First Person: How I'm Keeping My Financial New Year's Resolutions

If you're like me, making New Year's resolutions is the easy part. I think up a few goals on New Year's Eve, throw salt over my shoulder and toast my success. I'm great for the first few weeks of January, but by MLK Jr. Day, I've pretty much forgotten them. Here are ways I'm not only making but keeping my 2012 New Year's resolutions. Since most of my resolutions involve money, I'll focus on those.

Organize and schedule

I'm a list-maker, so if I want to remember something, I have to jot it down: or should I say "e-jot" it down. I work from my computer, so I do most of my list-making on that. I use a schedule-organizer app called Reminder Fox (from Mozilla Firefox) on my internet homepage. Reminder Fox has to-dos, memos and appointment calendars all on one page; it keeps my list-making mania corralled to a one-click location. With financial goals, I create a separate list for one: pay off siding, pay credit card balances monthly, pay medical bills monthly, save for trip to Europe. I budget how much I need for each item and note each payment made. I note goals on the calendar to track my progress. Reminder Fox also has a pop-up notification window so I don't forget any payments or deadlines.

Use insurance to our advantage

We have a high deductible and sizable weekly payroll deductions. Another goal is to get the most out of our insurance. To do this, I track medical bills on a spreadsheet as they are applied to the insurance deductible payments. That way, I know when I can start using the insurance as 80/20. I save routine checkups and maintenance items and buy them then.

Coordinate with my spouse

My husband and I work together beautifully; we share bill payments, chores and household management. However, we also have atrociously bad memories and very little time to spend together. We work diametrically opposite schedules which makes family coordination difficult. For example, we invariably either both remember or both forget to buy milk. One way financial goal is to get a better system of communication about who pays what bills or buys which items so we don't double up or do without. We both share a cellphone (he takes it to work at night). We're using our cellphone calendar and alarm to "jot" notes and reminders between ourselves. If you're co-parents, there's a special organizer app just for you. 2Houses that helps divorced couples track financial goals, coordinate appointments and communicate about their kids using a shared website (it's soon to be available on cellphone, too). I told my buddy Gill Ruidant who created 2houses that he needs to get busy and make a 1house website for married people.

Set up auto bill-pay

One of the most troublesome financial disconnects for me is late fees. My New Year's resolution is avoid late fees for 2012. I could install a cellphone bill reminder app, but if it's not free, I'm too much of a penny pincher to pay it. My solution is to get as many bills as possible on (free) auto-pay. I use My Check Free for the phone bill and have mortgage, utilities, internet and cellphone payments auto-deducted. I've set up an auto-transfer between my Fifth Third checking and my credit card. It transfers the amount I've charged each month.