With New Year’s just days away, you’ve probably given some thought to your resolutions for 2009. And considering the current state of the economy, I’d be surprised if you haven’t at least considered a resolution involving your finances. While it’s not uncommon to resolve to save up money, pay down debt or otherwise work on getting your finances on a stable footing, most people I’ve talked to are working a little harder on it this year.

No matter how firm a person’s resolve is, though, most people give up on their New Year’s resolution after only a few weeks. The issue is not how serious a person might be about getting their finances straightened out — it’s how they go about it. While most resolutions are hard to follow through on, financial resolutions are particularly difficult because most people take a very general approach. The tips below can help you make your efforts concrete — and set yourself up for success.

• Write down your resolution and how you’ll get it done. An absolutely amazing number of people set themselves goals but neglect to write them down. Most of those people simply forget their resolution. Sure, they’ll work towards it when they remember — but it’s pretty rare that someone remembers for more than a few days.
• Quantify your goal. Saving money is an extremely general goal. If you’re more specific, you’ll have a better idea of what you want to get done and you’ll know when you’ve managed it. How much money do you want to save? When do you want to save that money by? How much do you need to save each week to meet your goal? Ask yourself questions about exactly what your financial goal is and add them to your written resolution.
• Give yourself some space. While having a goal that makes you stretch is good, make sure that you don’t stretch yourself too hard. If you calculate that you can save $1,000 by the end of January if you use every available resource, consider making your goal $900 — you need the occasional break, after all, and if you save every cent that you might have spent on other things, you’ll wind up with a pretty dreary month.
• Remind yourself of what you’re working for. If your ultimate goal is a house, stick a picture of your dream house in your wallet or wherever you’ll look at it on a daily basis. Keep whatever benefit you expect to get from reaching your goal front and center in your mind.
• Check your progress regularly. There’s nothing wrong with checking your account balance on a daily basis if you’re trying to make daily progress. It can provide you with proof that you’re really succeeding, making it easier to keep momentum. It can also inspire you to do better, if you haven’t been keeping up with your plans.
• Don’t play catchup. If your goal is to set aside $50 each week and you miss a week, don’t try to set aside $100 the next week. You’ll get into the catchup mindset and let yourself slack for weeks at a time, saying that you can always catch up later.

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