WSVN — New Year’s resolutions have been made, did your finances make the list? In tonight’s Dollars and Sense, Lynn Martinez talks to the experts about how to get your money in order in the New Year.
It’s a new year, time for resolutions to create a new you.
Meg Green: “I’m not going to smoke anymore. I’m not going to eat fattening food. I’m going to get up and I’m going to exercise every morning and they don’t get down the list to the money things and that’s where it should really, really begin.”
The team at Meg Green and Associates sees right through all the confetti of the New Year’s resolutions.
Meg Green: “If you don’t get it started in January and you kind of let it go, you’re going to be in November and saying ‘Darn, I should’ve.’ So January’s the time.”
Time to pop the cork on getting your finances in order. First, get organized. No more putting your bills on the kitchen counter.
Meg Green: “A filing system is a very important thing. If you’re a good scanner, go ahead and scan.”
Frightened of finances? It’s time to face your fears.
Meg Green: “The first thing you have to do is look. You have to kind of make a list. What have you got, what is it, what’s there?”
Get your hands dirty. If you have a plan at work, take a look at it. If you have a retirement plan, review it. Check your savings and checking accounts and you can’t forget those credit card bills.
Meg Green: “Look at what you have. Look at what you’ve saved. Look at what your bills are from the year before. It takes discipline to do this.”
Once you know what you have, set your goals and map your plan.
Meg Green: “It’s like me saying, ‘OK, no more carbs.’ I can say that all day long but if I actually sat down and mapped out what it is that I am eating, then I’ll know that maybe too many carbs are on my plate. It’s the same thing.”
Build your goals up by beating your debt down.
Meg Green: “Debt is a cancer. It will eat you up alive and you can not get out from under.”
Finally, check yourself and your protections for those who depend on you. Meg suggests you get a will together.
Meg Green: “If you don’t speak for yourself, someone else is going to speak for you and it’s not going to be as friendly as if you do.”
You have to fight for what you want.
Meg Green: “I’ve had the rug pulled out from under me once or twice, many of us have. That’s all it takes. Now you know to be in charge of yourself.”
Meg Green: “Money is independence. Money is power. Money is choices.”
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