New Year's resolutions don't have to cost an arm and a leg

Stick to your New Year’s resolutions without a pricey gym membership, fancy equipment, expensive classes or other budget-busters. Rest assured, you can stand pat in your resolutions throughout the year without spending a bundle. Here are the most popular New Years resolutions, along with tips on following them when you’re on a tight budget.


Exercise more: Instead of buying an expensive gym membership, put on a pair of sneakers and walk! Walk in the park, walk in town, walk in the city. Borrow a neighbor's dog and walk. Park your car at the far edge of the parking lot and walk. Forgo the elevator and walk the stairs. If you think about it, you’ll find lots of ways to work more walking into your day.
Eat healthy foods: Pursuing a healthy eating program can easily bring down your food costs because healthy eating starts with fresh produce and basic ingredients that don’t cost a lot. See Healthy Eating, for Less for tips, hints and ideas for healthy eating for the budget-minded.
Stop smoking: Instead of expensive medical programs, hypnosis and/or nicotine patches, check out the many free programs and websites that can help you kick the habit. Start with the Centers for Disease Control How to Quit Smoking page: www.cdc.gov/tobacco/quit_smoking/how_to_quit
Take up a hobby or learn a craft: You don’t necessarily need to invest money in materials, books and classes to take up a hobby—why don’t you revisit a pastime that you used to love? Go on and find those knitting needles, or retrieve the roller blades from the back of the closet, or dust off the stamp collection. You just might fall in love again.
Read more: Instead of breaking the bank at the bookstore, visit your local library and check out a new book every week. Most libraries also have magazines for perusing, along with computers with fast internet connections and lots of helpful advice for finding what you need online.
Learn something new: There’s no need to enroll in expensive college classes if you are looking to expand your horizons and learn something new. Look into “auditing” a class at your local university or community college. Many schools will allow you to sit in on classes (and participate!) without paying tuition (and without earning credits—but you just want to learn, right?). You can also inquire at your local library, community center or book store about free or low-cost classes or reading groups covering a huge variety of topics.
Take a vacation: Instead of flying or driving to faraway destinations and spending your hard-earned money on a motel and meals out, take a “staycation.” Stay at home during your time off, but make a commitment to sightsee, visit museums and generally get to know your hometown all over again.

 *Visit a Louisville bed and breakfast We are not far from Indianapolis, Chicago, Cincinnati, and St Louis. Although a little longer drive, it's easy to get here from Nashville and Georgia. And, of course Kentuckians, for the most part, have an doable week-end getaway spot to come to. The bed and breakfasts all have Valentine's Packages to satisfy your romantic mood. Do come and visit us, but call ahead.


And of course, there are lots of popular resolutions that don’t cost a cent to begin with. You don’t need a lot of money to pursue these resolutions:

• Cook more

• Get organized

• Spend more time with family and friends

• Help others or volunteer


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Financial resolutions for the New Year

Each new year brings us a chance to bid farewell to bad habits and resolve to practice good ones. The more you know about your finances and the more attention you pay to them, the more solid your financial future will be.
If you start with one, and then add another each month or two, at the end of next year you’ll feel proud and confident knowing that you have your finances under control.

Now is the time to commit to improving your financial health next year, and get a jump-start by identifying one thing you could begin doing today to improve your personal financial well-being. Here are a few resolutions to help you take control of your finances in 2010. Good luck!

Spend less
Set a budget. Look at how much you bring home each month and subtract all your fixed expenses, such as mortgage, utilities, and gas for your car. Then divvy up what’s left over among your other expenses.
Reduce your grocery bill by shopping sales, using coupons, buying store brands, or removing junk food from your list.
Pay for your purchases with cash or a debit card, which takes money directly out of your checking account (don’t forget to record your purchases in your check register).
Give yourself 72 hours to think over a purchase. Chances are you’ll forget all about it.
Work off stress by exercising, not shopping.

Save more
Pay yourself first. Set up automatic deposits of 10% of your paycheck into a savings or retirement account.
Save in an interest-bearing savings account, such as a money market account, money market fund, or CD. Contribute to your 401(k) and save on taxes, too.
Visit bankrate.com to compare interest rates. Before opening an account, carefully read the fine print. In the wake of the recession, many banks are enacting strict regulations.

Limit credit card use
Use cash. Studies show people spend more when paying with plastic—even at fast food restaurants.
Ideally, use your credit card only for emergencies.

Pay down debt
Set aside an amount each month for paying down your debt.
Prioritize which debt to pay by starting with the highest interest first. When it’s paid off, tackle the account with the next highest interest rate.

Start an emergency fund
After paying off your credit cards, start an emergency fund to cover a loss of income or unexpected expenses. Setting aside six to nine months salary is usually recommended.
Make sure to use a money market fund or other easily accessible account for your emergency fund. Find a good interest rate by researching online and comparing with your local banks and credit unions.

Check your account statements monthly
Review your bank account and credit card statements when they arrive. One small mistake or unauthorized purchase can cause you big headaches later and hurt your credit score. The sooner you investigate potentially fraudulent charges, the more likely you’ll be able to clear them up.

Keep tabs on your credit report
Maintaining a good credit history is essential to achieving financial peace of mind. Make it a tradition to check your credit reports at the beginning of each year.
Keep tabs on your credit report throughout the year with credit monitoring. Our credit monitoring service will alert you whenever there is a change in your report that you should be verify.

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