Get an Early Start on 2012 Resolutions – plus November Recap

With December upon us, I thought this would be a good time to look back at November, and take a look forward to 2012 as well.  With the former, I’m referring to – well, acknowledging the top referrers to Squirrelers from the prior month, as well as making some other acknowledgments. With the latter, I’m talking about looking at 2012 money resolutions and taking them for a test drive early – as in now!

Getting a Running Start on New Year’s Resolutions

Recently, I started to give some thoughts to 2012 resolutions, within the personal finance realm and otherwise. Those goals will be in place for January, so the New Year can be started with a clean slate and new aspirations. Not sure how you see it, but New Year’s goals can help provide extra motivation and more importantly some clarity and something to shoot for.

Anyway, I was thinking about it, and it occurred to me: as we think of resolutions for 2012, why wait until January 1 to start?

Calendar dates dictate so much of what we do, but why do they have to control behavior change? If we have specific things we’re working toward, we might has well get a running start on them. It’s like a car that can’t go from 0 to 60 mph instantly, but can get to that speed in less time if it’s already moving.

For example, if you know that you’d like to spend less money on eating at restaurants (yeah, that’s me), why not just do it in December? No need to wait until January 1st. Same applies to other personal finance goals, be it spending less money, increasing income, working less, increasing financial knowledge, or whatever the case may be.

I still do like the concept of New Year’s goals, as they’re clearly delineated, traditional, and do provide that clarity of purpose that I mentioned earlier. But it certainly couldn’t hurt to get started now. Not that I want to cut out those meals from my favorite places, but hey – might as well jump in now, right? There’s no time better than the present.

Top Referrers in November

The following were the sites that referred the most visitors to Squirrelers last month. I’ll call these 12 the “lucky dozen” – as in, lucky for Squirrelers:) Special thanks goes out to these folks:

1. Interest.co.nz
2. Free Money Finance
3. Yakezie
4. So Over Debt
5. Len Penzo.com
6. Retire by 40
7. 101 Centavos
8. Totally Money
9. Wisebread
10. Budgeting in the Fun Stuff
11. The Dog Ate My Wallet
12. Everyday Tips and Thoughts
13. Hope to Prosper

Squirrelers in Blog Carnivals

Squirrelers was in the following blog carnivals in November (including 3 Editor’s Picks!):

Loss Leader Pricing Strategies: At the Pumpkin Patch? was included in the Yakezie Carnival at One Cent at a Time

Sleep or Money? was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance at Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance

Asking for A Discount Can be Fun! was selected as an Editor’s Pick in the Festival of Frugality at Afford Anything

Any Easy Way to Save Money and Work Less was selected as an Editor’s Pick in the Totally Money Blog Carnival

Historical Pattern: Stock Prices Increase on the First Day of the Month was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance at Retire By 40

My Starbucks Customer Service Experience: Loopholes and Deals are Fun! was included in the Festival of Frugality at My Dollar Plan

Squirreling Gone Wild #30: The Elusive Bonus was included in the Yakezie Carnival at The Saved Quarter

College or Entrepreneurship? was selected as an Editor’s Pick in the Totally Money Blog Carnival at Retire by 40

8 Benefits of Using Credit Cards – For Those With Discipline was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance at Compounding Returns

Yogurt, Differentation, and Personal Branding?Yes! was included in the Totally Money Blog Carnival at The Saved Quarter

Consider Emotions vs. Logic When Buying a Home was included in the Carnival of Wealth at Control Your Cash

Inhertiances and Blended Families: Who’s the Priority? was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance at My Personal Finance Journey