VIEWPOINT (cont.)

doesn’t have to be some physical achievement or monetary milestone. Get in touch with an old friend, mend a strained relationship,

Mostly because I’m in denial about all the things I need to change in my life, like admiting that the serving size of Chip’s Ahoy cookies is not “a sleeve” or some such.

But I did make one way back in 2012 to get my finances in order. No, not to save a bunch of money or to set up my retirement, just to keep up from week to week and month to month how much money my wife and I were making and how much we were spending so that we were not surprised with any overdraft fees or any big unexpected bills. So, I got on my laptop, made a simple spreadsheet, and entered all of our pay days, our due dates and the amounts that went with each.

I would check it once a week, moving to twice a month once I got the hang of it, and eventually, it worked out so that I knew when we had money to spend and when we needed to have fishsticks and mac & cheese for dinner. You’d be amazed how much simply getting organized, whether it’s finances, diet, exercise, your social life, your work habits or whatever, will benefit you.

So, if you’ve got something you’ve been nagging yourself about getting started, now is the perfect time.

There’s a lot out there to strive for.

Make this year count!