‘Tis the season for New Year’s resolutions and the perennial hope that THIS will be the year we finally accomplish (fill in the blank).  For many of us, the goals may be financial in nature. 

Have you ever told yourself that this WILL be the year you:

• will prepare my taxes in January
• will finally update my will to reflect my children
• review my insurance and make sure it addresses my risks
• actually update my 401k allocation and increase my contribution rate

I thought so.   

There are a lot of financial matters to keep track of and there’s no time like the present.  We all know this.  Yet, somehow,  we all seemingly get lost in our lists and our promises all too easily.  Which is why this New York Times article caught my eye 

The main point of the article is that managing your money can be summarized in a few key steps – so few in fact that they are able to fit on an index card.  The article lays out some key points and shares a few index cards worth of advice from a variety of advisors.  Naturally, I had to put this theory to the test and took the liberty of capturing a few key thoughts on my own index card.   And while they are clearly significant amount of expertise and discussions behind each of these points, in general, it works. 

So do yourself a favor.  As you start the new year, keep it simple.  Buy some index cards and get started on lists with actionable and realistic goals – and then start making your way through them.  We can do this.  Let’s own our stories and prepared to make 2016 the best chapter yet.   

Let me know how you do – and share your index cards!  I’d love to read them.