are a few creators that do this really, really well, and their newsletter is actually part of their brand. Like it is a part of what people know them for. And I would like to have that kind of like launch release brand feel to a newsletter. So instead of just being like, I'm writing my email list now, I really want it to feel like a mini product, if you will, that's free. So I'm thinking through how I want to launch that this quarter, when I want to launch it, when— and also not using that as an excuse. Like, oh, that does sound like a lot of work. You want to have a brand, you want to have like— you want to have to have this extra feel. Like, is that an excuse or is that a roadblock that we're putting in front of the goal? But when I really step back and think about what problem I want the newsletter to solve and what role I want the newsletter to play in my business. I do want it to have that like productized feel to it. And so I do think that it requires like, what is the template? What is the layout? What are the content pillars I talk about in the newsletter? Like really being a bit more strategic about it. And I think that's what's been missing. So that is an area I have not prioritized. with action, but I have been brainstorming. So I'm going to give myself, I don't know, a 2 out of 5 on that goal. And then another one for the year was to launch a group cohort experience, AKA the In-Between Mastermind.

And that's done.

We launched our first mastermind. We have 6 incredible women in, and I'm so excited. It was so much fun to do that with you. We're going to have a whole separate podcast episode actually talking about that launch.

Awesome.

What went well, what didn't go well, what we learned. Because anytime that you're launching something, a new offer, you're communicating something, and you want someone to be like, yes, I want this, there's so much to learn. So we thought we would do a separate episode just breaking down like that whole process in hopes that it helps you when you're launching things for your business. Um, okay, another goal, and this was more of a Q2 goal that I know Q1 Q1 action needs to take place in order for me to hit this Q2 goal. I want to get my coaching client roster up to 5 clients at a time. I started the year with, um, 2 clients, one offboarded at the end of her contract. And so right now I'm at one client. And so I want to be working this quarter to ramp up inquiries and like talk about coaching a lot more so that I can get up to 5 clients by Q2. And then content. So this is my last little piece before I pass it over to you. So one of my 2025 goals is to hit 20,000 followers on Instagram by posting quality, valuable, and relatable content. That's what my notes say. Um, but progress I've made on that. So I've posted 13 pieces of content to my feed. In the new year from the time, you know, January 1st to the time we're recording this. And that's averaging about 2 posts a week. And I really want to scale this to 4 posts a week. Like I think in order for me to grow, every time I post, I'm gaining followers and like, that's great. I'm, I am pushed, that content's being pushed to a non-follower group and like, that's how you grow, but I need to be posting more. So that was actually really telling of like, okay, if I want to hit 20K by the end of the year, I actually need to gain about 1,000 to 1,200 followers a month to hit that goal.

Hmm.

So in the last 6 weeks, I've only gained 100, which is great. Like my growth on Instagram has actually been really stagnant and plateaued. Like I have hovered at the same number for months, years. So even just getting 100 new followers actually feels like a win. I'm like, okay. I've cracked something. Like, this feels good. One of my reels went kind of mini viral, the one I did, um, about the car. I think it's at like 45,000, 50,000 views on reels, which is great. And then I did run ads and we had last week's episode was all about content. Loved like yapping about that. Astrid and I yapped hard about how to, how to grow your content, how to create it, plan it, all that. So if you are curious about content creation, Go listen to that episode. Um, but I ran ads to one post and that gained me a lot of traction and about like 80 new followers. So those are where I'm at right now with my goals. Feels pretty good, but there's definitely some areas in particular I need to step it up, particularly the newsletter, the coaching inquiries, and the growth on Instagram.

