Hobby Resolutions: Past and Present

In life, it's important for people to set boundaries and create guidelines to help us stay focus and motivated.  Last year, I came up with five resolutions in regards to our hobby to keep me in line.  Let's see how I fared:

#1:  Create a Monthly Hobby Budget and Adhere to It

Although I'm very good about living within my means and not buying things I can't afford, I never actually stuck to a monthly hobby budget.  Or if I did... I didn't do it for long.  On the other hand, I did open a special savings account for recreational spending, which includes things like vacations, holiday shopping, and hobby expenses.

Final Grade: C-


#2:  Purchase Five 1956 Topps Hall of Famers

I'll actually discuss this resolution a little more in Tuesday's post, but for now I'll just tell you that I didn't come close to reaching this goal.

Grade: D-


#3:  Resurrect my Annual Summer Contest

Epic fail.  I don't even think this entered my mind last summer, which is a shame.  This contest was always a lot of fun.  A lot of work too.  But bottom line... a lot of fun.  Maybe in 2017?  We'll see.

Grade: F


#4:  Pick Up One of These Topps Sets:  1973, 1974, or 1977

Finally... I succeeded with flying colors.  I picked up the 1977 Topps set for a project I'm currently working on at a card show for $80.  The 1973 and 1974 Topps baseball cards are the only two sets I need to complete my birth year through 1986 Topps set run.

Grade: A+


#5:  Have Fun, Continue Blogging, and Read More Blogs

The total number of posts I published declined for the fourth consecutive year and actually hit an all-time low.  Plus there were a few long periods where I was so busy, I didn't have time to read your posts either.  However... I was able to add a few new blogs to my reading list... and in terms of collecting, I did have a lot of fun.

Grade: B-

Normally I'd be very disappointed with a D+ average, but overall... I feel I did okay on my 2016 resolutions.  Could I have improved?  Of course.  But at the end of the day, I walked out of 2016 a pretty happy camper in terms of blogging and collecting.

As for my 2017 resolutions, I think I'm going to hold off on making any new ones.  My major goals for this upcoming year are to...

#1:  Maintain an average of 3 posts per week.
#2:  Continue reading your blog posts.
#3:  Pick up at least one 1956 Topps HOFer.
#4:  Continue to live within my means.
#5:  Have fun.

What about you?

Did you create any 2017 hobby resolutions for yourself?

I hope all of you enjoyed a safe New Year's Eve last night.  Happy New Years and sayonara!