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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