New Year, New Savings Tips

With a new year comes new beginnings, and new promises to ourselves that we will make changes and stick to them. The problem is that by the 6th day of January, most of us have fallen off the wagon!

That doesn't mean that you can't make the decision to change and actually do it. People do it all the time. It just takes forming new habits and tracking your progress.

Although I am not a financial advisor, and don't pretend to be one, here are some simple money saving tips that you can use to jump start your new year and get your piggy bank filled up again (especially after all that Holiday shopping).

All it takes is going back to the basics, and keeping it simple:

● If you can't afford it, don't buy it: Leave your credit cards at home if you have to...in a safe, buried in the back yard or frozen in a block of ice in your freezer.

● Create a monthly budget and stick to it: Have you ever saved a months worth of receipts and logged your spending? It is definitely an eye-opener...and why I am staying away from Starbucks for a while.

● Live within your means: Look at your monthly bills....can you cut back on unnecessary expenses? Can you adjust your cell phone plan, or your cable or satellite plan for your TV?

● Keep up with your credit card payments: If you get behind, even by one month, you can end up paying hundreds, even thousands of dollars in interest later on.

● Car insurance and life insurance: Have you looked at your plans lately, or compared them with other companies to see if you can get the same coverage for less money? It might be worth checking out.

So, do your homework and form some new habits. Forget about past mistakes. Dwelling on the past will only cause you to become depressed and make MORE mistakes. Take one day at a time, look forward and take action. Someone once said that the journey of a million paces starts with one step (or something like that....you get the idea). So take that first step and make a change!

Beth Hobart