Looking Back to Look Forward

Whether it is saving a few extra dollars or getting out of debt, many people take the New Year as an opportunity to set some financial resolutions.  Before we can look to 2012’s personal financial forecast, we have to look back at 2011.  Our last year of life is very telling when it comes to predicting where our pitfalls and opportunities are in the coming year.

If saving some cash is your resolution, take a look back at your bank statements from 2011 and ask what kept you from saving in the last 12 months.  Is there a pattern of expenses that drained your accounts?  What can you do to change that pattern?  If getting out of debt is your goal, figure out where your debt came from in 2011.  Where are the credit charges coming from?  How can you change those habits in the next 365 days?

It has been said, “Those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it.”  This is true not only for world history, but for our finances as well.  If you are looking for a financial road map for the New Year, you can always pull out the one you traveled in 2011.  The terrain will most like be the same, but how you navigate it can be completely different.

May 2012 be your best financial year ever!