Tag: life

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Career Finance Fitness Girl Boss Lifestyle

Goals Progress – May 2018

I seriously can’t believe it’s already May – we’re almost halfway through 2018! I feel like overall, I haven’t been making a ton of progress on my goals overall, but I’m really happy with the progress I’ve been making on my debt!

CAREER

I absolutely have to get some PDU’s this month because my CSPO (Certified Scrum Product Owner) certificate is expiring. Someone remind me to look at that on Monday!

FITNESS GOALS

Now that I think about it, I’ve made some good progress in this area. I’ve been going to the gym regularly and this week I’ve even been getting up for 5 AM HIIT and sometimes doing 2 a days (lifting in the afternoon). The killer for me is always my diet on the weekends! šŸ™ This weekend will definitely be a test, but I at least want to be consistent on eating decently and working out hard during the week. I haven’t lost any inches yet, but I’m a few pounds down and I noticed that my resting heart rate (I use a FitBit) has been lowering, so I’m feeling a lot better about myself!



FINANCIAL GOALS

At the beginning of last month, I was at 10% progress, and now I’m at 14% progress! 4% doesn’t sound like a lot, but I love seeing the progress bar on my goals post move, even if it’s just a little bit. I’ve also been tracking my progress in an excel spreadsheet (what a nerd, I know!) and I even made pivot tables and graphs (LOL!). It’s crazy to me how much of my debt payment is going to interest and I’m paying above and beyond the minimum payment. 5.6% of the total I’ve paid so far has gone to interest – I could’ve gone shopping with that money! Last month I paid almost $2000 to my debt and man, it hurts knowing I could’ve booked an international trip with that money, but I know it’ll be worth it to be completely debt free.

some of the graphs on my spreadsheet

BLOG GOALS

Still not much movement in this area either. I did manage to post twice last month about Hawai’i – Kaka’ako Street Art and Wiliwilinui Hike, but I’ve been horrible about growing my instagram. We’ll just say motivation is hard to come by, but I swear I’ll get my ass going one of these days.



Categories
Career Finance Fitness Girl Boss Lifestyle

2018 Goals

I personally dislike making New Year’s resolutions because I never keep them, but I usually set goals I want to accomplish. I know, I know, it’s already halfway through February but I’ve finally finished setting my 2018 goals! 2018 isn’t about “new year, new me,” but more “new year, better me.” I feel like I have a lot I want to do this year, but I think they’re pretty reasonable goals. I broke them down into 4 categories and I’ll keep this page updated regularly and bookmarked on the top menu to keep myself accountable!



CAREER GOALS

  • Renew PMI-ACP Certificate (July 2018)
  • Get PMP Certified

My PMI-ACP (Agile Certified Practitioner) certification expires in June this year and I need to get it renewed by taking 30 PDUs (Professional Development Units). I also want to get my PMP (Project Management Professional) certification so I figured I’d knock off two birds with one stone and do both. I’m not entirely sure if I have enough project hours yet for the PMP, but I’m definitely going to try.



A post shared by Roxy Olivas | XO (@xanolivas) on

FITNESS GOALS

  • Lose 1 – 2 inches around waist
  • Find fitness balance

I’ve always struggled to find balance in my fitness routine – I’m either at the extreme super fit, no cheat days mode or the “eff it” eat and drink whatever you want mode. I’ll go super hard and get really fit, then I’ll blow it all when I’m on vacation. I know, I’m not overweight but my clothes don’t fit the way I want them to and I really need to find my sweet spot between bikini ready and fried chicken and coke!



FINANCIAL GOALS

  • Pay off loan
  • Be debt free by December 2019

This is probably the most personal goal that I’m sharing because nobody ever likes to talk about money, let alone be honest about their finances. I’m really grateful that I’ve been able to live so comfortably after getting my degree, but I haven’t been the best steward of money. There was a year or so that I was completely debt free and it was amazing! But I ended up totaling my car, traveling a lot, and in all honesty, lifestyle creep got to me. It’s not something that I’m really proud of because there honestly is no good reason for me to carry all this debt.