I love that. I love this conversation so much, not just the accountability factor, And also letting our audience and our listeners into what we're working on. But I feel like there's so much value in learning the thought process of it. Right. And so like even you were chatting about your newsletter and like there's this specific goal that you have, which someone could be like, okay, pass or fail. But honestly, like you don't want to just like, okay, I did it and just like half-ass it and put it out there. And then you're like, it doesn't really align with my brand and all that good stuff. And so you have been brainstorming. And this is like the check-in point where you're like, okay, now let's put some legs to that brainstorming and make it walk forward towards that. But yeah, I love, I love hearing how everyone's processing the goals because even in my own goals, I've shifted some things. And so that's the whole point. The more action you take forward, you might pivot, you might stop, you might be like, oh shoot, I got to clean this up. This is not working. But it is forward momentum. So thank you for sharing those. On my end, I have, I want to book 20 team weddings and I have 8 total. So one of them was booked in the past month and a half, 7 were booked, um, last year. And so, um, yeah, I still have 12 to go. So I feel like towards the end of Q1 and springtime that ramps up a little bit more.

Yeah.

And a big factor into this is the social media of marketing my team. And that has been a bit challenging just because I have to— quite honestly, it feels daunting because they're so talented and they've created so many beautiful sessions that it feels like I have to block off a whole day to grab all the beautiful shots that they've had to create the content for it. But it is very much in the radar. And with that being said, my next goal was actually block off time for social media, which I feel like I've done really well. And at the same time, I've realized that I'm at a point in the business, and I've shared this before, that I need to hire help. And so that was a big win for me, was I have executed on the social media aspect and I'm prepping for her to start in March to make it more sustainable. And that's going to tie into my goals of being able to get more bookings as well. And so yeah, I've had a really high engagement this past month, which has felt really good. Had one video go viral, which had like 2.2 million in TikTok, which is great.

Amazing.

And it's so, so fun. And honestly, I'm very just distraught about the whole TikTok thing because I keep getting so many inquiries from TikTok. And if I knew for a fact after March it's like still going to be there, I, I would just like triple down on TikTok because Instagram is more— I still get leads, but it just feels like triple the work on the photo side of things to then get one inquiry, where on TikTok it just like keeps rolling without as much effort. So anyway, TBD, but still posting consistently, um, on social media and on Instagram. Publications. So this is the one that I have not done and I have to do it in February specifically. So I shot a lot of beautiful weddings last year. I'm very grateful for them and I have not submitted any of them for being published. And I feel like there's quite a few of them that have the potential of getting picked up. So that's a top priority for me. And then, uh, more systems and automation. This is a big win and that was like my main focus in January. I hired 2 specialists, one for Dubsado. So I've used HoneyBook as my customer, as like my CRM, and now I'm switching to Dubsado primarily because it has more automation capabilities. And so I think I'll be able to offer my clients a better experience in like a year and a half process. Like it was just not realistic to be doing some of those things manually, especially with a team.

Mm-hmm.

Um, so that's done. And then I hired an Asana specialist that is now helping me like basically link all the things. And instead of me having to type in all my to-dos from that, it's just all happening seamlessly. So that gets wrapped up this week. Very, very stoked for that. I think I'm gonna have so much more time. Same thing with like having faster editing times. I've really like nailed down, um, specific instructions to my team members that have helped me with that and my editing and honestly just my focus. Like, okay, it's 3 o'clock and I'm going to edit till 4. Let's go. No playing games. And then the last few, one of them was go to New York Fashion Week. LOL. I got sick, so I did not go. So that's a no. But the universe and God works in mysterious ways because Since I posted that, I had a few photographer friends reach out. They were going to be shooting some bridal gowns during New York Fashion Week for some bridal incredible brands. And then when I couldn't go, they were like, well, you're going to New York Fashion Week bridal, right? In the spring. And I was like, I hadn't thought about it. And they're like, oh, we got— I got this gig because I reached out to them. Here's all the things that I did. And so now I'm going to reach out to them to see if I can go to New York Fashion Week Bridal, which aligns more with my brand. And so that's in the works. So it all works out. And then I love that.

So excited.

