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"The other biggest New Year&amp;#x27;s resolution next to weight-loss? Getting your finances in shape. These 6 money resolutions aren&amp;#x27;t crazy things you need an accountant or an investment service for, and if you want to make a change this year, they&amp;#x27;re goals you can truly stick to (yes, you may have to give yourself that pedicure more often, but you won&amp;#x27;t have to give it up completely!). 1. Cut the clutter. Hang on to the important stuff, as some states require that taxpayers hold on to filings for up to ten years, but a lot of your other paperwork, like old receipts, can be thrown away. Remember to use a shredder for paperwork with valuable information on it, like bank account numbers and your social security number. Whatever is left should be filed away (get smart with separate folders anything that comes regularly, like rent payments, utility bills, and student loan payments). 2. Protect yourself. This just in: You shouldn&amp;amp;#8217;t be using the same password for all of your online banking, email, and other personal accounts (duh). Guilty as charged? Now&amp;amp;#8217;s a good time to mix up your passwords and protect yourself against identity theft. Take a few minutes to revisit your passwords (if you have auto-login, you may not have actually entered them in a while). Refresh the passwords on your personal accounts and save a document where you can find it later. While you&amp;amp;#8217;re at it, print out a hard copy and stash it in the lockbox with your other vital stuff. 3. Give your budget some love. This might seem like an obvious one, but seriously &amp;amp;#8212; when was the last time you had an honest, face-to-face, sit-down conversation with your budget? Chances are a lot has changed since the last time you crunched the numbers. You might have some add-on expenditures, such as a gym membership, Netflix, or standing lunch date with a friend, all which you&amp;amp;#8217;ve added into your lifestyle along the way but which you haven&amp;amp;#8217;t factored into your monthly breakdown. Now is the time to make an A, B, and C list of expenditures; the As are must-haves, like rent payments and groceries; Bs are healthy bonuses like a gym membership; and Cs are wants, like those weekly manicures. Set your budget like a tossed salad: mostly lettuce (the As), a few extra nutrients like tomatoes and carrots (the Bs), and the occasional added flavoring, like nuts and dried fruit (the Cs). You&amp;amp;#8217;ll be on your way to a healthy financial diet in no time. 4. Set parameters. Start off conservatively, budgeting your living, food, and transportation expenses. Then hit the ATM for any extra &amp;amp;#8220;fun money&amp;amp;#8221; &amp;amp;#8212; but set a tight limit (say, 5-10 percent of your monthly paycheck). Take out just that amount of cash and stash it somewhere safe. When you run out, guess what? Show&amp;amp;#8217;s over &amp;amp;#8217;til next month. 5. Your money, your rules. &amp;amp;#133;To an extent. Now&amp;amp;#8217;s the time to decide what&amp;amp;#8217;s important to you, and what you can go without. Can&amp;amp;#8217;t live without your weekly Bikram class? That&amp;amp;#8217;s fine (really!). Sucker for your monthly mani/pedi? That&amp;amp;#8217;s fine, too (we mean it!). These small indulgences will keep you on track from splurging on other, unnecessary expenses. Just remember: You get 5-10 percent if that&amp;amp;#8217;s what you&amp;amp;#8217;ve budgeted. So if Bikram is in, that extra dinner out might be out. 6. Challenge the stuff you&amp;amp;#8217;re already paying for. Your cell phone bill, renter&amp;amp;#8217;s insurance, and credit card interest rate are all numbers that you see every month &amp;amp;#8212; so much so that you probably just pay the bills without thinking about it. As the consumer, you always have the right to ask for a better deal, and you might just get it! Review the last six months of cell phone usage to see how many minutes you&amp;amp;#8217;re using on average. If you have a separate phone for work, you may not need that expensive unlimited plan for personal use. Many companies lose your business, and saving even $50 monthly can add up! Are you making a resolution to get pinch your pennies in 2013? Do you think these are goals you can stick to? Nicole Lapin is an anchor on Bloomberg Television and the former anchor of CNBC&amp;#x27;s Worldwide Exchange, the only global show on the network. Lapin was also a contributor on MSNBC and served as a financial expert on NBC&amp;#x27;s TODAY. She founded the personal finance site Recessionista.com,which is the inspiration for a show of the same name hosted and executive produced by Lapin, launching later this year. Photo: Thinkstock"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/inspired/blogs/the-conversation/2013/01/6-personal-finance-resolutions>