Ten Resolutions to Make Your Financial Life Easier

Another year gone by, and where did it go? If yours was anything like mine, it went far too fast.  Now we have a new one right around the corner. In the interest of saving time, while attending to those pesky financial chores that must be done, here are some tips for making your financial life simpler (and richer) next year. Resolve to:

1. Pay bills at warp speed. About ten seconds is what it took me to pay a bill online that would have taken me at least a few minutes if I had to dig out my checkbook, write a check, slap on a stamp, and take it to a postbox. You can pay bills online.  The research shows it’s likely safer than paying offline, as long as you keep your computer free of spyware and viruses.

Setting up automatic withdrawals each month is even faster, since you don’t even have to log on for a bill to be paid. But be careful: I once had to fight to reverse an $851 withdrawal for an erroneous phone bill. I like to schedule automatic withdrawals only for bills with a fixed payment each month. For the rest of my bills, I go online to authorize before I allow any money to come out of my account.

2. Keep two credit cards, and freeze the rest. You might not be able to tile your pool with your plastic like Martha Stewart did in her television commercial a few years ago, but if you are a “typical” American, you own a wallet full of plastic. Two major credit cards should be all your need. Use more, and you might miss a due date and get hit with a painfully expensive late fee. Using one credit card with a low interest rate for purchases you won’t pay off in full, and one with no fee (plus rewards) for those you will should be enough.

3. Create a system. Whether it’s an online financial organizer like Mvelopes, Quicken, or Microsoft Money, or just something as simple as a filing drawer and notebook designated for your finances, find a place to organize your paperwork… and start doing it! You’ll save a bunch of time when you don’t have to dig through stacks of papers to find that receipt or cancelled check.  Tax time will be a lot easier as well.

4. Start saving. If you haven’t had the time or energy to start a savings account, pick a method – any method -- and get started. Sign up to have a small amount transferred from your checking account to a savings or money market account each month; start spending only paper money and save your coins each day in a jar until you have enough to deposit in the bank; get a piggybank; or get a credit card that helps you save. It’s one resolution you definitely won’t regret.

5. Stop doing it all. The most successful people in business find good people to work for them, then delegate the things that are not the best use of their time or skills. They check in to make sure things are running smoothly, but they focus their energy on more important tasks. The same goes for your financial life. Your team can include a great accountant, insurance broker, and financial planner. Help them understand where you want to go, then let their expertise help you get there.

6. Sweat the big stuff. You have put it off long enough. It’s time to get your will, living will and/or estate plan set up. Update beneficiaries if you haven’t done so recently. Then make a list of all your accounts and passwords in case something should happen to you . Be sure you have enough life insurance to protect your loved ones. Hopefully you will have a good, healthy year. But if things don’t go as planned, you want those important items checked off your to-do list.  

7. Go ahead, change your mind. Psychologists have been tackling the secrets of happiness , and guess what? After a certain point, it’s not about money. (And that point is usually around $50,000 a year, not a million). If you’re tired of worrying about money, then resolve that above all, you’ll be happy, regardless of your bank account balance. After all, what is life about, anyway?  Fortunately, there are great tools now to help you change your mind. Anything by Martin Seligman, Ph.D., can help, and I also love The Prosperity Game , a free online game where you get to spend virtual checks on anything you want (with no bill due, ever!).

8. Save a few trees. Call 1-888-OPT-OUT and get your name taken off the mailing list for pre-approved credit offers. Then cut out more junk mail with tips from Good Advice Press . Like getting a good spam filter for your email, you’ll feel better when you walk to the mailbox and don’t face a mountain of unwanted ads.

9. Buy less. Stay away from the mall, turn off the TV, and if possible, get your kids to do the same. You’ll find a lot fewer temptations calling your name. Your bank account will be healthier, your home less cluttered, and you will free up time for the things you really enjoy.

10. Take it one step at a time.  My favorite self-help book of the year, One Small Step Can Change Your Life by Robert Maurer, Ph.D. advises you to stop trying to make major changes and start with simple ones. Anything you can do in one minute or one action is ideal. So as you go through this list, don’t get overwhelmed. For example, if the thought of spending an afternoon setting up online bill payments gives you a headache, don’t take it one step at a time. Resolve to just set up one account online. Instead of agonizing over making our your will, make your first step only to ask three friends for referrals to an attorney who can help.

Keep it simple. Enjoy yourself, and take things easy. Those are resolutions most of us can stick with.