Most Popular Resolutions for the New Year

[BrianaHartzell]

Happy New Year! The tradition of making New Year's resolutions began long ago in ancient Babylon - I can imagine their resolutions were a bit different than ours! What remains the same is the chance to make the beginning of a new year a time to reflect on the year that has passed and make goals to ensure the upcoming year is better than the last.

According to the USA.gov listed below are the most common New Year's resolutions. How do yours measure up?

1. Get a Better Education/Job
   - Take advantage of the resources available for military members and their spouses: MyCAA, GI Bill
   - Check out college specific programs offering scholarships.
   - Head over to Going Civilian and read some of the wonderful advice Chazz has written to assist veterans and spouses find a job.
2. Get Fit
   - Fitness.com has some great, free at-home and gym workout plans and routines.
3. Lose Weight
   - Online programs like Weight Watchers and this free service from the department of agriculture help keep track of caloric/nutritional intake.
4. Manage Debt
   - Get an idea of the debt you need to tackle using USAA's Debt Analyzing Tool.
5. Manage Stress
   - Some tips to help cope with stress.
6. Quit Smoking
   - Smokefree.gov is a great resource to find tools and advice to assist you in kicking your smoking habit.
7. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
   - Find recycling opportunities near you.
8. Save Money
   - USAA has some great money saving articles.
   - Tara in Money Matters has written some great posts about saving money!
9. Take a Trip
   - You can use USAA travel services to book a vacation, or use my tips to save money on airline reservations.
10. Volunteer to Help Others
    - Use a site like Volunteer Match to find local opportunities to volunteer.

My resolutions do not match all of those listed above, but I believe a new year is a great time for a fresh start and a wonderful opportunity to make some healthy changes! I believe that instead of getting overwhelmed by a list of resolutions that will be difficult for you to complete, take Military One Source's advice and make a resolution to ENJOY LIFE.

"Make a commitment to yourself to enjoy your life more. That's right. Rather than begrudgingly telling yourself once again that, "this is the year I will go on another diet and lose those 20 pounds," perhaps a more positive approach is to set a goal of changing your attitude about your life."

What are your resolutions for 2012? Please share in the comments!