New year resolutions abound at this time of year, although the talk is all about the ones made for next year and never the ones that were kept to from this year.
And maybe that's the problem with resolutions - maybe we're too strictly focussed on one goal. Take not smoking - rather than an unachievable 'I will stop smoking on January 1st', why not make a determined attempt to cut down over the next months with a view to stopping altogether?
January is better for some resolutions than others though - for instance, after all that rich Christmas food, the boxes of Quality Street, Celebrations, etc., the Christmas pudding, eating less in the new year always starts off well. And after all those Christmas beers and glasses of wine, January always starts off well in the healthy stakes.
One of the more challenging new year's jobs is looking at all the financial stuff - seeing how badly your current account has been mauled is never fun. But some of the other financial stuff like looking at what insurance policies you have, savings or other financial products you may need - well, best not put it off as these are the things that can make a life a lot easier. There may even be financial products that you previously weren't aware of or are surprised by how inexpensive they are - things like health insurance for children, dental cover and so on.
