Evan Vitale

Evan Vitale – Improve Your Budget This Year

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By Evan Vitale

Happy New Year!

Now, let’s really get down to work – starting today – in making 2017 a great year for you by taking the necessary steps in erasing (or significantly lowering) your debt and improving your budget.

The beginning of the year is a good time to take a look at your expenses and your debt and making some good decisions to start the year off fresh.

Ready? Here we go:

  • Take a look at where your budget is leaking money. Make there are some unpredictable expenses or, perhaps, you didn’t account for some extra income (which is always nice). Fine tune your budget to completely fill in the gaps so as to make your budget more accurate.
  • Analyze your spending and see if there is anything out of the normal. Check your budgeted categories and make sure that they are realistically reflecting your lifestyle. Make necessary adjustments.
  • Check to see if you are buying too many of one or two items. For example, how much money are you spending each year on those extra “lattes” every day at your local coffee shop or, perhaps, are you spending too much money (and too often) on music downloads; DVDs; books; movie tickets or eating out at lunch. Work hard on reducing these amounts.
  • Re-evaluate your overall plan so that you can have the funds needed in order to reduce your debt (such as credit card debt) or to start saving more.

By studying; analyzing and re-working your budget, you can make logical changes to reduce extra spending; plug holes in your budget for unexpected expenses and work harder in the upcoming new year to erase debt and build more wealth.

 

Evan Vitale – New Year Resolutions

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By Evan Vitale

Are you setting any resolutions or goals for the upcoming year?

Believe-it-or-not, a somewhat recent Forbes study showed that only 8% of Americans actually achieved their New Year’s resolutions. On top of that, only 45% of Americans actually make New Year’s resolutions consistently with the other 55% who rarely make them or never make them at all.

Perhaps we tend to get wrapped up in the moment of a New Year’s Eve party or watching the ball drop on television to realize that make the past year wasn’t that good for us or that we have expectations that, somehow, we’re going to make improvements in our lives for the upcoming year.

Then, 365 days later, we repeat the process. “This year is going to be better no matter what,” we think.

While it can be fun to set a New Year’s Resolution (and impress your family and friends), you should take them seriously and turn them into goals for your life. For example:

  • Think about what you really want.
  • Reflect to the past year; consider your greatest moments and achievements and see if you can build on those in the upcoming year.
  • Develop clear outcomes. Losing weight is always a New Year’s Resolution, but other than seeing a lot of people running on New Year’s Day, you need to vision the ultimate outcome of your resolution. Consider your outcomes and goals and develop a plan to work towards them.
  • Create benchmarks.
  • Try to work with a partner. Find someone who has a similar goal and make it a point to hold each other accountable. This will help tremendously!
  • Fully understand what it’s going to take in order for you to reach your goal. Are you going to have to make serious changes and sacrifices in order to reach your resolution?
  • Consistently take action.

Work on your resolution and goal plans for the upcoming New Year and then follow through and work on them daily; weekly and monthly. Remind yourself and others of your goal and how you’re progressing.