New Years Resolutions

So...most new year's resolutions have already ran their course and are sitting on a shelf somewhere waiting to be re-resolved next year. ("Psychologist John Norcross of the University of Scranton found that 25 percent of all resolutions fail within the first week.") The US government provides a list of common resolutions on their website - http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/New_Years_Resolutions.shtml and saving money is third on the list. Even if that were a resolution that you made, and have since dropped - everyone could use a bit of money savings, especially in this economy. Perhaps this blog entry from the department of energy will help to put your resolution back in the right direction. The blog entry is located at: http://eere.typepad.com/energysavers/2008/12/resolve-to-save-energy-in-the-new-year-.html#more and it gives an acronym to help your changes be "SMART" Smart - stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely. These are the keys to helping you to save money make a lasting impression. Specific - you want to be able to set a specific goal, the department of energy recommends reducing your energy use. This can be as simple as making sure you turn the lights off when you leave a room, or making sure you only have enough light turned on that you need. Turning a reading lamp on to watch TV is a little unnecessary. Measurable - everyone wants to be able to see progress while making changes, if there are no changes that are measurable the majority of people are likely to give up. They also suggest writing down your goals and keeping track of them often. Relevant -

"Relevant Set goals that are important to you. There are many reasons to try to save energy. Whether your reasons are related to finances, the environment, comfort, or some other reason entirely, be sure to define why you want to make the effort. Write it down and remind yourself regularly why saving energy is important to you."

Timely - if you are going through the actions to save you money in summer during winter, you may actually be costing yourself more money. Be aware of the season, the temperature outside and adjust your energy use accordingly. So, don't be discouraged if your new years resolution has gone by the wayside. It is always a good time to start saving money - and you don't even need a special occasion to do so.