I am so excited. I would really love to work more in like the editorial space and shooting bridal gowns and like doing lookbooks and all that stuff. So I think that's going to be a good step forward. And then the last one is launching something in the education space. As well as diversifying my income. And we did that with the In Between Mastermind. So I'm so excited to just give back of what we've learned, have this experience with the girls, learn about somebody else's business, see them and cheer them on in this journey, and not just like sit with like, okay, I've grown my business and like, it's just about me. It's more like now it's my time to give back. So those are all of my business ones.

Love it. I love the progress you've made. I love talking through what hasn't happened and why it hasn't happened too. It's always helpful to get, as you said, what the evolution is of the opportunity or of the goal. And so even the shift from New York Fashion Week to New York fashion bridal, oh my gosh, duh. That makes so much sense. But you wouldn't have even known that had you not posted it and those people not reached out. So I love that. Another thing I wanted to bring up is We are recording this mid-February, and Astrid and I met on January 2nd to sit down and talk about the mastermind. Like, what is it? How are we going to launch it? What's it going to include? Where do we want to host a retreat? How many women do we want? What's the pricing? Like, and it's launched, and it's, and it's like we have our first kickoff call next week. So I also want to talk about and just mention really quickly that when you are able to accelerate your growth. With an accountability partner in this case, or you like don't overthink it and, oh, this needs to have like a 6-month launch. And, you know, like, hey, there are certain things that do require extra time. And there's also things that sometimes we put limitations on ourselves of like, we have to do it, you know, um, and it has to look this way. And like the perfectionism can come in. So I hope that we can also— like, there were several things about our launch that we learned from that weren't perfect, but we were taking— we were still taking action. And I think that's like a big aspect of goals and the mindset around our goals is we have to take action in order to learn. So yeah.

Wait, have you, um, seen on TikTok? I've been on TikTok a lot this past week since I was sick. Have you seen the whole sprint weeks and sprint months?

No.

So it's basically how a lot of times we'll procrastinate on our goals. And so if you feel like you're kind of stuck in a rut, Just give yourself one sprint week. You're like, okay, next week it's going to be a sprint week. What would, what would my life look like one week later if I did that? And then you give yourself a break the next week if you need to mentally, or do a sprint month. You're like, February is the lock-in month, or like March is the lock-in month, and you just go all in on all of your main goals and you sprint. And it's like, okay, you can rest afterwards if you want, but you like double down on your progress. And a lot of times you just want to keep the momentum going. But it's like going, getting over that hump of like, this is a year-long process or this is a 6-month goal. Um, so I thought that was really interesting.

I love that. I need to, I need to do that. I need, I need to do sprint weeks. I love the, like how attainable that feels. Um, okay. Finances. So on the finance side, one of, 2 of my Q2 goals were to create a personal budget and stick to it. And then open up a business bank account at Chase. Um, I am working on both of these. These are things that are in progress but have not been done yet. But I will say that my personal spending for Q1, I did a no-spend month in January and like just being a lot more mindful of what I'm spending has been really helpful. So while I don't have specific like budget categories I'm trying to hit every single month, I do feel like I am. I know that I'm spending less because there's just other things right now that I want to spend my money on. And every time I'm about to make an impulse purchase, I'm like, oh nope, I'd rather use that for Mallorca, or oh nope, I'd rather spend that, you know, in Amsterdam. So that has been really helpful. And then I'm working with an accountant to help me with some business taxes as well as like my business bank account. So that's in the works and I'm Making progress on that. The other aspect of my finance with some of my finance goals were to commit to a pan project mindset. So if you aren't familiar with this, this is something that's gone around on TikTok a lot. But the pan project mindset is essentially like you're scraping the bottom of the pan, and so you're using all of a product before you go buy a new one. So like for example, there's no reason I should have three hair masks in my shower. There's no reason I should have like 4 different types of face sunscreen. Like let's use all of it before, or using all of a category before you go buy more. And I was noticing that I would go to Ulta and I would go and I would pick up something I'd ran out of, but then I'd be like, oh yeah, I want to try this new like moisturizer. I'm gonna try this new lip liner. I'm like, we've got 8 lip liners, babe. Like I love, I love, and I love lip liner, but I don't need 8 of them. So with that said, I have really been sticking to this. This has felt awesome. I have only repurchased like makeup that I have run out of, and I have just been going through all these categories using all my samples, like using all my minis, and it feels really good. So that has been going well.

