financial goals

Increase Savings and Reduce Expenses in 2011

What are your New Year’s financial resolutions? Is it to save more? Reduce your expenses? We all have good intentions in January, but what happens to them in the coming months?

If your resolution is to save more, start by saving a small amount each week The amount should be something you think you can easily do without a problem If you are thinking that there is no money left over after you pay your bills to do this, you are thinking about this backwards Savings needs to be your first priority and not your last Take the amount you can afford to save weekly and take it off the top, before you pay your bills This way, you will ensure that this will happen Lots of people don’t keep their resolutions because they goals are too much for them.

If you have never succeeded in making this resolution in the past, start small By small I mean start with $5 per week If you can do this easily, then increase the amount for next month Then increase again and again until you get to an amount that you were originally thinking you wanted to save in the past This is much easier for you to accomplish with baby steps than if you said I want to save $100 a week and then fail to do so You are building your success with small steps and sticking with your resolution.

To reduce your expenses, think baby steps again Look at one category of spending and figure out a way to reduce that category by 10% Once that is done, go on to the next.

Resolutions / goals are something that you can do any day of the year There is no need to only do them in January of each year Remember, anything that you want to accomplish will take effort on your part.

Paying the Holiday Bills

Now that the holidays are over, it’s time for the bills to start to come in This time of year is when you need to be extra careful about your finances I know that this is a resolution that many of you made on January 1 You need to be carefully checking your statements (both your bank and credit card accounts) for accuracy In my experience, this is when the most errors occur So check those statements to your receipts, balance your checkbook and immediately call to dispute any discrepancies Look for unfamiliar transactions that you are unsure of Sometimes a charge will appear with a different company name than the store you made the purchase from Call to get more information to determine if it’s your transaction The longer you wait, the less protection you have.

In addition, now is the time of year to read the inserts in your statements You know those pieces of paper that you automatically toss Banks and creditors will inform you about changes to your accounts increased fees, new requirements etc You need to know about these before they take affect and it’s too late to do anything about them.

Be proactive with your finances by staying on top on what is happening with your money, will benefit you in the long run You will be able to make choices that are right for you and possibly save you money on fees Wishing you a happy and prosperous new year.

Financial Goals for 2011

With the new year approaching, it’s time to think about your finances What do you want to accomplish in 2011? Whatever you want to accomplish, you need to have a goal.

Remember that a goal needs to be specific, with a timeframe and measurable You wouldn’t write “I want to save more” because that isn’t specific enough You would write “I want to save (amount) per (timeframe)” or “I want to reduce my expenses by (percentage or dollar amount) per (timeframe).” Write down your financial goals this week, so that you are ready for the start of 2011.

You can’t achieve your goal without knowing where you are now It’s like starting a diet You need to know where you are today and where you want to be at the end (the goal) Next, you need to make a plan to get from today to the goal What steps do you have to do? Make your list now Then start working towards your goal, by making the changes on your list.

Periodically, you need to check your progress to see how you are doing If your goal is to save $25 per week, then you need to go back and check how you are doing Did you do this every week? If so, you did it and continue the great work If not, then you need to review your goal and why it didn’t work Do you need to make adjustments to your goal to make it work? Then implement those changes Remember that anything is possible if you put your mind to it and follow your plan.