30 for 30: Half a Million Pennies Saved

14. Save at least $5,000 in an emergency fund.

Automation and illiquidity were the two factors that made this goal achievable. The money I targeted for savings every pay period was automatically diverted from my disposable income (Schwab Investor Checking) into a high-yield savings account (ING Direct) where it would take three full business days to transfer that money to an account from which I could make a withdrawal. I essentially never "saw" the money and therefore adjusted my spending as if it never existed. For me, this process is as much psychological as it is functional. I'd rather be surprised by how much savings and interest accrues over time, checking infrequently, rather than counting my money on a regular basis like Scrooge McDuck.

Rather than going into excruciating detail here, I recommend checking out this good article written by Ramit Sethi describing how to set up a similar system to automate one's finances. It's one of many good tidbits on his site, entitled "I Will Teach You to Be Rich." The name unfortunately makes it sound like a total scam, but he's a Stanford grad running a legitimate site that he's used to launch a few other finance-related ideas and products. He actually turned the top posts it into a book, which I have on my Kindle and reference occasionally to see if I could be doing more to proactively manage my finances.

As it turns out, achieving this goal was bittersweet. While it kind of looks impressive on paper - and it makes my inner control freak "feel" good - it has all the excitement of buying a life insurance policy. But I guess that makes logical sense. Some day this money will come in handy and at that point I'm sure this will seem like a bigger accomplishment. In epilogue, having reached the original target, I plan to continue to use this system to set aside money for international travel and a future down payment on a home. Achieving those goals will just be sweet.

30 for 30: Pioneer Mule, LLC

If the Supreme Court ruled that corporations are people, then I'd like to announce that I am now two people.

15. Launch Pioneer Mule as a software design company.

I don't have time now to write a "how to" on setting up your own Limited Liability Corporation, but this past July I was able to cross this off of my list. I promise to share insights from my experience at a later date, but there is a wealth of knowledge about the incorporation process just a Google search away. I recommend using a service like BizFilings (which I used) or LegalZoom to help with - among other things - filing the initial paperwork, serving as a third-party registered agent, and providing a compliance dashboard to keep you organized and prevent you from getting yourself in trouble. While I ran my own web design and consulting business back in high school and college, I never officially registered as a business, so taking this next step was important to me. While I don't have much beyond a registration certificate and a federal tax id number at this point, the vision for this enterprise is to develop elegant and intuitive software applications for use on the web and mobile devices. Stay tuned!

Get to Know Your DNA

Want to learn something about yourself? Let a scientist take a peak inside your genes.I love data, especially when it's presented in an intuitive way that helps me learn something new. Services like Nike+ and devices like my Withings wifi-enabled scale give me unique insights about my level of fitness and serve as feedback mechanisms to keep me motivated to continue running and losing weight. About a year ago, I learned about a company that could help me unlock even more data about my health by genotyping my DNA and giving me deeper insights into my personal ancestry, genealogy and inherited traits. My initial reaction reaction was, "Wow, this is some Jurassic Park coolness!" A few clicks later, I had signed up with 23andMe and was anxiously awaiting my DNA collection kit in the mail.

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30 for 30: Totally Nailed It

Purchase accountability - if you spend money towards your goal, you're less likely to fail.

6. Stop biting my nails and start flossing more often.

In addition to using peer pressure to achieve goals, money can also be a strong motivator. I have found that when I spend money on something to make progress toward a desired result, I am more likely to follow through and utlimately have success. In this case, we're talking about manicures, so self-confidence helps too. Spending fifteen dollars and fifteen minutes every two weeks for about two months, I was able to get my nails to a point where they were a good, normal length and easier to maintain on my own. Because I made the financial commitment and wanted to limit the total number of visits, I stopped biting my nails altogether. If you're trying to figure out how frequently to go, here's a good rule of thumb: "You want to get them often enough that they serve as a reminder to keep you accountable and infrequent enough that you're going to the manicurist less than your mom." Also, don't get clear polish applied. Just keep them a proper length and buffed - no need to be fancy!

In other news, the flossing part was pretty easy. But I cheated. Replacing traditional flossing with GUM Soft-Picks made changing this habit a piece of cake.

30 for 30: Street Ball

I went hard all fall like the ball teams, just so I can make it rain all spring.

25. Play basketball again, even if it's just pickup hoops.

At the start of this summer the City of Arlington beautifully renovated a park in my neighborhood complete with resurfaced basketball and tennis courts and new lighting. For the last several weeks - when I am able to get out of work early enough - I have taken advantage of he unseasonably warm autumn nights and played pickup ball with a group of guys. There's a different group every night, but there are always familiar faces week to week and we typically have enough to run full court. It's a tremendous workout and much more fun than running on a treadmill. I even got some new shoes. Playing again has been a great experience and I'm really glad to be back out on the court.