Mm-hmm.

Um, another goal that is more of a family goal from, from my husband Matthew and I is we have a goal to hit And save $60,000 this year in cash, and we are 10% to goal. We saved $6,000 in January, and we already have money set aside for taxes as well. So this savings goal that we have, we have in a Marcus account, which is a high-yield savings account. I think that it's 3.5% interest like that that grows month over month. I have to be. I'd have to check if it's 3.5 or 4%, but. It's not just sitting in a savings account. It is growing. Yeah, it feels good to hit 10% of that. So that feels lovely. And then also I bought my new car in January, which means that my car payments start this month. And we do have a goal to pay off my vehicle in under 18 months. So our car payment starts. We're paying $2,000 a month on her. And I'm really excited. So we, I feel very like we have a lot of visibility into our finances right now and into our budgeting. So I feel like a lot of my energy has been going towards that. And so then my personal budget, I'm like, it's literally going towards personal travel right now, which just feels great. So that's me on the finance side.

I love all of these. I think it's amazing whenever you have intentionality into your finances. And even with your car, like you saved up for it. You were able to make, put a hefty down payment on it. And I love that you're not like, okay, well let's just do minimum payments and then like spend extra money elsewhere. Which, you know, everyone has different, um, like conditions in their lives, but I love that you guys are doubling down on being like, okay, yes. And we're gonna pay this off in a year and a half. Like that's so motivating and inspiring. Um, And I'm proud of you. 2020 you would be so freaking proud and shocked. You know that trend that it's like, I had coffee with my 20-year-old self?

Oh my God. Oh no, I want to do that trend so bad this week. I need to have one where it's like, we overdrafted on our account again and we hit decline. Our card got declined. And now I'm like, babe, you're going to learn so much about finance and it's going to be okay. Right. Yeah, literally we are scraping the bottom of the pan over here.

I love it. I love it. I am so inspired by you. Um, yeah, in my finances, I have had such a win in this area. I have been consistently saving now 40%, almost 40% of my income, which feels really, really good. And honestly, I think for me the hack was creating— I have the Ally Bank, which is also high yield. And that one specifically goes into— it'll like make one transaction at the end of the month and it's 40% of my income. So it's, you know, hefty. And then it'll like divide it all for me into all the categories that I want. And so it's just like fun because it almost feels like I made money in a way, because I'll go back into my Ally account and be like, ooh, my travel account is up. And like, oh, my shopping expense account is up. And so it feels more like a positive experience with money rather than negative. Like I have to take away 40% and put it into a savings. Um, so yeah, I feel really good and that has really also helped me with my miscellaneous spending. Like I have not had a need to do that and impulse shop. And I think a big part of that too is like I do catch up with my budget every week. So even when I do have a little bit of an impulse and we might, I might eat out a little bit more one week or whatever. I'm like, okay, next week I got to like dial it back in. So it's not that I'm budgeting or like I'm spending perfectly. It's more that I will pull back whenever I have a big push and then I'll even myself out by the end of the month. So yeah, I, I am feeling really great because I haven't had this consistent of a savings, uh, routine since I had my full-time job. So it feels really, really good to be here again.

Slay. I'm so proud of both of us.

We're so— we're such mature women. We— this is what happens when you turn 30.

