It’s finally 2023, can you believe it?! I know I can’t, time has flown by. To me, the new year is about setting new goals to achieve. Personally, I don’t do “New Year’s Resolutions”. Rather than making a promise or committing to change an undesired behavior(s), I like to set goals. Goals are plans or ideas a person has, which are achieved by creating an action plan. 2023 is the year where I set personal and travel goals for myself, create an action plan, and HUSTLE to achieve my goals.

Here is a layout of my personal and travel goals for 2023, my action plan, and some tips to help you set your goals for 2023.

My Travel Goals for 2023

Last year, I didn’t travel to as many places as I did in 2021. I cut back on the amount of trips I took and I will discuss why I did that later. However, I LOVE to travel! No matter where I’m going, I need to travel to a location that’s either new to me or one I’ve already been to.

For 2023, I’d love to do some traveling as well! So, my Travel Goals for 2023 are:

• To go on a cruise with my friend
• To go to Lake Tahoe with my friend
• To travel locally to other areas near me
• To do weekend trips to new locations every month
• To try and visit my friend in Florida (I’ve been to Florida DOZENS of times)
• To visit my cousins in London again
• To visit my boyfriend’s sister in Texas
• To visit my boyfriend’s step-sister in Arizona
• To visit my boyfriend’s mom in Georgia

It’s a pretty decent list of goals, if I do say so myself! I like to have a variety of trips in mind, spaced out throughout the year, so I have somewhere to travel to often. Not only does it satisfy my wanderlust cravings but it also allows me to take a break from work. Social work is no joke and it’s very exhausting, mentally and emotionally.

What Travel will ACTUALLY Look Like

This is a wonderful list of travel goals to have for 2023. HOWEVER, the reality of what I’m actually capable of doing will most likely look different.

In order to prepare for my travel goal in the future, I need to make smarter choices and decisions for my trips. Meaning:

1. I need to create a smaller budget and STICK TO IT (I’m not the greatest at sticking to my budget)
2. Take fewer big trips throughout the year
3. Take more trips that are local, and or, weekend trips (but are still cheap to do)
4. Travel with my friends, family, and boyfriend – this cuts down on costs I have to pay for out of pocket

With that being said, my tentative travel plans or goals for the year are:

• Go on a cruise to Alaska with my friend – set for July
• Go on a hiking/outdoor trip with my friend to Lake Tahoe – set for February
• Go with my boyfriend to visit his sister in Texas – set for June
• Take about 2 weekend trips to other areas in PA – cheap, local, and fun! dates haven’t been determined yet
• Attend events and activities – they can be weekend trips or day trips to new areas

As you can see, there’s more day trips, local travel, and mostly domestic travel. Plus, I will mostly travel with other people for my domestic trips, which allows me to reduce my costs as I can split it with others. I’m perfectly fine with this type of travel and I will tell you why shortly.

How I’m Preparing for My ULTIMATE Travel Goal

My ULTIMATE travel goal for the future, roughly in 2 to 3 years time, is to do a backpacking trip! Or do a combination of backpacking a few countries and doing road trips across the USA. Either way, this is my BIG travel goal that I’m currently saving up for.

About 2 years ago in 2021, I decided I wanted to do this. My lovely followers and subscribers are so inspiring and I low key feel envious at times. Why? Because some of them are able to backpack or travel to other places full-time. Meanwhile, I’m here in Pennsylvania working a 9-5 job that’s quickly burning me out.

So, I decided to change that. I made the decision to save up money for a big travel/backpacking trip! That way, when I quit my job in about 2 to 3 years, I can travel for a bit before getting another full-time job. But how am I preparing for a goal like this? Well:

• I’m putting some money from my paycheck, 2x a month, into my travel savings
• Extra money I earn from my other income streams go into this travel savings
• I’m trying to take care of finances and debts now, so I’m relatively debt free when it’s time to travel
• I’m limiting the number of trips I take each year
• I’m sticking to local and domestic travels only
• Making (trying to at least) smarter choices and decisions in my everyday life (shopping, eating, etc.)
• I haven’t done this yet but…I’m planning to get ANOTHER JOB (yikes!)

All of these things add up, little by little. It’s not easy by any means but I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished thus far. I cannot wait to continue this action plan in 2023!

My personal goals for 2023

This is something I don’t normally talk about, mainly because my niche isn’t related to lifestyle or anything like that. However, I think it’s important to set some personal goals as well. In a way, these personal goals play a part in how I make and achieve my travel and content creation goals.

Some of my Personal Goals for 2023 is:

1. Go for a walk at least 3x a week
2. Do a workout at least 3x a week
3. Be consistent – exercise, content, lifestyle, this is something I struggle with sometimes
4. Create simples schedules to stick to
5. Shop for and eat healthier meals
6. Cook at least 2x a week – I don’t like cooking ( I know how to cook, I just don’t enjoy doing it)
7. Take more mental health days and time off

Each goal will help me to have a positive mindset, more energy, and reduce costs so I can put more money into my travel savings. These goals will also help me with creating content, a routine, and schedule that works for me. I’m trying to build better habits, which will help me personally and travel wise.

How I’m Setting Goals AND being held Accountable

This year, I knew just keeping my goals in my head or jotting them into a notepad app wasn’t going to help me. I’ve tried this method before and it doesn’t work.

I decided to get a digital planner from Flourish Planner to help me set monthly and yearly goals. Plus, the planner helps me to create a action plan to help me achieve my goals. That way, I have steps and things I NEED to do accomplish to my goals.

What I’ve been doing so far is:

• Writing in my planner daily
• Creating weekly and monthly goals
• Creating an action plan each week and month to work towards my goals
• Looking at my travel vision board daily – it gives me so much motivation and inspiration!
• Checking back in my planner daily and weekly to see if I’m on track
• Adjusting my schedule and plan when needed – life happens and I can’t always get around to doing certain tasks or completing certain goals
• Tweaking my plan – seeing what’s working and not working, so I can find a system that works for me

So far, so good! I’ve been doing this regularly and I’m trying to keep this momentum up so I can be consistent.

Tips for Setting your Travel Goals

If you’re looking to set some travel goals for yourself, here are a few tips to help you get started:

1. Ask yourself: What do I want to accomplish? What do I want to work towards? What do I want to do?
2. Give yourself a timeline: When would you like to achieve this goal? How long will it take? You can always readjust if needed
3. Create an action plan: How are you going to achieve this goal? What course of action(s) do you need to take to get from point A to point B?
4. Set monthly goals: Set monthly goals and top priorities – this can be 1-3 goals a month
5. Set weekly goals: Set goals you’d like to achieve every week that will contribute to your overall monthly goal(s)
6. Create weekly and monthly tasks: These are the things YOU NEED TO DO in order to achieve your goal(s)
7. Do weekly check ins: Check-in with yourself, see how you’re doing, what’s working and not working for you, and try to change what’s not working so you can do better.
8. If things change, it’s ok: Over time, things change and you may have to change your goals. Know that it’s ok and you can always get back to them whenever you’re ready

I hope these tips have helped you set some travel goals and I hope you achieve every one of them in 2023!

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