Tag: new years resolutions

Is your New Years Resolution in the toilet?

smbaccari

So how are you doing on that New Years resolution!

According to AI and USA Today… January 10th is when most New Year’s Resolutions are abandoned. This usually happens during the second week of January. Wow! Apparently, it also has an official name, “Quitter’s Day”.

A little harsh if you ask me, but no one is really asking me….This week, the link to USA Today also informs us about the three most popular resolutions. These resolutions are to save more money, eat healthier, and exercise more.

What are most people doing wrong if they cannot even do this for more than 10 days? Let’s start with the goal of saving more money this year. Assuming you are not so far in the RED with your finances. If every dollar goes out to pay bills, you are in a difficult situation. That is a separate blog and a real struggle for many. IF that is not the case… go to your on- line banking app. and “AUTOMATE” Some amount of money EVERY month to the “savings” area you want to increase.

Maybe it’s only $25 or $50 but set it to be automated. Maybe you automate $50.00 a month from checking to savings and you have this happen on the same day each month. Use your birthday as that date, so you remember this will happen. If your birthday is on the 12th of any month, then a transfer is automated on that date every month. The automation occurs on the 12th of each month. This can be used for your 401K as well. Change the dollar amount of % you now contribute. Most of us can get access to the “dashboard” of our 401K’s.  Go in and up the % taken out each month.  If you do not have a 401k and your employer offers one… Sign up!!!! Once you’re in, automate an amount EVERY month and make sure you do not have it sitting in cash!  If this is over whelming CALL the company your company has the 401k with and TALK to someone! If you do this ONCE, you have completed your goal of saving more!

How cool is it that you can keep your resolution by just taking 5 min. to 30 minutes. to do just one of these tasks!!! Even a 1% increase makes a difference in the long run. Now a days there is no excuse for not setting it and forgetting it. The process is fairly pain free.  Maybe at the halfway point in the year you automate something else! Don’t think if I make a bad decision the first two weeks of the year, that’s it, I blew it. Nope, just re-group, start again. If you set a resolution that is too big a goal, it’s hard to stay focused. When you set small goals, it’s still a goal, and you should feel good about the accomplishments.

While we here… Lets think about the other two big resolutions.

To eat healthier… This is not always easy. I get it… Maybe you start cutting back on eating food from a BOX. aka processed food. I know I love a good box of Stovetop Stuffing too! It’s a start! As for the exercising more… Why is this so hard??? For me… not an issue, I need my endorphins! But I understand it is not for everyone. You can start with 10 minutes. a day you know. Ya go outside and walk for 10 min. EVERYDAY! That’s it. After a week or two,  go for another 10 minutes. later in the day. Look at you walking 20 minutes. a day!!! On the weekends grab a friend and get crazy and walk for 30 minutes. together! I know it’s winter. I live in New England; we get snow and temps. below zero with the wind. Walk in your house, set a timer and keep moving, maybe add a set of stairs. Just walk the stair, no need to run them.  Just NIKE it and JUST DO IT! 😊 This will allow you to meet your goals! Small goals and build from there. It’s still January. Even if it was June, there is still time to check those resolutions off the to-do list as done! You got this!!!! 

Do we really need to make New Year Resolutions??

smbaccari

Here we are Christmas Day already! Another year ALMOST behind us, with just a few days left. You know what that means… Those new year’s resolutions are right around the corner! I don’t know about you, but I hate those New Years resolutions. Don’t we have enough stress in our lives? I don’t need the pressure. Instead of creating a “promise to myself” That everyone will ask me about, I just say I’m pretty close to perfect so no need to make a resolution! 😊  Ok, I’m not but I still like to use that as my reason for NOT making a resolution. Maybe the easier thing to do is to look at each day or month and just do something a little better? Maybe it’s saving just a little more each month. Ex: upping our 401K contribution by 1%. Maybe its NOT purchasing that Latte EVERY day, how about just on the weekends. Maybe Its cancelling ONE subscription that we don’t really use anyway. Maybe it’s reading a financial book/s. Or listening to a financial podcast every day on the ride to work. What if every month we do one little thing that moves our financial life in the right direction.  They say little changes can add up to big accomplishments…. After all, what we are really trying to do is phase out the bad habits and create good habits. None of us are perfect, so let’s go easy on ourselves and see if we can go into 2024 with a goal of working on our financial literacy and creating better habits when it comes to our money. What if we just make a list of a few things we want to change this year in our financial life. Let’s use the NO Lattes during the week as an example. If you complete the task let’s, say for a month, check it off the list. Don’t get me wrong, there will be some slips here and there, but if we have pretty much changed that habit, it’s a WIN!

Once you have mastered your first new habit on the list, move onto another new habit on your list. Maybe it’s setting a limit on how much you spend on Amazon each month? Or NOT spending anything on Amazon, for a month! We all have things we do or spend money on that we know is wasteful, these are good places to start! It will be cool to look at the list NEXT December to see our accomplishments and how far we have come! Maybe we keep a journal about the habit and next to it each month we list how much money we DID NOT spend on it vs our old ways. 😊 EX: Lattes on only the weekends vs everyday = $100.00 a month x the number of months you do that, could become over $1000 in savings!    

So, we do not have to make New Years Resolutions, that’s too much pressure. We do have to create positive new habits for ourselves that we build on each day or month. 😊 Happy January!!!!