I love the New Year – that fresh opportunity to draw a line under the previous year’s comings and goings, and the chance to set new goals and objectives for the next 12 months.
Maybe you have already decided on your New Year resolutions or maybe you are waiting until after Christmas to decide? Either way, here are eight of the best financial resolutions to help ensure your prosperity in 2012.
1 – Learn A New Skill
Whilst you can’t guarantee to 100% recession-proof your career, pro-actively learning new skills and knowledge will help to keep you in demand with employers and could potentially led to an increase in income.
Start with a personal skills audit to identify your strengths and weaknesses, then investigate what skills the market is looking for and plan how to get the relevant training and experience required.
More information:
What Medieval Master Craftsmen Can Teach Us About Investing In Ourselves
Professional and Personal Development Training
2 – Create A New Income Stream
Developing multiple sources of income, not only provides extra money to pay-off debts and enable a few additional luxuries; they also reduce the impact of unemployment – particularly for families that are dependant on just one source of income.
There are many ways to generate new income streams, ranging from part-time work in the evenings and weekends to setting up a sideline business.
More information:
Who Else Wants a Profitable Sideline Business?
Earn More & Work Less With Passive Income Streams
Online Businesses – Earn money without even leaving the house (well sort of!):
How to start your own internet business
How to build a profitable blog
Getting Started with Smart Passive Income
3 – Increase Your Current Income
Forget the recession and all the associated corporate belt-tightening, 2012 is the year to achieve a pay-rise, either in your current company or by getting yourself a brand-spanking new job.
More information:
How to Convince Your Boss that Giving You a Pay Rise is an Absolute No-Brainer!
How I Increased My Salary By 20 Percent
4 – Reduce Your Spending
Everyone is skint in January, so this resolution tends to happen by default! But what the resolution is really about is taking control of your money and managing it effectively, so that you spend less on the boring things like debt, bills and commuting costs.
To help you on your way, start The Money Saving Challenge in January and see if you can make an additional £250 worth of savings each month during 2012 (that’s £3,000 in the bank by next Christmas!)
5 – Get Out Of Debt
What could be more satisfying than reaching the end of 2012 with all your credit card debts and loans paid-off?
It is a great feeling to be able to tell people that you are debt-free and from a practical financial point of view, it means that all the money you were previously using to repay your debts can now be redirected to savings and investments to help build your long-term wealth.
More information:
Three Step Approach to Clear Your Debt
How I Paid Off My £6,000 Debt in 14 Months
The Debt Snowball Method Explained
Reader Story: Debt-Free by 30 — Including the Mortgage!
6 – Save & Invest More Money
Imagine having your own personal army of workers, grafting day and night to provide you with a profitable income, whilst you carry on with your own day-to-day business?
No, this isn’t the life of an 18th century cotton mill tycoon, but it is for the people who have saved and invested their money, and can now live off the interest and dividends generated without having to do a day’s work.
Every month in 2012, start putting small amounts of money into a tax-free ISA, gradually increasing the amounts when you can afford to, and you will slowly, but surely begin to build your own wealth-creating workforce.
More information:
A guide to passive investing in the UK
How to Create a Shortlist of Potential Market Beating Stocks
How to Invest Your Way to Wealth Even if You Live on a Modest Wage
Savings Goals – How To Ensure You Get Want You Want!
Is It Possible To Save 25% Of Your Salary?
7 – Buy A Property
Will 2012 be the year to invest in bricks and mortar? Here are the essential tips for first time buyers.
Use a Phantom Mortgage to Get Yourself onto the Property Ladder Quicker
How to Buy a House – First Time Buyers Guide
8 – Start A Pension
The power of compound interest favours those most who start paying into pension fund from the earliest age; so even if you can only spare a few extra quid to invest in your pension each month, the combination of compound interest and tax-breaks will help to snowball your savings for later life.
More information:
The Rules of Financial Freedom
Keep Them SMART!
Don’t forget to keep your resolutions SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely) and set yourself review periods throughout the year to track your progress.
In the meantime, I hope you have a fantastic Christmas, and a happy and prosperous New Year!
