A Resolution For NOW And Not New Year
One Fool rambles about his financial resolutions and attempts to trademark a new expression.
Today, someone asked me what my financial New Year's Resolutions are. Well, I don't have any. That's because I believe that if you really want to do something, if you know it's good for you and it'll make you happier in the long run, then do it now, not later. It should be a Start Now! ResolutionTM*.
Thankfully, when it comes to the Foolish financial way, I walk the walk as well as talk the talk. I'm a big fan of all the Foolish principles, such as: be wary of financial products that come with 'free stuff'; don't read too much into property-market and stock-market 'predictions'; invest for the long-term using index trackers or ETFs; read the small print; pay off your debts before you save; and so on.
So, when I was asked about my resolutions, I decided to do the two small things that I can think of where I don't actually act Foolishly - but starting now, not in three week's time. So, my Start Now! ResolutionsTM are to:
Finish contacting all the organisations that I have a financial relationship with, or that contact me by post. (I moved flat in July, but I still haven't written to everyone saying so. This is lazy and stupid, not Foolish, because it can affect my credit rating and leave me open to fraud.)Compare and switch gas and electricity provider (because I haven't done it since I moved in, and I know I can do a lot better on price).
In the grand scheme of things, that's not much for me to improve, but I was lucky; I found The Fool in my early twenties. However, I reckon that many of you could do with a more ambitious Start Now! ResolutionTM. What I recommend is that you start planning how you'll pay for your car next year. (Pick another big expense if you don't have a car.) If you do that, I believe the rest of your budget will sort itself out along with it.
You see, cars are very expensive. You have your MOT, maintenance, Road Tax and car insurance to consider. What's more, these aren't regular monthly bills, so they are easy to forget when thinking ahead to your January budget.
So, this week, for your Start Now! ResolutionTM, you could:
Work out what your financial position will be at the end of this month.Work out what your income and outgoings will be in January.Then work out how much you'll need to put aside each month until your Road Tax, MOT and car-insurance renewal come up. (You could get a rough idea of what your car insurance will cost next year using our comparison tool.)
When you've finished planning this, you'll have the foundations of a decent budget plan. I think you'll then find it easier to start planning for other non-monthly items, like holidays, birthdays...and next Christmas!
If you need help budgeting, visit our Dealing with Debt or Living Below Your Means boards. Click on Start Now! ResolutionTM to become rich quick!...Or, just visit our car insurance centre and try to save a bit of money.
*It's not really a trademark, but it reads like it should be, doesn't it? You know, one of those annoying, gimmicky ones that are littered throughout a Web page in an irritating way, and which you know aren't really trademarks anyway; they're just a transparent marketing technique for 'entrepreneurs' (i.e. conmen) who'll make you rich, and quick!...I'm sorry I came up with it.