The average American household carries $137,063 in debt – $16,883 in credit card debt, $29,539 in auto loans, $50,626 in student loans, and $182,421 in mortgages. While I fall way below average, just the idea of carrying any debt gives me anxiety and I miss the freedom of being debt free. I still live pretty comfortably and throw some extra money at my debt but it’s time for me to really suck it up and buckle down.

This is more of a longer term goal since there is realistically no way for me to pay off everything by the end of the year unless my salary doubles. I sat down and crunched all the numbers and I can definitely pay off the personal loan I took out by the end of the year. The remainder of my debt is my car, and it’s the biggest chunk. I actually leased it for 3 years thinking I’d want to upgrade to a newer model at the end of the lease, but didn’t really want to lease again so I ended up buying it. It kind of sucked starting over last year, but I think it’s pretty reasonable to put a December 2019 payoff (possibly earlier). I’m not completely comfortable sharing the big number yet, but you can follow this progress bar by percentage until I am! šŸ˜‰ But I will share it at some point.

Debt Progress – 22% as of 8/2

22% Complete



BLOG GOALS

  • 5,000 views a month on the blog
  • 10,000 IG Followers

I’ve had this domain name for a few years, but didn’t get serious or consistent about blogging until last June. It’s been a fun hobby and I especially love documenting my wanderlust but I’ve also made a few extra bucks on the side! I want to focus on growing my blog this year by creating more valuable content. It’s definitely been a trial and error process seeing which posts get hits (e.g. my Pop Fit Leggings Review is my most visited post), but we’re learning!

Also, my sister and I recently launch what I’m calling my little passion project – XOMO Society. If you’ve been following along for a while, you know that I tried to do XO Women a few months back but it quickly fizzled out. I got a burst of inspiration at the end of last year, decided to partner with my sister, Mo, rebranded, and relaunched as XOMO Society – a community for strong, ambitious women of color. We make weekly YouTube videos and posting regularly on our Instagram and looking for awesome women to feature – it’s a lot of work! I kind of took a hiatus around my sister’s wedding and haven’t gotten back on the horse but will definitely be doing that soon. I just think it would be so awesome to grow this community – the one I didn’t have while I was growing up.

I’ve got some lofty goals set up for 2018, it’s kind of intimidating but definitely can be done. Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along!

Read my monthly progress posts:



Categories
Life Lessons Lifestyle

Bumbai You Learn – Stories From My Dad

Photo Credit: Sons & Daughters Photography

My Dad is a Filipino-American who immigrated to Hawaiā€™i in the ā€™70s, when many other Asians were immigrating to work on the pineapple fields and sugar cane plantations. My Dad is a simple man. He doesnā€™t care for fancy things or going out. His favorite pastime is sitting in the garage and ā€œtalking storyā€ with his friends. If you visited my parents house in Honolulu today, thereā€™s an old double door fridge in the garage full of beerā€Šā€”ā€ŠHeineken, Michelob, Corona, & Bud Light (his favorite). As soon as you arrive, heā€™ll offer you a beer. Kasla mayora, my mom says. (As if heā€™s running for mayor.) If you sit and talk with him a while, heā€™ll talk your ear off. He can speak perfect English, but when heā€™s talking story, he has a heavy Filipino/pidgin accent. He has so many random life stories. Stories Iā€™ve heard so many times it used to make me roll my eyes, but now that Iā€™m older, listening him retell them makes me smile.

Growing up, Iā€™d get annoyed listening to him ramble on and on, going from one story to the next. You can tell when heā€™s excited about a storyā€Šā€”ā€Šhis voice gets louder, his actions more animated. Heā€™s always telling the same ones over and over again, I never understood why until I got older and lived through some of my own.

A lot of the things I learned about my Dad, I overheard while he was talking story with my Uncles or his friends. Some of his stories were about life in the Philippines. How difficult life was, how he survived. Others were about his immigration to Hawaiā€™i. How he came here with nothing, how he had to work hard and how he faced difficulties as an immigrant. And of course there were the crazy drunk stories. ā€œOne day me and your Unkoā€¦ā€ā€Šā€”ā€Šthose were my favorite.

