Make Resolutions that are Attainable!

The number 1 reason why we fail when we make new years resolutions is the fact that we make blanket statements such as "I'm going to start exercising or I'm going to eat healthy food or I'm going to save money".

You can see why this is not going to help you attain your goals so here is my cents savvy. If your goal is to save money first ensure that you:

1. have a specific goal
2. are realistic
3. have actionable steps
4. your goal contains milestones

GOAL

If your resolution is to save money there is no goal or specifics and you will fail. Set yourself a goal and say your resolution with your goal in your statement. I am going to save $500 by December 31, 2010.

REALISTIC

You can't run a marathon in a month if you have never run before. And so it is true with any resolution. Set yourself a realistic goal. For most that have never saved money or don't even know where to start, simply take a low amount like $500-$1000 a year and start there.

ACTIONABLE STEPS

Next take that $ amount and break it down into actionable steps. What do you have to save by month, by week and by day. This will allow you to understand what you have to trade off to ensure you reach your goal. I like to remember the commercials for Foster Parents at this time - their commercials always speak to its only a cup of coffee a day to give a child education etc. Do you see what they did there, they brought the amount down to something that we can all relate to and is easily attainable and is actionable.

MILESTONES

Set up a different account where your savings can go so you cannot touch the money so readily. Set up a regular withdrawal and let the bank do the automatic savings for you. Check in on the money every few months to see your success.

By setting realistic goals you will always succeed, but please ensure that there is a little bit of a challenge to your goal.

As always we are here to help if you need to determine, what type of goal is realistic, where to find that extra money for your savings and any other money questions you may have. centssavvy.com