Used by permission from ChristianPF.com

I am not much of a supporter of new year resolutions, I don’t like waiting around for a specific date to make positive life changes. That said, I guess some people don’t really think about making positive life changes until the new year rolls around.

Out of curiosity, I did a little digging to see what seemed to be the most common new year resolutions that people strive for. It probably isn’t much of a surprise that more than a few are financial goals…

These were the 10 most common resolutions that I noticed

1. Get in shape – It isn’t much of a surprise that this is the most common new year’s resolution. It seems to be the most typically set and failed resolution that people make. I don’t know about you, but I have found from failing to keep resolutions many times that I need to make very small changes. Rather than setting a goal to start working out every day, I set a goal to work out once a week. Once I successfully reach that milestone, then I work up to two days a week and so on. For me, this seems to be the only way that works to help me make life changes.
2. Eat healthier – A few years ago, I read a book that changed my life. It was called, “What the Bible says about Healthy Living.” I quickly realized that I had been falsely thinking that I was “healthy”. Just like I mentioned above, I didn’t try to change all of my habits at once, but rather focused on making one small change at a time. The result- I am still keeping up with lots of principles I learned in that book.
3. Get out of debt – I wonder how many copies of The Total Money Makeover Dave Ramsey sells right at the new year? If this is you, Dave’s book is a great tool. You can also check out the 7 part series I did on getting out of debt.
4. Stop smoking – This is a tough one, but probably one of the best things you can do for your physical health.
5. Start budgeting – I am always in awe that how much people hate the word “budget.” It really is not a form of modern day torture like some would believe. I can’t tell you how much freedom came after we started budgeting. The key is all about how you set up your budget, but for us, instead of feeling restricted on what to do with our money, it actually provided a lot more freedom and allowed us to spend money on things that we never would have without a budget. I have written quite a bit about budgeting, but if you are just starting I suggest you get some free budget software and read How to Make a Budget.
6. Get a new job / Start a business – Boy, do I know the feeling. I had wanted to get a new job and start a business for a while, and I finally found a way to turn my hobby into a full-time income. For inspiration check out the what to do when you hate your job and How I escaped the Rat Race.
7. Spend more time with family – This is just another one of the many reasons why I wanted to improve my financial situation.
8. Save or make more money – Saving money is another topic that I have written a lot about. Check out the 16 best ways to save money and I also have quite a few posts about ways to make money as well.
9. Get your life organized – I feel like I have a lot of areas in my life organized. But my area of difficulty is my time. Time management has always been a struggle for me. I have made steps forward over the years after reading books like The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People or Getting Things Done, but I still have a ways to go.
10. Give more – If you are anything like me, you always want to give more, but often overlook opportunities because of the busy-ness of life. It was for this reason that I started the 10 Day Give challenge back in October. A bunch of us did in October, but it is a great exercise to help you stay in the mindset of giving. For inspiration, I leave you with a bunch of great giving scriptures and quotes.

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Ok, Bob Mathews here. I’m thankful to Bob from ChristianPF.com for permission to post the article above. Be sure to check out his site when you get a chance. Like Bob, I’m not much on formal “New Year’s resolutions”, but a new year just gives us a chance to look at our respective lives and pick out an area or two that we’d like to focus on.

I’d like to improve our family’s debt, which isn’t tremendous, but still an area that needs work. I’m thankful for a wife that has a knack for that sort of thing, because I sure don’t. I’d also like to improve my relationship with the Father. I almost hesitate to say that, because there are so many areas of improvement, it’s something we all need to do, and it’s so hard to  measure. Specifically though, I plan on stronger prayer and deeper study. Toward that end, I’d recommend to everyone a daily Bible-reading schedule. the Southern Hills congregation just began one, with a blog to accompany the daily readings. Check out the reading schedule and the blog, if you’re so inclined.

Question:

What resolutions have you made for the new year? If you haven’t made specific “resolutions”, what areas would you like to focus on for improvement this year?