I am not really a “New Year Resolution” supporter because I don’t want to halt my decisions till the year end. In simple terms, why do people wait for New Year to bring positive changes in life?

It’s quite amusing to see people coming up with similar resolutions every year. I don’t like to have such procrastinated resolutions. But, out of curiosity, I did a bit of research to find the most common ones this year.

1. Lose Weight:

   Not surprisingly, this is the number one resolution since last fifty years or more (I guess, since people knew about New Year resolution). Along with being most common, this resolution is also the most unsuccessfully kept one. People, who never worked out once a month, set up goals to works out every day. Why such unachievable targets? Rather than doing it daily, getting frustrated and quitting it for good, why not promise yourself to workout once a week?

2. Eat Healthy:

   Yet another unsuccessful resolution. How can a small decision taken on a drunken night avoid you from eating everyday scrumptious, junk food? People don’t even stick to their promises for a month.

3. Leading a Debt Free life:

   I guess, most of the ‘money-saving’, ‘debt-free’, and ‘be-rich’ books are sold in first week of January. People burry themselves with debt throughout the year and try to get out of them in January. However, some do succeed in overcoming debt.

4. Stop Smoking:

   Oh, stop deceiving. You have tried this every year, what’s so special about this year? This is possibly the best thing you could do to yourself along with saving a daily income.

5. Start budgeting:

   ‘Budget’ is possibly the most dreaded word among people trying to save money. However, people who have resolved to start a new budget, trust me, it is something that will make you more independent and clear. Instead of applying restriction to your money outflow, it is something that gives you clarity on spending decisions and financial targets. Once you star doing it, it becomes simple.

6. Seek a new job or start a new business:

   I would appreciate your decision to start a new business. It wasn’t my New Year resolution, but I once decided to start a new business and now am earning lots through my hobby. Keep doing good work and be patient. The same piece of advice goes for job seekers; don’t lose patience.

7. Spend more time with family:

   Yes, even I would like to improve on this. I just cannot spare time for my parents and wife out of my busy schedule. This requires very effective time management.

8. Saving money or making money:

   Saving money is different than getting out of debt. Saving is by choice, while repaying is by force. You cannot miss repaying loans, but you can miss out saving. Hence, many people fail to save regularly because it’s not compulsion.

9. Getting organized:

   Some want their work desk to be kept clean, some their minds. We all need to be organized one way or the other. Being organized also involves time management, which I am not quite good at.

10. Give more:

    Many people intend to give more but can just give it. The only way to do it is setting it as priority, including it in your financial target. Or you will find ways to skip it. Be motivated by read books about giving. Starters, experience the contentment of giving.

My reason for researching these resolutions was to unhide the fact that a major category among the 10 points is ‘financial goals’. Having something set as a New Year resolution means it’s being avoided in the current year. Personal Finance is a key element of our life that supports most of our activities, but we don’t do much to get it in control. We keep delaying, we always have excuses, but we want our financial targets to be met.

Another common thing that I noticed and concluded to be the reason of failure is: They wanted to do all at once. Starting and new business or working according to a budget requires planning. Losing weight means joining gym and involve in intense workout program. This is a major behavioral change in you, it takes time. How can you expect it to be easy? Go slow, and be persistent. Don’t make resolutions just because your friends did it. You are losing your trustworthiness.

Let’s make 2010 a year of success. Let’s promise ourselves to our resolutions and achieve victory over our weaknesses that’s being overpowering since many years. Let us have a New Year, a successful and a satisfying year.