Hello and Happy New Year-

Here are two resolutions you should try and maintain all throughout the year.

* Spend less than you make.

This doesn’t sound like a
brilliant idea, but doing this will greatly improve your financial
situation. Few people develop a budget, and only a small percentage of
those that do are able to remain on a budget. Instead of budgeting,
limit spending to 80 percent or less of your income, and the rest will
take care of itself. Know what your fixed expenses are, and plan to
save for big-ticket items such as vacations and cars.

* Reduce credit card and other consumer debt.

List
all of the amounts owed and minimum payments for each of your consumer
credit accounts. Rank these by interest rate charged. If possible,
transfer any high interest rate debt to an account with a lower rate.
Many credit cards will offer teaser rates to encourage balance
transfers. This may be advantageous but read the fine print before
making additional charges. Additional charges will usually trigger an
increase in the interest rate, defeating the purposes of the transfer.

* Monitor your credit report. You can do so for free once a year online at www.annualcreditreport.com.

-Adam

A key for new year: Spend less than you earn (The News & Observer)

Q:I’m making my list of New Year’s resolutions, which includes the standards, lose weight and stop smoking cigarettes.

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