Yesterday, I signed the sale agreement for my flat and I’m hopeful it will go through this time!

Hi there! Did you have a good September? I can’t complain—I’m really happy to have been able to return to France and visit family and friends. Here’s how I did with my goals for the month. You can see my September goals here.

Blogging Goals:

Wins: 5
Fails: 2

I changed my blog theme and am quite satisfied with it. There are a few final touches needed, like getting the avatars back on the comments and recategorizing some articles, but I’m almost there. Social sharing through Twitter and Facebook is now working, and I achieved success with SEO optimization.

Finding a picture for each post was a big fail, though. It takes a lot of time, and I chose to use that time to interact with other bloggers on Twitter and their sites instead. I’ve been trying to use my own pictures and a website called freedigitalphotos.net for images. Each post’s picture, upload, tags, and credit take about 10 minutes, adding up to 5 hours of work I’d need to complete in October.

I also failed with the 30-day Dreamweaver trial. Still, I’m quite pleased with my new theme, so I’ll leave it as it is for now.

Financial Goals:

Wins: 3
Fails: 1
Tie: 1

I spent very little this month, so that’s almost a win. I didn’t have to pay rent thanks to my mom hosting me, and my food expenses were low. The only significant splurge was a $25 bottle of Champagne for a friend’s 35th birthday and some minor expenses totaling under $100.

I did spend on a weekend getaway with my girlfriends, which cost about $100 for gas and tolls using my motorcycle, as train tickets were either sold out or too expensive. Other expenses included a medical visit ($15), an air chamber for my bicycle ($10), and more gas for my bike while showing my flat for sale.

The biggest expenses were $1000 in taxes and $400 in condo fees for my empty flat, which I hope to sell this week. I signed the sale agreement yesterday and can’t stand making these payments anymore. If the potential buyer backs out, I’ll start renovating the flat and try to rent it.

Thanks to fixing my bicycle, I cycled most of the time and only took the subway once—a major win. I still use my motorcycle to show the flat because it saves a significant amount of time and money.

On the work front, I had two job interviews but haven’t heard back yet. However, I did manage to find some financial help for my taxes. I also replaced my departing tenant with a new one on the same day, so no loss of rent there!

Regarding my studio flat, we’re set to sign the selling documents tomorrow. I’m very anxious but optimistic.

October Goals:

Financial and Personal

– Quit Smoking: I don’t smoke daily, but I enjoy cigarettes when I go out. Starting October 1st, I’ve decided to quit smoking—motivated partly by a government price hike. I haven’t smoked since September 25th.

– Spend less than $150 on going out: Not paying rent or much for food means going out is my most significant non-essential expense. While I won’t stop going out, I’ll try to limit my spending, possibly using an envelope system and finding free activities if funds run out.

– Finish my mom’s living room cleaning: I’ve done most of it, but the ceiling is a tough job I’ve been postponing. I also need to paint it.

– If I sell my flat today: Apply for short-term jobs. I need extra money for my next house and will be stuck in Paris waiting for the sale money for a few months.

– If I don’t sell by October 10th: Start renovating and look for a tenant by November 1st. I’m tired of paying $400 monthly condo fees for an empty flat. I hope to sell and stop this financial bleeding.

Website Goals

– Fix Gravatar issue on comments: I’ve tried many things but still haven’t resolved it.

– Change “related sites” section: Replace it with a blog roll featuring cool blogs.

– Revamp the “information” section: Find where to change it and make updates.

– Break the 500K Alexa ranking: While some people have broken 200K in a month, I doubt I’ll have the necessary time to invest.

– Reach 600 Twitter followers: I jumped from 150 to 545 followers last month using a technique I’ll discuss in another post but won’t repeat. Instead, I’ll focus on adding personal finance and lifestyle bloggers and following back those with similar interests.

– Understand my RSS feed: Google and Feedburner show different follower counts, so I need to figure this out before setting a specific goal.

– Comment on at least 3 sites per day.

– Continue doing a weekly roundup: These help build connections and show appreciation for others’ hard work.

What are your goals for October? Anything exciting planned?