What will 2012 Bring?

In my last article I talked about finishing 2011 well and now we are embarking upon a new year of new beginnings.  How will you start this year and how will you end?  Sometimes it is not about how we finish the race as much as it is how we start.  Sometimes we may cross over that victory rope exhausted and tired, but with a smile on our face and sometimes we are almost there, but cannot quite make it across. 

What will you do differently this year?  If you start out by changing just one thing and do it well, then it could possibly lead to another and then another.  Like taking your lunch to work 2 of the 3 days and putting the money that you would normally spend in savings.  Maybe it is to just to save period.  Why not take at a minimum 10% of your pay and put in savings every week?  This is the best time to review EVERYTHING!  Your auto insurance, your cell phone service, your internet, cable, your lifestyle. 

This is the time of year when we do a lot of reflecting, hoping that this year will be better than the last, vowing to do better, but in actuality not taking the steps. Why? Because we have come accustomed to the fast pace life that we live and living in survival mode that we are not sure where to start.  The old adage is that if you do not change anything in a year from now you will still be in the same position. Let’s change positions, vow to change one thing. It only takes 30 days to make a habit. Take 30 days to commit to a change.  After 30 days add something else.

Take a hard look at your finances; write them down; start paying off the smaller bills first, then move to the next, then the next and before you realize it you are paying off and paying down bills and actually beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  You just have to start.

I would love to hear from some of you as to what changes you are going to do this year and then at the end of the year how you completed your race.

Everyone on your mark, get set. . . . .  GO!

Theresa Ross can be reach for questions or comments at t.ross@mbhaonline.org