When we discussed setting Financials Goals for the New Year, we talked about the different types of goals and how to set them.

I recently heard a news broadcaster who was interviewing people about their goals for the New Year. What was interesting was how she approached the question. Instead of asking the typical, “What is your New Year’s resolution,” she asked, “Looking back at 2007, what would you have done differently?”

I thought this was a very clever way to identify your goals. After all, we set New Year’s resolutions as a way to make improvements in our life. It makes sense to look back at what we may have done wrong or what we could do better, and learn from our experiences.

Interestingly most of the interviewees said they would pay off more debt or save more money.

Millionaire Money Habit: Goal setting is about having an achievable, measurable plan to make self-improvements. As you write down your goals for the New Year, take some time to reflect on the past and think about the experiences that you could learn from.

Here are 9 small ways to save more money this year:

1. Quit costly habits: Smoking a pack a day costs over $1,600 a year. That’s not including the cost of dental work, general health, laundry service and replacement costs for cigarette burns. A Starbucks addiction can cost you around the same.
2. Consolidate bills: By finding the right deal and bundling your phone, internet and cable bills, you can save a few hundred dollars a year.
3. Cook your own meals: Even at a minimum of $5 a meal for fast food, twice a day, that amounts to over $3,500 a year. Buying your own groceries and taking your own lunches to work will allow you to use that money more wisely.
4. Double check your minutes: Are you using all of your cell phone minutes or consistently going over? Check your plan to see if you can save more money by changing your plan.
5. Keep away from cash: As discussed in Can You Break This Debit Card for a Dollar Please, carrying cash can burn a hole in your pocket. Plus all of that loose change quickly adds up.
6. Switch to compact bulbs: Energy Star qualified bulbs use about 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer. Each light bulb will save you $30 or more over the life of the bulb.
7. Reduce gas consumption: Gas prices are not going down. Try biking to work or planning your chores and travel routes more efficiently in order to burn less gas.
8. Plan ahead for vacations and other expenses: If you know you have major expenses ahead, start saving now a little at a time. Your vacation will be much more rewarding when it is money you can afford to spend.
9. Use Online Bill Paying: Set up your reoccurring bills for automatic bill payment in order to reduce postage, save checks and avoid late fees. Some companies even offer a discount on their service for arranging an automatic payment program.

Millionaire Money Habit: There are many ways to increase your cash flow. The most obvious and simplest is to reduce your expenses. Develop the habit to save a little today, which will slowly add up to an abundance of wealth tomorrow.

In addition to the discipline and willpower needed to become a millionaire, what may really be needed in order to achieve your long-term wealth accumulation goals is to develop a Millionaire Mindset.

Webster’s Dictionary defines a habit as, “An acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary.” It takes more or less 30 days to condition yourself to create (or break) a habit. Once it is created, those actions happen with little or no conscious processing.

Think about when you first started driving a car, and how you constantly had to think about each procedure. Put the belt on, check the mirrors, turn on the ignition, check your surroundings, apply the break, shift into gear, etc. As time went on you were driving places while talking on the phone, listening to music, drinking a coffee and not even consciously remembering how you got to your destination. It is habits like these that are either helping or preventing you from reaching your goals.

Wouldn’t it be Great to Create Millionaire Habits?

Knowing this, what money habits are there that you wish you had or didn’t have?

• Unconscious ability to save more money
• Unconscious ability to invest and make better investing decisions
• Unconscious ability to reduce taxes
• Unconscious ability to increase cash flow
• Unconscious ability to boost retirement income

The first 30 days of creating a habit can be tough because we are inheritably lazy and it is easier to talk ourselves out of doing something that requires even a slight amount of effort. The path of least resistance is comfortable.

To start creating your habit you will want to write down your goal, along with an explanation of why you want to achieve your goal. If you want to save more money, write down, “I want to stop wasting money and save $5 a day to contribute to my retirement fund and retire rich. I will save $5 a day by doing X.”

Be consistent for at least 30 days in your action, seek opportunities to act out the behavior, and be consciously aware of the behavior you are trying to create or destroy. Your tendency will at times be to do what is comfortable and what you are used to, but remind yourself of your ultimate goal and resist the urge take the easy way out. It’s all mind over matter.

Eventually this new behavior will seem so normal it will be hard to imagine that you used to act in any other way. Learn how you can increase the millionaire deep inside you and download a copy of the Millionaire Mindset.

Millionaire Money Habit: The personal finance habits you have can accelerate or impede your ability to accumulate wealth. The good news is you can train your mind to unconsciously and automatically perform millionaire money habits. Develop the millionaire within you and you will reach your goals almost effortlessly. - RT