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Released: December 31, 2012

Simple financial resolutions for 2013

Source: Linda Stern, Reuters (NBC News)

Make resolutions if you must: But that doesn't usually last. Resolutions get broken because they are too lofty and too ill-defined. It is better to break your resolutions down into a specific to do list: here are the money moves to make now and in the coming weeks that will insure you're in a better financial place before 2013 ends. 

• Analyze your entertainment budget. Television service used to be free, except for the electricity to run it. Now you have to choose cable versus satellite dish and then add on movies from a host of services (like Amazon, Hulu and Netflix) via a host of devices (like Roku, Apple TV and internet-enabled Blu-ray players). Monthly budgets for a family run well over $100, just for television, so it's worth figuring out what you watch and how you watch it and comparison shop for the cheapest way to do that. Often, cable and satellite providers will cut you a better deal if you say you're ready to quit their service.
• Put one savings on auto-pilot. There is nothing new or revolutionary about this particular exercise, but it works. Choose a low-cost stock mutual fund from a direct-seller like Vanguard, Fidelity Investments or T. Rowe Price. Authorize the fund to sweep a set amount out of your checking account every month. Even $100 will make a difference over time. Just ignore this fund, except to watch it build over time.
• Max out your credit cards -- not with borrowing, but with rewards.

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