Yes, a recent blog was just making fun of New Year’s Resolutions. But the new year does feel like a good time to embark on fresh starts, be it health, relationships, or money. I can only help with one.
Resolution #1: Ignore all economic forecasts, prognostications, tea leaf reading, crystal ball predictions and financial news in general. Why? Because they are mostly wrong. The International Monetary Fund (presumably well-educated nerds with access to the best data) have predicted 5 recessions in various global economies from 1991-2018. Twenty-six recessions actually happened worldwide during that period. By skipping the tedious reading of economic forecasts, you have freed up hours going to the gym – your other resolution.
Resolution #2: Pay for your vacation in advance. Set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your special never-to-be-breached savings account for $100-$300 per month. Voila! Vacation without the credit card hangover.
Resolution #3: Find one thing you are not using and cancel it. This may be a gym membership, cable, an old life insurance policy, Netflix that you are paying for but also getting free with your phone plan, a subscription, an app on your phone, a professional or organization you don’t really attend anymore, a credit card with an annual fee, or a babysitting service and your kids are grown. I’ll bet if you really look at your credit card bill, you could even come up with 2 services to cancel.
There you have it. Financial resolutions you can do in a day! And then, off to the boxing gym – before you cancel that membership in March.