Literally, honestly, yes. Like, I also think there's an aspect of being— this is a hot take, but there is an aspect of like getting into your adulthood, into your 30s, where sometimes like money mismanagement isn't cute anymore. Like, there's an aspect of when you're young, you're like, I'm just a girl, like, I don't really know. But it's also like not wise. It's not smart. So, but yeah, I had to stress goal. I had to like tell myself that. I was like, this isn't cute anymore, Alexis. This is not funny. Um, we need to get our shit together. Um, okay. Last category, health and wellness. So one of my goals was to get back into a consistent workout split. Um, if you have not listened to the pod in a while, I was very, very sick November and December. And so I basically took 2 months off and I feel like I lost a lot of my muscle mass and I was just Really struggling with my energy. So this is done. We are doing Pilates two to three times a week. We are strength training twice a week, and then we are like walking right now. I'm not running as much, but I also kicked off a deep reset challenge for my community, and I'm on 23 days of consecutive movement. So that's been really good. It feels really good to stay consistent, and I'm realizing how much I want to keep going. Like I realizing like I think that the rest days I would be like, oh, I need a couple rest days, and I would end up resting like 3 days, but I wouldn't even go on a walk. Like we can, we can do low impact. We can just get out of the house and get into some fresh air and have our face touch the sun. Uh, so that's been really helpful. Another one of my goals for Q1 around health and wellness was researching and booking a hormone infertility testing like appointment, and I have not done this. So this was a good check-in. This is important to me. This is something I want to do. And I need to do some research of some places here in Houston to get that process started. Another one of mine was investing in aesthetic procedures. So I got my first chemical peel a couple of weeks ago. Loved it. Talked to the esthetician there because my, one of my best friends here in Houston, her name's Millie. Her skin is like glass. Like it is so good.

Mm-hmm.

And I started going to the esthetician clinic that she goes to. And I started seeing like the esthetician that she sees. And I was like, okay, let's get me on a regimen. Like, you've seen my skin, what do you think I need? She's like, well, with some of your acne scarring— and I also have a lot of hyperpigmentation from acne and just sunspots— she's like, I think that you should try microneedling. So I'm kicking that journey off in March. I'm really excited. And I'll be doing that 3 times in a row. Every 4 weeks. And then from there you do it like every 4 to 6 months. And some people just do it once a year depending on like how much scarring and things they need with their skin. So I'm really excited about that. It's supposed to like help boost collagen growth and you're essentially like burning off the top couple layers of your skin, you know, so you can grow new skin.

Sick. Okay.

And then another goal is to read more. I am slaying this. I am killing it. I'm so proud of myself. I've read 6 books so far.

I'm not surprised.

I know. But last year I really fell off. I just wasn't prioritizing reading as much. So I've read 6 books and my goal for the year is 45. So I'm pacing really well, loving Thorn of Glass. And I've also been subsidizing reading with audiobooks because those count, y'all. Those count. So I read Or listened to The Courage to Be Disliked, and I highly recommend that. And then I'm also almost finished with the book Don't Believe Everything You Think. It's like how to master your thinking, and which has really helped me with my anxiety. So highly recommend that. Last one is less TV. So I have been doing well on this. We are overall, as a household, we have probably cut our TV consumption in half in the last 6 weeks.

That's amazing.

Which feels really good because, you know, I freaking love A show. I love TV.

Same, same. I'm glued. I know.

I am sat.

So I feel good.

I'm making time for other things and reading. So what about you?

I love that. Well, one, book me an appointment when I'm in Houston with this girl because she sounds amazing. Yeah.

I'd be happy to. We got to make sure that she uses all the right products because we do not want you to have an allergic reaction.

Right on your birthday week. Yeah.

That would not be good.

All right. No, I love those so much. Yes. On my health and wellness, So my journey has been for the past 2 years, I've had some really bad back pain. And so it's been actually really frustrating to not be as consistent with my weightlifting and gym routine the past 2 years when I started at 19 and it was so consistent up to 2 years ago. And so finally got referred to a PT a few months ago and that has been helping me heal so much. And he has been teaching me how to Honestly, just how my body works and like what was going on with all of that. And so I started easing back into it with hot yoga, Pilates classes, and I did really well in them in January. And so I just feel so good in my body. I feel my back is not hurting anymore. I shot my first wedding since the season and my back was not hurting the next day. And so I'm back to lifting now too. I started again today and my back is not hurting. So I'm healing. It feels so good. And the last one is I want to walk anywhere between 5,000 to 10,000 steps a day. And I got a walking pad and it has been a game changer.

