In today's world, with the economy in the state it's in,

most of us are finding ourselves with more expenses and less

money. We are having to take a look at our income and

expenses more than ever before. And many of us recognize

that we must make some changes in the way we handle our

family's finances and our long term financial goals. But how

should we go about this? How can we make the changes that

will enable us to reach those goals?

The first thought that comes to mind may be that we should

be making some new financial resolutions. Most financial

experts, including FoxBusiness.com, talk about resolutions

and about setting financial goals. We're told to set short,

intermediate and long-term goals. They say "consider which

places and actions will allow you to reach your identified

financial goals." And, that's all the information we

typically get.

Your own experience probably matches that of the rest of the

population: resolutions usually don't work. And

psychologists agree. General, and vague, long-term goals are

seldom reached. Having a positive attitude and associating

with positive-minded people is always a good idea, but

ultimately, that's not enough to change a bad situation or

solve a financial problem.

Making a decision and the commitment to doing something

specific must come first--followed by taking action on that

decision. And the very best first step on your way to

accomplish a financial goal is to make a commitment to

create an annual family budget. There are very effective

ways to do that. Those who have had success with their own

budgets and financial lives tell us that they've learned to

handle their goals through step-by-step instruction. And

it's not, as they say, "rocket science."

What, then, does work for reaching financial goals?

Let's suppose that you and your family have a need for

something--a new car, for example. Your first objective may

be to save enough money for a down payment. This milestone

may be so large however, that sub-consciously, your mind may

be overwhelmed and just unable take any action at all. Or,

you may tell yourself "there is plenty of time to save that

money," and you put it off. Ultimately, nothing happens.

This is the major flaw in the process of making resolutions:

they are often way too large and too vague.

The process to take in successfully accomplishing your

financial decisions is simple:

1. Consider your goal and break that goal down into discrete

milestones. If you need a new car, for example, perhaps you

may decide your first milestone is discovering how and where

you can save money for your down-payment. Milestones must be

established in a reasonable and practical way--decide

precisely what major steps must happen over what period of

time in order to reach each goal.

2. Break each milestone into specific actions, tasks you can

actually see yourself accomplishing. You might decide that

your first action in this example is to buy a small notebook

into which you can record everything you spend daily. This

way you can see where to cut back in order to save down-

payment money.

3. Put each action step into your calendar, ideally with a

time, as an appointment with yourself that you will not

break. Perhaps you put into your calendar that you'll buy

your "expenditures notebook" tomorrow on your lunch break

and immediately begin recording everything you spend.

4. Accomplish each action as you've promised yourself.

5. Make adjustments in your planning and scheduling as

needed to reach each milestone, and your goal.

This is the only way to make personal finance goals happen:

DECISION ==> COMMITMENT ==> GOAL ==> MILESTONES ==> ACTIONS

==> DEADLINES ==> CALENDAR ==> TAKE ACTION!

Repeat, over and over, until you reach each goal. Everything

in this formula MUST be included in this process. And

remember to make each action step small and discrete, so you

can achieve it easily without becoming overwhelmed.

Forget resolutions and stick with goals, which you can

easily make and take action on any time, not just at the

beginning of each new year.