Put your spending on a diet this New Year and make a big impact

NEW YEAR’S resolutions can be pretty pointless. Most of the time little thought is put into them – and then, any resolutions made last minute are short-lived knee-jerk reactions to too much eating and boozing over Christmas.

Yes, the muffin top waistline suddenly dictates an extreme diet plan that probably lasts about a week, while the same goes for that vow to never touch alcohol again having woken up to a thumping headache on January 1.

According to studies, only one in 10 people stick to New Year’s Resolutions for a year, while most people don’t last much more than a month. And it’s a shame really, because we all need incentives to really dedicate ourselves to something and the New Year is a great time to start afresh and get things in order.

So as 2015 fast approaches, you might seriously want to consider a financial New Year’s resolution regardless.

Apparently those who make commitments to start off the year on the right financial foot tend to find themselves in a better financial situation as the year progresses, than those who don’t. Research shows that simple commitments such as saving more and paying off debt can have a substantial impact on the financial and emotional well-being of a household.

And like everything in life, the key to achieving long-term financial goals is to create a plan and stick to it.

In order not to get too overwhelmed by a resolution, it’s important to set realistic goals. Much of the time we set ourselves massive goals, as most things worth saving for are expensive.

Then suddenly, when our New Year’s Resolution buzz dies down, we don’t see enough progress to keep our motivation levels high. So we quit. Therefore set smaller goals – a goal for the end of each month for example. This way, goals will appear more attainable which helps keep up motivation. Happy 2015!