So you blew your Christmas budget, right? Good! Now it’s time to think about the New Year for you and your money. It’s tradition that stretches back probably to the year.
Every year people make New Year’s resolutions, and by February, March, if not by now, they’re long forgotten. Building an emergency fund in this economy is as important as carrying life insurance to protect your family.
Treat the emergency fund as a bill you must pay first. You are paying your “tomorrow” just in case. Put it where you cannot easily access it.
Experts say you shouldn’t call them New Year’s Resolutions. The resolutions part is fine. The “New Year” isn’t. Instead, it’s fine to write down a “goal” list for a new year. If you think of the habits you want to achieve as attached to January 1, even if you’re looking ahead to January, 2015 which we are now, by the time you get into February and March, anything you’ve mentally attached “New Year” to won’t feel new at all, and if you had planned to contribute more to your IRA, spend less at the grocery store, entertainment or whatever, chances are, you’ll have forgotten all about your inspirations come 2015. You might have a better shot at keeping your resolutions at the forefront of your mind.
Read also: New year’s resolutions for the global economypipelines
The most important thing you need to do is to remember your new resolutions and even achieving some of them. Maybe last year you were unable to achieve your last year resolution, I mean 2014. Since you have already had a list of goals for this year and every month, expert say when it comes to how many goals anyone should have on a yearly list.
Some years, people tend to have so many goals written down, with the thinking that they will probably achieve more during the year, but too many goals can make you lose focus on what you’re really trying to improve.
But if you only have two or three goals for an entire year, and you fail at all of them, you’re going to be demoralised come December 31. I will suggest to you for those that have put down up to 10 goals, making some of them fairly easy and within reach and two or three of them, pretty challenging. Put them to paper, of course, and check them periodically; at least once a month, preferably holding you accountable to a friend or trusted family member.
