Six Financial New Year’s Resolutions

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Face it: Most New Year’s resolutions are a bust. This year, forget about dropping those pounds and focus on something more important: your money. Here, some financial resolutions for the new year. Because abs of steel won’t make you happy, but piles of money might just do the trick.

1. Kill Debt
It’s a no-brainer: Before you do anything, pay off your high-interest credit card debt. Only once you’ve done this can you start thinking about your RRSP or dream home.

2. Trim Bills
Whether it’s roaming charges galore, redundant insurance, or dozens of bad TV channels, there’s surely fat to be trimmed on your monthly bills.

3. Buy Stocks
The S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 14 percent this year — and the markets will likely continue to rise throughout 2011. Plus, it’s only a matter of time until all the folks holding sleepy bonds look for higher returns in equities.

4. Save More
Put a few more bucks in your RRSP each month. Just $25 will yield an additional $65k when you retire. (Assuming seven percent return over 40 years.) Explore the possibilities here.

5. Write a Will
If you’re recently married, and definitely if you’ve got kids, it’s time to create this morbid but practical document. Don’t let the government decide what happens with your dough.

6. Buy Property
With mortgage rates still ridiculously low, you can invest in your largest asset with a monthly payment that you couldn’t have dreamed up a few years ago.

Image courtesy of atmtx.