Yes.

I love it. Love it. Could not recommend more. The best $150, $200 that I've ever spent.

Wait, what do you use for your desk? My countertop of my kitchen.

Yes. Because it's the only thing tall enough.

Oh my gosh. Okay. That's amazing.

Yeah. Yeah, but honestly, it kind of makes me dizzy if I'm working, um, and I'm on the walking pad. So I will just do more of like my social media, responding to texts, responding to DMs, all that good stuff.

Okay.

On the walking pad. So big change there. Um, I also had reading more, and I finished The Psychology of Money, which was really, really good. Highly recommend. And then my boyfriend and I are starting Relationship Goals. by Mike Todd next. So we're really excited to read that.

Matthew and I read that. It's really good.

Is it? Nick picked it out. I've never read it, but he was like, I want us to read together like a book a month. So yeah, yeah. So I'm going to— we're going to see how it goes. I'm sure it'll be great. And then, okay, the one that I'm struggling with, honestly, full disclosure, is daily cleanup. Like, I have just realized it fluctuates with my hormones a lot, which sounds crazy.

It's crazy.

It's like for 2 weeks I'm like a neat freak. And then leading up to my period, I'm like survival mode and I just cannot, and I can't even think twice. And my boyfriend's like, babe, we okay? He'll literally clean for me, which he'll be like, let me help you get back to zero here. So we're working on that. And then I would say the friendships and relationship aspect of it has been a big win on my side of things. Um, I've been spending more intentional time with friends and making new friends, like people that I really wanted to reach out to. We did a really great job on that in January, double dating and all that good stuff. And then my boyfriend and I also started, um, towards the end of December, a weekly like tea and talk where we like check in on the week, set goals for the week for each other. Or for ourselves and we hold each other accountable. You're going to— I'm going to pick this goal for you. Massage. But that has truly been so transformative for our relationship and just kind of like this check-in, but then we get to do that with each other every single week. So yeah. And then more family time. And then the last one is I've been really diving back into my spirituality, which feels really good. I've been just taking it slowly, reading a devotional every day, but it has felt very connecting and I'm feeling really grounded. So things that I have not done is gone back to church, and that's still in my radar, but baby steps.

Yeah. So I love that. That's where we're at. Thank you for sharing that. I did not add this on mine, but one of my goals for the year is to donate or volunteer once a month and then attend church. once a month. And I did, uh, donate money in, um, in January. And then I also— Matthew and I did not attend church, but we've been watching church, which is still a step in the right direction for us.

Nice.

And it's— we like listened to a whole sermon and we talked afterwards, and I noticed how I felt afterwards, like, this actually feels really good. So, you know, similar to you, it's like Doing, going at the pace that I need to go, but also like holding myself accountable. This is an area that I really want to grow in. So I'm proud of us for doing it, even if it's sometimes like not— sometimes it is uncomfortable and sometimes it's like, oh, where am I going to fit this into my Sunday? Like, that's a whole thing too when you're not going to church at all. And then you're like, oh yeah, I kind of want to start doing this again. You have to really make time and prioritize it. Yeah.

Absolutely. Well, I'm proud of us for doing this check-in. I'm feeling refreshed and like ready to rock and roll on my goals. And I'm so excited to see what these next few weeks hold. So hopefully this has also motivated you to check back in with your goals, or if you haven't set them yet, to set some goals for the last bit of this quarter as well. So thank you all for tuning in today. And as always, you can connect with us on Instagram at inbetween.pod, and you can connect with me @astrojohannaphoto.

And you can connect with me @alexistechmiller. Thank you so much for being here. We love you. We will catch you next week.