Honestly I still feel like it’s early 2020 most days but, apparently two years have passed and 2022 is here. I had a lovely festive season that seemed to fly by at double speed – my parents visited Dubai and I saw them for the first time in two years, I enjoyed the cooler days in Dubai, a quiet new year with friends and the unexpected rain which saw out the end of 2021 and the start of 2022.

So now, wearing one of my only jumpers, coffee in hand, I can start on my 2022 goals…

1. Buy no new fashion items – pre-loved and friend-swaps only

I think I did stick to this in 2021. Aside from underwear and yoga wear which I would not buy second hand, I don’t recall buying any new fashion pieces. I still welcomed new items to my wardrobe, thanks to volunteering at Thrift For Good, an increasingly great range of options for buying pre-loved in Dubai and receiving a couple of items from friends as a result of pandemic boredom included online shopping.

I plan to continue this in 2022, and I’d also like to end 2022 with a less full wardrobe than I started it with. My current lifestyle doesn’t really impose any fashion or dress code demands on me, so it no longer feels good to have formal dresses and occasion wear hanging in my wardrobe for events that I am unlikely to be invited to, or to attend.

2. Save and budget in a more focused manner

In 2021 i viewed money in a “try to spend as little as possible and save as much as possible” light. In 2022 I want to make saving a bit more focused and think about what to actually do with the money I save rather than just…save it. I also want to be more organised with budgeting, to focus on where I can cut back on expenses but also where expenses are worthwhile.

I learned a lot about spending back in 2018 when I started on my path to leaving my lawyer role and, four years on, I want to move to a spot where I have more concrete goals in terms of what I do with money saved, how I spend my money and what sort of spending makes me the happiest. Oh, and I’ve decided to treat myself with  new Maria Tash piercing once I reach a certain savings goal – what better incentive could there be?

3. Dedicate time to things which don’t have a “purpose”

In 2021 I was very focused on growing my yoga business, prioritising tasks and activities which made me income or which hopefully led to that and learning things which I felt would lead to an end goal. This year I’d like to firstly dedicate more time to just…resting, and secondly, to pursuits which are enjoyable but which don’t have a career/income generating/side hustle extra money making result.

This year I’d love to pick up my rusty French again, to run more but not to feel like I have to do a marathon, and, to re-read some of my old favourite books without feeling like I need to read the “latest” prize-winning novel. 

4. Stop saving things for “best”

The last two years have taught us that we really cannot plan ahead or, if we do, have any certainty that our plans will take place. I’m resolving to use my nice candles, wear the few cute dresses I have, write in new notebooks that have sat in my drawer for three years and stop saving things for “best” or waiting for the “right” time to wear/use them.

5. Find homes for Circe and her kittens

Back in early December, I took in two female cats from my stray colony for TNR (Trap-Neuter-Release). Penelope was returned to her street pals three days later, but Circe ended up giving birth to four kittens while at the vets. At the time this felt like remarkably cute bad luck – an AED200 (GBP40) vet bill turned into a AED1300 (GBP160) bill, and the little  family could not be returned to the industrial estate where mama was living before she gave birth.

But, within a few hours of posting for her, I had found a wonderful foster to take Circe and her newborns in. The kittens looked like blind mice and Circe really needed a calm, quiet home to settle so as not to reject them. Four weeks later the kittens are learning to walk, climb and explore. Circe has been an amazing mama and has adapted wonderfully to home life with her fosters who have made her feel calm and comfortable. My 2022 task: to find them all loving homes!

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What are your 2022 goals? And how have your goals changed in the last couple of years?