But there were specific stories that he directed at me and my sisterā€Šā€”ā€Šthe life lesson stories. He never framed them that way, but he would say, ā€œBumbai you learn.ā€ ā€˜Bumbai,ā€™ pronounced buhm-bye, is a pidgin word that translates to later on. ā€˜Bumbai you learnā€™ loosely translates to, ā€˜maybe later, youā€™ll understand.ā€™ He told us about the mistakes he made, the things he wished he couldā€™ve done. The opportunities that he never got to have because ā€œit wasnā€™t in the cards.ā€

My parents, especially my Dad, always encouraged us to go after what we wanted. Growing up, we didnā€™t have a lot, but they managed to make things happen. When my sister and I wanted to take dance classes, we danced. When I wanted to play piano, I got lessons. When I wanted a computer, we got an old hand me down desktop. When I wanted to leave Hawaiā€™i for college, he convinced my mom to let me go.

ā€œYou can do aaanything you like,ā€ heā€™d say. ā€œBut whatever you do, do your best.ā€

I inherited a lot of things from my dad. His tan complexion and affinity for alcohol. His carefree attitude, his love of people, and his steadfast confidence that everything will work out. But had my dad not pushed me when I was scared and scolded me when I doubted myself, I would have never taken the risks that I have or made the moves that I did.

I can still hear my dad sighing in frustration every time my lack of self confidence held me back. I know now, it was because he always saw in me the things that would take years for me to see myself. I moved away from Hawaiā€™i when I was 17 and years later when I was home visiting, he talked about what it was like raising me and my sister. In what may be one of the most raw moments weā€™ve had, he said, ā€œYou know, we never knew what we were doing, but we tried our best.ā€

Well Daddy, I just want you to know, you and Mom did good. We turned out okay andĀ . Happy Fatherā€™s Day.

Categories
Destination Life

Aloha 2016

2016. Oh, what a year. 2016 marked my first full year in Texas and the longest I’ve gone without going home to my beloved Hawai’i nei. It’s been one helluva a year but I’m so ready for 2017.

I’m definitely a social media addict (typical millennial) and I love these dumb top 9 photos from your past year. (You can get yours here.) Obviously, my top 9 is reflective of my favorite things – travel, family, food, & fitness.

The highlights of every year are always my travel adventures – or when people travel to see me! Traveling was to a minimum in the beginning of the year since I was still getting settled into Dallas, but the itch to wander never leaves me and after NM, it was all downhill (or uphill) from there. This year I:

  • Had my entire family visit me in Dallas (May 2016)
  • Went to a wedding in Albequerque, New Mexico (June 2016)
  • Celebrated my sister’s engagement in Phoenix, Arizona (August 2016)
  • Visited with my BFFs in Portland, Oregon (August 2016)
  • Had my first Eurotrip to Kythira, Athens, & Santorini, Greece (September 2016) 
  • Worked and played at Dreamforce in San Francisco, California (September 2016)
  • Rode a wine trolley in Monterey, California (October 2016)
  • Met my dad and sister in Las Vegas, Nevada (November 2016)
  • Spent Christmas with a friend’s family in Austin, Texas (December 2016) 

I love my little adventures and I’m so grateful that I even have the means to do so many YOLO weekend trips and some extended trips.

I’ve met so many new people and kept in touch with lifelong friends. I even let go of some toxic relationships.

I was disenchanted by society but my faith in humanity was restored. (Still getting over how strongly Christians defend Trump’s misogynistic statements.)

I found a new hobby that I’m actually pretty decent at and started the Pineapple Shack X.O.

I had highs and lows in my faith  and questioned what I believe, but overall strengthened my relationship with the Lord.

I gained new confidence in my career and got that “new city, fresh start” I’ve been longing for the past few years.

In 2015, I told myself I’d be out of Arizona in 2016. Little did I know, I’d take the leap and end up in Texas. Overall, moving to a new city where I didn’t really know anyone was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It’s scary and nerve wracking but a complete adventure and I don’t regret it all.

2016, you were so horrible and great at the same time. As I say every year, Cheers to 2017! May this year be so better than the last.