Did you make financial decisions last New Year ’ s Eve ? Did they fall by the wayside ? If so , you are not alone. 1 . Make a smart budget Did you plan to make a budget and fail to do so ? This is a perfect time to start , as you are heading into the new year.You may be able to stop yourself from overspending if you realize how overextended you are.If you ’ ve taken no other financial steps this year , start by setting a realistic budget. 2 . Control your spending Even if you had a budget , were you able to stick to it ? 3 .Use it as a psychological advantage—you have less to spend so you need to shop harder for bargains and research prices.Impulse buying( 即兴购买 ) will be less likely to attract you and your spending should be more focused as a result. 4 You had a savings goal , didn ’ t you ? If you didn ’ t have a specific goal , it may be why your savings effort failed.Set a smaller savings goal now , and use that to build a larger savings goal for the upcoming year.Make sure that you equate( 使等同 ) your savings with a specific goal. Reduce your debt Debt reduction is an important goal , especially in the case of high­interest debt such as credit cards.It ’ s easy to get into an unrecoverable increase of debt if you have no plan to keep debt in check.It is a longer­term goal , but one you need to start right away. 5 .That may be a tall task , which is all the more reason to start immediately. A . Increase your savings B . Have a clear goal for your debt C . You will go on with your new decisions D . Most other financial improvements will follow E . Start small by setting a spending budget for your shopping F . But this year , you can make some progress on your financial goals G . Attack the debt with the highest interest rate , and control your spending