What's Your Money Saving New Year's Resolution?

As 2009 draws to a close and we begin a new year, we once again start taking stock of our lives. What is your New Year's resolution going to be this year? Most of us will stick with the old stand by's...make more money, spend less money, find more time (which can be more valuable than money), less weight at the end of the year, and reconnecting with family. But, let me ask you this...how are you going to get there?

Do you really want to make the same resolutions this time next year? Why not be successful this year and move on to something new in 2011?

Most of us are great at defining our goals, but not so great at following through on the changes to make them reality. Let me give you a little secret advice that can make attaining your resolutions as painless as can be. Whatever changes you are planning to make to in the coming year, your goals are much easier to stick to if you make them so easy to achieve that your success is gauranteed. No, I'm not suggesting that you make a half hearted attempt at change, but rather that you set some high goals and make the methods you approach them with easier to implement than the behavior you want to change.

Let me explain further. Say you want to save money on your grocery bill, but HATE the time and hassle it takes to clip groery coupons. Should you just forget it and never bother?

Nope, you should make clipping coupons and saving thousands of dollars a year something so easy that you just don't mind the process. If it were me, this is how I would go about it.

1. I would only buy things on sale. Start here and you will save 30-40% off the top. Easy right? Just pick what is on sale, no preplanning required.

2. I'd use electronic coupons next. Go to cellfire.com and register. Pick the offers you want to use and send them to your wireless devices. Still easy, it takes a couple of minutes, you don't need to clip coupons, and your discounts are quick and automatic. Heck, cellfire.com is so easy, you don't even need to take a paper coupon to the store.

3. Next, head over to shortcuts.com and do the same. Register, pick your offers and load them to your store shopper's card. Still no hassle and you will be getting quite a bit of savings. No paper coupons, you can't forget to use them, and it takes about a minute for addtional savings.

So far, you have reduced your grocery expenses by 30-40% by purchasing only sale items. You have saved around another 10% (or more depending on your purchases)by using electronic grocery coupons. Not stress, no hassle and in only minutes you are spending half of what you would have last year.

If 40-50% savings is enough for you, great, stop here you are done and you have accomplished you resolution. If you want to save even more, head on over to coupons.com and match up their printable grocery coupons with what is on your grocery list. You can print two coupons at a time, so be sure to get two when you find a free or really cheap item. You will see freebies week after week, so be certain to get as many as you can when you do to max your savings. Now you are up to savings of 60% or more for your efforts.

There are many ways to meet your goals of spending less on food, giving your overall budget a break. The truth of the matter is that to be successful in the long term you will need to make whatever you do to reach your goals so easy to maintain that it is a no brainer. Do this, and you will be saving a lot of money on groceries and for many years to come.

A word to the wise, this behavior modification strategy makes any resolution much easier to accomplish...give it a try.

Best wishes to you all for a happy and prosperous New Year!

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