5 New Year’s Resolutions You May Not Have Thought Of
January 10, 2013With 2013 officially upon us, it’s time to put on your thinking cap and create some quality resolutions. The national economy might be unstable, but you can still have a banner year. Strive to improve your finances as much as possible and you’ll be off to a good start.
Here are five financial resolutions to consider:
1. Drop Your Gym Membership
Losing weight may be a popular resolution, but you don’t need to pay through the nose to reach your goal. Most gyms charge at least $40 per month, which means you can save almost $500 annually by exercising at home instead. Plenty of resources online can help you create a solid home workout program in minutes or you can purchase any one of a number of fitness video games for your Wii, Xbox, or PS3 for a range of workouts. If you’re still considering joining a gym, think about the annual cost before signing on the bottom line.
2. Identify Your Wants and Needs
One great way to save more and spend less in 2013 is to categorize all purchases as either wants or needs. Wants are things you’d like to buy but aren’t absolutely necessary, and needs are items like housing and food that you must have in order to survive. Once that’s done, look for ways to reduce what you pay for all your needs and eliminate as many wants as possible.
3. Reduce Your Cable Bill
Do you really have time to watch all the TV you pay for each month? To still get the movies you love and the episodes you’re addicted to, sign up for Hulu and Netflix and drop your paid TV channel services. Amazon Prime is another option to consider for TV and movies, and it offers additional perks at Amazon, such as free two-day shipping. You can also rent movies from Redbox for just over $1 per day.
4. Review Your Credit Report
Get a free copy of your credit report once per year from each of the three major reporting agencies by visiting the website AnnualCreditReport.com and review it carefully for mistakes. Errors on your credit report can affect how much you pay for loans and insurance and even can determine whether you qualify for a job. In fact, according to the Policy and Economic Research Council, almost 20% of all credit reports contain errors. If you find errors, report them to the credit bureaus in order to get them rectified.
5. Organize Your Finances
This year, create a filing system for all of your monthly bills, including your credit cards, tax-related receipts, investments, insurance documents, and anything else you can think of. This makes it much easier when you need to research something, and it also simplifies the annual tax-filing process. Keep files on your computer and back them up online to avoid the hassle of dealing with paper copies.
Final Thoughts
Once you’ve decided on resolutions, write them down, and keep them handy throughout the year. Plan to review them at regular intervals so you can check your progress and make improvements whenever necessary. Setting New Year’s resolutions is a great idea, but they’re only useful if you can implement a strategy to make sure you achieve them.
What resolutions do you have planned for 2013?