How to create successful goals in the New Year

by Jason Cass

Every New Year people pledge to be different. To make changes in their life that will and help them live a happier and healthier life. Unfortunately, it’s not surprising that most of these goals are out the window by Valentine’s Day. Why don’t these resolutions stick? Well, this varies from person to person, but there are small actions you can take to help keep your resolutions alive all year round.

One popular resolution is to be better at managing money. The problem with this? It’s a vague, ambiguous goal. In order to successfully be better at managing money, you need to set specific actions that will help achieve the goal.

Here are specific actions you should take to be better at managing your money:

Create a budget that works for you:If you hate writing down your expenses, try out an online budgeting approach by downloading a free money management tool like Mint.com. It automatically tracks your spending for you. On the other hand, if you’re more of a hands on person, use an old-fashioned envelope to keep track of receipts. The key here is to find a budgeting method that works for you, this way you will stick with it!
Create a savings goal:Decide on a specific savings goal. One example could be to increase your savings by a certain percentage by the end of the year, or slowly increase the amount of money you put in savings over the year.It’s good to make short term goals, like saving for a special event and long term goals, like a college education, to help show yourself the good that comes from saving. It’s also a good idea to have two types of savings accounts, one for short term goals and one for long term goals, just to help keep the two separate.
Audit monthly bills:Take a look at your recurring monthly expenses and decide if there is a way to lessen the expense or get rid of it all together. One monthly expense most don’t think about is insurance.Talk to your insurance provider to see if there are any savings available from bundling your policies–meaning keeping all your insurance policies with the same insurance carrier, rather than having different policies with different insurance companies.
Pay off and stay out of debt:Pay off your highest-interest credit card and be aggressive about it. Eliminate a category from your budget to help pay off your credit card bills, take on a temporary second job or think of some simple easy-to-do ideas that will help eliminate your debt.To avoid taking on any additional debt, practice the 30-day rule–wait 30 days before buying anything to see if you still want the item once the 30 day period is over.

Stay happy and healthy

This New Year stick to your resolutions. You will see that by making creating specific goals and making simple changes, anything is possible! Take these goal setting tips and apply them to other areas of your life.

Want to lose weight? Set a specific weight you want to reach and decide on small actions you can take to help keep you on track like ordering salads and bringing your lunch to work.

Simple, effective changes are key to big results! What resolutions are you pledging this year?