7 BEST WAYS TO START THE NEW YEAR RIGHT
I can’t believe this year has flown by and the new year is almost here.
Start the New Year on the right foot and don’t wait until January 1st to start making your life better.
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92% of people do NOT achieve their New Year’s resolutions
Set yourself up with these 7 tips to make sure you are in that 8%.
#1 REVIEW THE YEAR
Start by thinking about your accomplishments and failures of this year. What helped you succeed? Where did you fail and why?
My family has been able to significantly cut back on our grocery bills from the beginning of the year until now and therefore have more cash to put towards our debt. We’ve also upped our income with some side hustles, which I’ll post about soon.
We are on track to paying off all of our credit card debt and car loan by the end of this year. Eeeeee!! I’m so excited.
This year we dealt with car problems, boat/lack of boat issues (long story), and some health issues. You might not be able to avoid problems like these, but you can prepare.
#2 GET YOUR FINANCES IN ORDER
Create a spreadsheet to look at your current debt, income, expenses, and savings.
This is where you need to evaluate long and hard. Where do you want to be at this time next year?
For 2018 I want my family to start aggressively paying off our mortgage and have a lot more money in savings.
My goal for 2019 is to come up with a better game plan for paying off our mortgage, and investing more.
Pay off and save what you can by the end of this year so that you can start 2018 ahead of the game.
You can consolidate your debt or do a balance transfer like we did using our Chase Freedom card so that we could avoid paying a higher interest rate for a little over a year.
#3 HEALTH
Good health is something that many people take for granted. Losing weight, working out, and eating healthy are all popular New Year’s resolutions. If this is a resolution you are planning on making start with baby steps now to ensure your success.
Cut back on sweets, incorporate a walk into your everyday routine, and drink plenty of water.
I eat refrigerator oatmeal almost every day now and have been doing this 8 minute YouTube ab workout video that’s been very effective at getting rid of my “mommy pooch”.
#4 LEARN/DO SOMETHING NEW
Make it a point to learn or try something new next year that is relevant to your 2019 resolutions.
Do you want to travel more? Try learning a new language.
Do you want to lose weight? Sign up to a Zumba or kick boxing class.
Do you want to paint, dance, or cook? Check out your local recreation center for affordable classes.
Once we have some “extra” money I would like to start investing. First, I’m going to educate myself like crazy by reading The Little Book of Common Sense Investing and joining some Facebook investment groups. If anyone has other investment book recommendations please feel free to share in the comments.
#5 SPEND TIME WITH FAMILY & FRIENDS
Schedule time to spend with people whose company you enjoy. Life can get hectic, but I’ve learned that we make time for what is important.
With my kids and job, I don’t get to see my friends as often as I would like. They are very understanding and we get together when we can.
#6 GOAL SETTING
What do you want to accomplish this year? Making New Year’s resolutions is a fun tradition, but don’t feel that you have to limit yourself to one resolution.
Write down your resolutions. Share them with your family or friends to get extra support. Make a calendar to mark off the days closer to achieving your goals.
I have a spreadsheet with all of our monthly expenses and our debt. Next year I hope to have a bigger emergency fund established and an account designated for travel.
With our small health scares this year I also plan on creating a healthier food menu for my family and incorporating exercising into our schedules.
Related posts:
* 11 Tips to successfully achieve your goals
* 8 easy ways to stay out of debt this holiday season
*Best things to buy after the holidays
#7 CELEBRATE SMALL WINS/REWARD YOURSELF
Don’t give up or feel deterred if you don’t succeed right away. Resolutions aren’t meant to be easy.
If you are working towards losing weight, treat yourself to dessert one day or a massage (or both).
Paying off our debt has been hard, but we still treat ourselves. It just means we have to be smarter when booking vacations, date nights, and recreational activities.
Life should be an ongoing adventure to improve oneself. Yes making money and losing weight are great goals, but my ultimate goal is to be healthy and stress-free.
Before the year is up I am going to revise our expense sheet, create somewhat of a schedule that includes 2 dogs, 2 kids, and a husband, and set up a goal sheet.
So stop waiting! What are you planning to accomplish?
If getting out of debt is one of your goals, here are the top 13 financial goals you need to achieve in your lifetime.
A HUGE investment tip: DO NOT (under ANY circumstances) INVEST IN ANYTHING YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND! I’ve kept this rule since day one, and if you cannot explain what you’re investing in to a child so that they can understand, you need to stay away! I added a second rule about two weeks in that I also abide by-I only invest in stocks and mutual funds that support values and morals I agree with (tobacco is out, no matter how prosperous it is).
I love both of your rules. I personally don’t smoke and wouldn’t want my kids smoking either so why would I invest in others to do so too? thanks for sharing!
Yes, love all of these tips! I’m so ready for 2018.
I’ve been really bad with new years resolutions in the past, but I’m determined to make more effort 2018!
In the past once I broke my resolution I gave up and said next year. I think the key is it’s okay to “fail” along the way to get to your goal.
Great list! I plan on continuing to focus on my health and making exercise a big priority (even with my busy schedule). I also love the idea of trying something new. I guess for me that would be to continue learning everything I can as a new blogger. I guess I’m already on my way!
That’s wonderful. I want my family to focus on our health more than anything in 2018. Blogging is a whole other goal 🙂
I want to do all these things. I’m just getting started on planning next year and the changes I’d like to make. This is great resource, thank you! I’m also trying to be debt free by the end of next year.
That’s great. Having monthly evaluations to see what we were spending on helped a lot.
Excellent tips! One thing that has helped me this year is that we started last week on our “resolutions” rather than waiting for the new year as an arbitrary date. We’re hoping it will make us more successful in the long run with exercise!
I’m trying to do the same thing with eating healthy. It hard because I have such a sweet tooth and the holidays are tough. Just going to keep trying.
Terrific list! I love the promise of a New Year and you covered all the important categories to look over to get ready for 2018! Goal Setting can be pretty difficult since a lot of people don’t really know how to set goals properly, but I’m trying to make more realistic goals for myself for next year!
That is so true. I think I’m guilty of being a little unrealistic as well. I might have to settle for a 2 pack instead of a 6 pack lol
Thank you for sharing this post. I needed a little organizing in my life this 2018. My 2017 was a little chaotic and I didn’t even write down any goal at the beginning of the year. Hopefully, this 2018, it will be better and more organized.
I am ready to make my list now!
I love love love these types of post it really helps motivate me
I’m so glad, thank you
Great motivation! I’m looking forward to getting my resolutions ready for the upcoming year!!