Have you made any New Year Resolution in respect of your finances? In these tight times, such a resolution is certain to stand you in good stead.

Here are some suggested New Year Financial Resolutions -

• Make savings a habit
• Improve your credit rating by following some excellent tips
• End your mortgages as soon as you can

Here is some great food for financial thought -

• “Own not the most, but the best.
• Investing without research is like playing poker without looking at the cards.
• When a company president is ready to buy you lunch it is time to sell the stock.
• Stock maniacs do not create wealth, they transfer and destroy it.
• Though difficult to practice think ahead of the crowd.
• If you cannot find an attractive idea, put your money in the bank account till you get one.
• What the wise men do in the beginning, fools do in the end.
• Concentrate investments in a few great stocks and have fortitude to hold through price fluctuations.
• When you combine ignorance and borrowed money, the consequences can be disastrous.
• Risk comes from not knowing what you are doing.
• In reality, Patience is Crucial, but is a very Rare Investment Commodity.
• When the gap between perception and reality is the maximum price is the best.
• One of the hardest things to imagine is that you are not smarter than average.
• Successful investment is intrinsically independent in nature.”

Here is another set of basic ideas on money. This set relates to intelligent financial investments. All of them arise out of simple common sense.

• Make an investment plan
• Invest with a long-term perspective
• Save for the rainy day
• Buy value with enough margins of safety
• Assess your risk appetite
• Remember that there is no free lunch
• In investing, it pays to start early
• Choose your portfolio manager with care
• Diversify across asset classes
• Watch your investment portfolio by tracking company performance

Here are a set of some of the simplest matters in personal financial management. They may seem obvious, but you will be surprised at the kind of mistakes, or rather financial blunders that lots of people are capable of committing.

• Read the fine print before you sign
• Evaluate your advisor / relationship manager
• Power of Attorney – give it responsibly
• Give clear instructions to your stock broker
• Never pay cash to your advisor / agent
• Avoid dealing with multiple banks and brokers
• Delivery instructions – don’t let it slip
• Be on time – even for payments
• Statements and contracts – trust but verify
• Safeguard your documents

At many stages in your life, you will find yourself in situations where you are about to take an important financial decision. Due to the novelty of the situation, or your inexperience, or some other factor, it is possible that you are a little under confident, hesitant or apprehensive as to the outcome of the impending decision / action. The situation is right for you to slow down and consider all related issues, pros & cons and alternative solutions that will reinforce your confidence and point you in the right direction if needed. Here is a carefully compiled list of resources where you can find advice, information and plenty of other material on all matters related to debt, money, and other financial matters.

General money and debt advice from EDF Energy Trust

Personal Finance – Financial Directory

UK money matters – Financial Advice Websites

Directory of Money & Finance advice

For money-related happiness, it will certainly be a great idea to follow these twelve simple, logical, rational rules of money management.

• Save as much as you can and whenever you can.
• Remember that time also has great value – sometimes it can even be priceless.
• Keep your financial expectations realistic.
• Never let your way of living exceed your means.
• Credit card debt must be avoided – it is a real trap.
• Take time to understand the compounding effect of investing money.
• Keep your credit transactions clean.
• Begin investing early in life, and list them in order of priority.
• When you make a new investment, do it with a fresh outlook.
• Your investments need to be diversified, as also your wealth.
• Be rational in the way your spend.
• Take risks only when you fully understand them.

If the above makes sense, then you will be happy to give your answers to a possible survey by the ONS (Office for National Statistics) consisting of such questions – “how satisfied are you with your life nowadays?”, “how happy did you feel yesterday?”, “how anxious did you feel yesterday?”, “to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile?” and more. For some interesting related information, look up ONS’s Well-being knowledge bank.

Anyone and everyone can always do with some extra money-saving tips.

Who will not welcome ideas to save, right from the simplest tip that common-sense would suggest, to more complex and unusual clues to save, and therefore earn that extra penny?

If you would like to learn of 50 great money-saving tips, look no further than “50 ways to save money…”.

All you need is patience to follow those ideas, and the will to save!

Have you ever tried to answer such questions as – “How good am I with my money?”, “How good are we with money as a nation?”, “Why do such things matter?”

BBC’s Big Money Test will help you “discover your complex relationship with money”. It will also get you personalised video results from money saving expert Martin Lewis. The test takes only 20 minutes to complete. The test is designed as part of BBC’s Lab UK, a BBC website that lets users participate in groundbreaking scientific experiments. When you complete the Big Money Test, you would have therefore contributed to groundbreaking science. Best of all, you will get a clear picture that will help you make your money go further.

To help you on your way to managing finances better, here are Martin Lewis’ four simple money saving tips -

• use ‘piggybanking’ to pay for your big expenditures,
• make a budget and stick to it,
• make painless savings,
• make painful savings too!

Take the Big Money Test

One of the most informative sources for the latest directives on student loans in the UK is the UK Government portal on Student Finance. Note that the erstwhile Student Finance Direct is now called Student Finance England sfe.

Note also that you can reach other Student Finance Websites depending on your area (Student Finance Wales, Student Finance Northern Ireland, Student Awards Agency for Scotland)

The Student Loans Company (SLC), is a UK public sector establishment set up  to arrange loans and grants, to thousands of students every year, in colleges and universities located in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.  Know all about SLC here. While at it, check out the intentionally created SLC’s repayment portal.

Have you been bombarded by TV commercials that advise you take a consolidation loan? That is, telling you to take out a single, new loan to pay off several existing debts. While this may be a good way of managing your finances, you should be careful – a consolidation loan need not be the right option always.

When should you consider a consolidation loan? Here are the pros and cons of taking such a loan.

On the plus side,

• you may be charged a lower interest rate
• you may need to pay lower monthly installments
• you will know in advance when the debt will be paid off
• you will need to make just a single monthly payment
• you need to deal with one lender
• you can ensure that you do not fall behind on payments

On the other hand, look at the possible disadvantages - risk of repossession of property if you default on a payment for a loan against the property,  more overall payment for a longer period, extra entry charges, some risk because you deal with a single lender, higher interest rate in the case of poor credit rating.