New Year's Resolutions

IS your Christmas and New Year a time of gluttony and lethargy followed by guilt-ridden resolutions? Perhaps it's time to make changes you really want - and that will last. ROBIN CURRIE, right, has some advice.

DID I say that I liked Christmas? I must have been mad. Forget all that goodwill-towards-men stuff. It's a time of chaos and inhumanity, compounded by over-eating and too many repeats of the Sound of Music.

So it rather holds up a mirror to the rest of my life.

During much of the other 12 months I find myself being automatically considerate towards people I don't particularly like without having the honesty to be rude to them. I eat the food on my plate without questioning whether I want it and quiet any feelings of satiety with another sausage. I slump in front of the TV watching whatever's on without the verve to leap up and scream 'this is crap!'. If it's really insufferable I channel-hop to see if I can find something marginally less appaling. Switching off hardly ever occurs to me.

And Christmas finds me doing exactly the same, only more so.

We seem to celebrate special occasions with a combination of gluttony and lethargy, so it should come as no surprise that Yuletide is quickly followed by the season of the New Year's Resolution. These are an attempt to bury the old patterns under a carpet of remorse and are generally about as effective as putting out a bonfire with gunpowder.

However, resolutions have a serious place in the pantheon of wish fulfilment. Properly done, they can turn your life around. So what are they and how do they work? (And are there any clever tricks?)

Well, a resolution is simply that - you resolve to do (or refrain from doing) something that you currently don't (or do). Unfortunately, Will Power is seldom enough to achieve this. If it was, we wouldn't call them New Year's Resolutions - they'd simply be changes of direction.

What makes a resolution work is a combination of specificity and support. It isn't enough to declare that you'll go to the gym more - your visits need to be scheduled and researched and you have to build in a reward, apart from the sheer virtuous glow of muscular fatigue. Otherwise it's just masochism - and early January isn't the best time for this variety of self-indulgence.

Changing your financial habits is no different from renouncing chocolate and resolving to lose weight - unless there is a clear plan, a support structure, a timetable and a reward, you haven't a hope.

First check out the area you want to change and narrow it down to a specific, measurable intention. There's no point in resolving in generalities because you'll never know if you've achieved your goal. Also, ask yourself if it is really do-able. Don't sell yourself short by setting a target that you can't possible meet or maintain.

Next, decide what external actions you'll need to take to create this change in your world. Remember that any variation in your persona will inevitably lead to conflicts, both internal and external. People are uncomfortable with change and it's often easier to abandon your quest than face up to the constant enquiries of 'are you all right?' when you've heroically turned down a second helping of sprouts.

External actions need to be supported by internal beliefs, otherwise it'll never work. What message are you giving out if your money is a disaster area? And what are you telling yourself? Check it out - is it really true, or is it just something you heard a long time ago? If it's a lot of baloney, dump the belief and replace it with something better.

You'll need support too - you can't do this alone. Go public with your resolution and ask for help. Create a timetable for tasks like balancing your chequebook and stick to it. Be pro-active - take action before you run out of money, not afterwards.

And finally, schedule in a reward when you hit your target. The benefits of financial discipline are intrinsic - you have more money rather than having less flab - and the sense of virtue is equally great. But you need something to mark the occasion so you'll remember how good you felt. This makes it easier to start again the following day because - and this is the clever bit - a resolution is for Life, not just for Christmas.

Robin Currie is an Independent Financial Adviser specialising in ethical investment.

He can be contacted for advice or discussion on 01392 411360
or e-mailed on Robin@newmoney.demon.co.uk.

Advice is given subject to the provisions of the Financial Services Act.