Financial New Year’s Resolutions

It’s the new year, time to revisit your financial habits, make new goals, and start anew! It’s a great opportunity to create a brand new budget, reorganize, and gain control!

Step 1:

Review your budget. It’s best if you compare your actual expenses to your original budget for 2008, and see if it’s still realistic. If not, redo your budget, see if there is anything that can be reduced, and work with your new budget in 2009.

Step 2:

Organize your finances. Depending on your current situation, this could be a simple process or a longer one. First, put together a folder for your 2009 taxes, as you should be receiving important paperwork throughout January. Next, put together folders for bank statements, credit card bills, and other necessary files. January 19th’s Fix My Budget column will be all about organizing your finances, for more information.

Step 3:

Plan your debt payoffs for 2009. Do you have debt that you are planning on paying down in 2009? If so, plan out exactly what you hope to pay each month, and set a goal for the expected balance at the end of the year. On the flip side, if you are saving for anything, including retirement, set a planned savings amount per month, with a goal for each savings target by the end of 2009.

Step 4:

Pay your bills on time. With some organization, and a disciplined approach, you can definitely make your payments on time monthly. Late fees and interest payments are definitely a waste of your hard-earned money if they are a result of late payments.

Step 5:

Plan time weekly to “fix and maintain your budget”! Maintaining your family’s finances is one of the most essential task you can perform, so plan to spend a little bit of time weekly to organize your bills and statements, pay bills, track your spending, and communicate with your spouse on finances!