8 New Year’s Resolutions to Maximize Your Savings

New Year’s resolutions are about making a change for the better in the coming year.  Most people make them about their eating, health or reforming less than positive personal habits.  Spend a little time reviewing these 8 New Year’s Resolutions to Maximize Your Savings and fine tune your finances for the upcoming year.

1. First and foremost, create a budget. To achieve any financial goals, you should establish from the start what you will be spending, saving and using for bills. If you need help creating a budget, try investigating your local adult education centers. They often have classes that are free or very low cost for creating household budgets and managing money. The internet is a good resource for creating a budget as well.

2. Stop needless spending. This means once you have your budget set, stick to it. Cut as many small money-eaters out like fancy coffee runs. Small changes can really add up quickly.

3. Start using coupons (if you don’t already). If you’re worried it’s too much work for too little savings, think again. The great thing about couponing is you can do it as much or as little as you want, and still get some great savings. With new apps like Favado and Cartwheel out for your Smartphone, it’s even easier than ever.

4. Try doing the 52 Week Money Saving Challenge. This is a simple way to save money if you have a hard time doing so. The first week you save $1, the second – $2, the third – $3 and so on. By the end of 52 weeks, you have well over $1,000 saved and you never had to put more than 52 dollars at a time in your savings. Not only that, but this will be all ready to go in time for the busy and expensive holiday season next year. You won’t even have to sweat it!

5. Track all your spending.  Period.  By tracking all the expenses, you can determine where your budget pitfalls are, and have an easier time devising a plan to put an end to them.

6. Ask yourself the tough honest questions.  Do you really need cable TV?  Would a program like Amazon Prime or Netflix work for you instead?  How many minutes do you actually use on your phone?  How many texts do you send?  Would a pre-paid or limited minutes plan work better for your phone usage?

7.  Create an emergency savings fund.  Segment a percentage of your income and dedicate it to the emergency fun.  It doesn’t have to be a lot to start, but make it a priority.  The money will start to add up over time.  If you are planning to receive a tax refund this year, you can even start with that.

8. Start a weekly meal plan process.  A big drain on a household budget is not preparing properly for food.  Planning meals allows you to know exactly what you spend on food while eating well, and reducing waste.

What’s your best tip for getting your finances in order for the coming New Year?