Now that 2022 is here after the crazy rollercoaster years of 2020 and 2021 living with the COVID pandemic it is to be hoped that this situation now becomes more like a endemic situation i.e. contained to a degree or at least only expected cases but relatively mild.

Back in February 2019 I started a three year wealth plan and in February 2021 I added a one year health component.

While the health component was always needed it become urgent after a testing and depressing 200+ days in lockdown and working from home during 2020 that had some terrible physical and undesirable mental health outcomes.

These plans were finished both early and successfully. Now it’s time to consolidate and maintain strong forward momentum in 2022 and avoid going back to bad habits.

Finance and Fitness 2022

Weight & Fitness
Now that I’ve successfully managed to (just) drop into the overweight category according to Body Mass Index I’d like to aim for normal weight range. Even if I don’t get fully achieve this I feel there would be strong long term benefits of getting close.

While I called the previous plan a health plan I’m calling this one a fitness as I’ll also try to improve cardio fitness now that a heart attack is less likely having lost 26+ kilos in the last 12 months.

The plan is to drop 18 kilos in 12 months with the immediate aim of 9 kilos by the end of June 2022. If I can get to the full weight loss then I’ll be in ‘normal’ BMI range for the first time in my adult life.

However as BMI can be problematic at an individual level I’ll cross reference whether this measure works for me by also using blood pressure, resting heart rate, waist measurements, ease of cardio workouts and general wellness feeling to determine if I’m actually well, fit and in a healthy weight range.

Finance
Having successfully paid out my home loan it’s now time to rebuild the three significant graduation gift amounts I had been building for most of my nephew and nieces lives. I also need to pay for my Outback Australia (Kimberley Region and beyond) August 2022 trip.

The first six month aim is to have paid my nephew Harry’s gift and fully paid for the Outback trip by the end of June 2022.

For the second six months I want to have fully saved Darby and Erin’s gifts while at the same time having reset my personal superannuation contributions back to 10% of my salary (I dropped this to 2% of my salary in 2021). These personal contributions are on top of my employer contributions but the more I put in the more my employer goes beyond the minimum amount required under legislation.

I’ll increase my fortnightly spending and living allowance from $776.12 per fortnight to around $900.00 per fortnight. I expected, even hope, that this extra money is required for travel costs as working from home is transitioned to at least a few days each week in the office.

What’s Next

I’m only planning on doing two public check-ins during 2022 as this blog moves more back to travel focus. I’ll still do check-ins as it’s a motivation and a way to hold myself to account.

For myself I’ll do fortnight check-ins in my tracking spreadsheet linked to my paydays as tat worked really well over. The last 18 months.

One of the most special moments in 2022 will be the arrival of my first great nephew or niece. I need to ensure I’m in a position to share stories, guide them and help them as they grow into adulthood.

Hopefully by the time of the Outback trip my fitness and health will be in a great place and I’ll have set a strong foundation to enjoy life away from work for the next 20 to 30 years.

So 2022 is really about investing in both my long term health and my enjoyment. Unlike 2020 and 2021 I’ll actually get to enjoy life and start exploring and living new experiences again.