How To Stick To Your New Year Resolutions This Year

New Year resolutions are made to be broken! But what if you could break that pattern? Here's how to stick to your New Year resolutions.

New Year resolutions are made to be broken! But what if you could break that pattern? Here’s how to stick to your New Year resolutions.

We are now ten days into a new year. Does keeping up with new resolutions look like an elusive dream to you? I’ve got four quick fixes for four money resolutions that you might have planned for your money.

Resolution 1: Not just save more, but invest more

Sticking Tip: It’s time we rephrased Benjamin Franklin’s famous words as “A Penny well invested is a million times the Penny saved”. You’ve got a good savings pool in your salary or savings account. But how do you know it will be enough for an international MBA course or for buying a retirement home?

To meet those big and costly dreams, the money in the bank ought to be put to work as well.

Shed your inhibitions. Learn more about various asset classes. Just as you save regularly, you can invest that amount regularly. Some investment avenues like post office savings, bank recurring deposits or mutual funds offer a regular investing facility.

Set a monthly saving target and opt for an auto debit from your online bank account.

Resolution 2: Spend less on things I already have

Sticking Tip: Follow Resolution number 1 as soon as you get a salary, bonus or a lumpsum payment for your assignment.  With no money in hand, there will be little incentive to spend on things just because it makes you feel better.

If a credit card urges you to spend, try tucking it away in a neat corner of your wardrobe. Delist your email address from the e-tailers mailing list and ‘Unlike’ the facebook page of your favorite fashion brands.

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Not getting noticed by the e-tailers might just help you in keeping up with this resolution.

Resolution 3: Participate actively in family finances

Sticking Tip: Spend an hour less in the kitchen over the weekend or skip a mall visit with the family. Spend the ‘me time’ you get on reading about stocks, bonds and funds, online or offline. Set up a weekend date with your financial planner or chartered accountant who could update you on the family finances. If there is none, set up a date with your spouse or a knowledgeable friend who can tell you how and where savings can be invested.

Resolution 4: Take care of myself, professionally and personally.

Sticking Tip: Fix up a day of every month for a beauty or a spa treatment. Fix up a day of every month just to hang out with like minded friends who have a positive influence. To take care of your health, take multivitamin tablets daily and ensure you have a health insurance policy too.

The science behind setting goals is to focus on the process, says this article. So ask yourself every day: “What have I done today to take care of myself?”

Image via Shutterstock 

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About the Author

thegreatgruhini

Rachna Monga Koppikar aka The Great Gruhini is a finance writer who’s worked with India’s leading publications for well over a decade. Having swam and mastered the treacherous waters of corporate and personal read more...

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