2010 Finance Resolutions: What to do Before 2011

2010 Finance Resolutions:  What to do Before 2011

As 2010 winds down (where did the year go?!), there is still time to complete your 2010 finance resolutions and take care of other money-business before 2011 rolls in.  Wouldn’t it be nice to start 2011 with a clean, organized financial slate?  Let’s look at some ways you can begin the new year without adding 2010’s unfinished financial goals to your 2011 resolutions.

Clean Up Old Goals

 If you made 2010 finance resolutions and were unable to get to them, now’s the time to get them done (before the Christmas frenzy takes us all by storm).  Cleaning up the old clutter will ease the pressure of Christmas and the new year, so take care of attainable 2010 goals ASAP.  This includes checking into better insurance rates, finding and getting rid of any hidden fees on accounts, switching cable providers, or finding better savings and CD rates. 

Of course, if your financial action plan was to save $10,000 in 2010 and you only got a third of the way there, do what you can toward saving and pat yourself on the back for the effort – you can always roll over unattainable goals to 2011.    

Set New and Realistic Goals

The next step to having a clean financial slate in the new year is to set a few realistic goals and take care of them right away.  The sooner they are finished, the better you may feel about your coming finances.  Let’s look at some realistic strategies you can look into:

  • Consolidate loans or credit cards
  • Refinance your home (if you have not already taken advantage of the lowest rates in history)
  • Set a monthly budget and test it out for a few months
  • Save some money for Christmas

You can also pursue any other small tactics; just make sure you give yourself some leeway.  If the goals are too difficult to attain right before the holiday season, you risk burn out, both mentally and financially.

Make Christmas Cash-Affordable

To maintain your financial plan, now is the time to discuss Christmas with family.  Christmas should always be affordable in cash, so if you cannot spend a lot this year, make your Christmas spending limit known to your immediate and extended family.

More likely than not, if you introduce the subject of paring back on Christmas, someone in your family will be thankful.  I broached this last year with my family and my in-laws -- both families had a history of letting Christmas get out of hand -- and everyone was happy to jump on board.  We all focused on the children for Christmas, and each set of adults were content with a nice Christmas (potluck) dinner, cash affordable.

Whatever your coming year may bring, making sure you can ring it in with your own sense of financial style and ease will make the holidays and the new year more pleasurable.  I look forward to welcoming 2011 with a set financial plan, at the best rates I can find, and focusing on other resolutions (like that pesky ten pounds!) come January 1.

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Balance Junkie's picture

Balance Junkie wrote:

Wed, 12/01/2010 - 17:38 Comment #: 1

Great post. I love the idea of a C.O.D. Christmas!

Christa Palm's picture

Christa Palm wrote:

Wed, 12/01/2010 - 18:09 Comment #: 2

Thanks, Balance Junkie! I like your balance and finance ideas on your website as well (www.balancejunkie.com). Keep up your great site!

retirebyforty's picture

retirebyforty wrote:

Wed, 12/01/2010 - 21:34 Comment #: 3

We are staying home for Christmas this year and plan to spend minimally. I already got a gift for my wife and I'm pretty much done. :)

Aloysa's picture

Aloysa wrote:

Wed, 12/01/2010 - 23:27 Comment #: 4

Since we switched to cash only basis, our Christmas is very minimalistic. We try not to overspend but rather save for vacation. That's my 2011 financial resolution - save up enough to go on a long vacation... Might be extended though to 2012. LOL

Christa Palm's picture

Christa Palm wrote:

Thu, 12/02/2010 - 15:52 Comment #: 5

Retirebyforty, great plan to stay home and keep things simple!

Aloysa, I love your idea to save for a nice vacation! I might have to start a "Christmas Vacation" fund for the Bahamas -- I have always wanted to go, so a new long term savings plan using the money saved from Chrstmas sounds like a super idea.

“Light Up A Hanuka Candle” Roundup's picture

“Light Up A Hanuka Candle” Roundup wrote:

Fri, 12/03/2010 - 09:53 Comment #: 6

[...] MomVesting provides some last minute financial tips before 2011.  And you thought it was too late to do anything? It’s never too late…ain’t that [...]

funny icons and blog ranking update | retireby40.org's picture

funny icons and blog ranking update | retireby40.org wrote:

Sun, 12/05/2010 - 11:43 Comment #: 7

[...] It’s time to wrap up the 2010 financial resolutions at Mom Vesting. [...]

Insurance Advisor's picture

Insurance Advisor wrote:

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 20:46 Comment #: 8

Thanks for a great post! The new year is also a great time to get rid of unnecessary financial paperwork to prevent identity theft - here is a list of what to keep and what to shred

Christa Palm's picture

Christa Palm wrote:

Mon, 01/03/2011 - 19:01 Comment #: 9

Insurance Advisor, thanks for the link -- that will come in really handy pretty soon!

Insurance Advisor's picture

Insurance Advisor wrote:

Mon, 01/03/2011 - 19:12 Comment #: 10

Glad you like it, Christa! And again thank you for a great planning post.
Keeping a monthly budget is a great goal and the start of the year is a perfect time to start. But now it's Jan 3rd and I'm wondering how many of us have broken our financial resolutions already? :-)

Christa Palm's picture

Christa Palm wrote:

Mon, 01/03/2011 - 22:27 Comment #: 11

LOL, Insurance Advisor! My resolution was shot out the window pretty quickly -- we had to find a home for all of those renovation tools, so we are now renovating our garage. Unplanned for the 2011 financial goals, but I think it will be well worth it -- sweat equity! :)