Merry New Year 2011! It All Starts again…

So I have returned from my sabbatical ready for another exciting year, which 2011 looks to be.

As you saw with the Personal Financial Rants of 2010, many personal finance bloggers are angry. There are a lot of them out there. I was proud of the posts that most of the folks sent me. Although I am kind of worried about a few of them. Maybe they need to cut back on the high test coffee.

Time for Some Resolutions!

Yes, even I, a self-described cynic when it comes to resolutions, will attempt a few resolutions. I will share a few with you. (I have others that have nothing to do with this blog, so these aren’t all of them.)

Why are resolutions important? I think it is important to challenge yourself in anything you do. Otherwise, you simply end up doing the same things again. If you are Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, doing the same thing again still makes you millions of dollars. For poor schlubs like us, doing the same thing again simply means farther in debt.

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The New Year is a perfect time to start something new. Let's explore some areas where a resolution or two might help. Allow me to personalize these from my point of view.

1. Move completely to a passive investing model, by using Index Funds instead of specific stocks. Currently my RRSPs still hold specific stocks. I cannot avoid worrying about minutia. Therefore, the best thing for my mental health would be to change to a completely Index'ed based methodology. Use a simple model for an investing mix and then sit back and not worry too much. I think this resolution is fairly easy to execute, as I am almost there in a few of the investment vehicles I currently have.
2. Automate bill payments completely, so that I am not constantly worrying about whether bills are being paid on time. Again, this is not that hard for me, I am mostly there, I have a few bills left to automate and this should make life simpler for me, and hopefully less stressful.
3. Create more income by spending less. This one sounds ridiculously simple, doesn't it, but given my current situation in terms of my job, the best way to increase my income spending less is the easiest way to create more income in my household. The areas where spending can be curtailed are obvious as well:
   1. Discretionary spending while at work: Don't buy lunch. Don't buy too many coffees. Hey, I need at least one coffee or I might fall asleep. Paying for parking is another big expense that needs to be dealt with, not sure exactly how that will get remedied.
   2. Work with my wife on the grocery budget (i.e. get the hell out of her way, and let her do it, and I'll keep my big mouth shut). This one is a lot harder than you think (given how big my mouth is).

Darn simple resolutions, but then again that is the essence of a good plan, simplicity. The major goal of all of this is to make money less stressful.

Am I missing something here? Are these resolutions too simple? I'm open to suggestions.

All Those Happy New Years

Yes, for many years I have wished you a Happy New Year

• Happy New Year 2025 May this New Year find you safe and happy. 2024 was a year to remember for its turmoil, but find a way to make 2025 a better one. It’s time to get back to the gym and plan on staying out of debt. Enjoy the coming year! #Debt #NewYear #Resolution
• Happy New Year 2024! What will the year 2024 bring? Let's hope it is a Happy New Year, but there is potential for a great deal of upheaval in the coming year. #NewYear #Happy2024
• Happy New Year 2022 and #MoneyTalk recapped a lot of 2021 and hoped that 2022 was going to bring some hope.
• A happy new year for 2021 ? Well it started pretty grotty, but it might get better.
• I must have had an inkling about 2020, as I didn't wish you a Happy New Year to start things. Hopefully with this post I have helped make the year better?
• In 2019 I was too practical with Tangible Financial New Years Resolutions but still worthwhile thinking about it, eh?
• For Happy New Year 2018 I had a great photo of being stuck on the 401 during a snowstorm, and links to previous New Year Messages.
• 2017 I pointed out that you start paying CPP and EI again, so your net pay is going to be lower.
• 2016 Happy New Year, just didn't happen, not sure why, must have been having a grinchy holiday?
• 2015 Happy New Year and I included a really bad joke about it being the year of the RAM in the Chinese Calendar.
• 2014 Happy New Year again I pointed out that CPP and EI rates were increasing as well, I really am a kill joy.
• 2013 was a Happy New Year, a celebratory Sunday was the photo to start the year.
• 2012 I used to post best of Twitter posts, and it seems to have fallen on a Sunday as well.
• Merry New Year! It All Starts again  was how 2011 started, and I included a bunch of resolutions in that article.
• 2010 New Year began with me in a new job, which was very nice, given I had been unemployed for a while.
• 2009 started a little bleak, in that I was unemployed, and was looking for a job, during a major economic crisis.
• Belated Happy and Prosperous New Year was how 2008 started, the economy was booming, employment was high, but there were hints of the systemic failure that was coming soon.
• Good Bye 2008, outlined the eventful year that it was for me. Things got better, but a lot didn't go right that year.
• A New Year Brings Tax Breaks? The tax breaks appeared in 2007 but later disappeared, unfortunately.
• Happy 2007 a quieter year, we hoped.
• 2006 I was still figuring out what this whole thing would be, but I showed signs of a ranting good time.