It’s time for a fresh start. A clean slate. Your biggest dreams!

Maybe you want to buy a home, save more for retirement, or enjoy a debt-free vacation next year. Now’s the perfect time to make a plan for your money and your goals!

Whatever your new year’s goals are, we have you covered with these simple steps to turn your wants into well-dones:

1. Set aside time to dream big for next year. Go to a coffee shop, a book store, your favourite park — anywhere you feel inspired to dream big! If you’re married, make it a date! Or spend some time thinking apart and meet back at the end to share your goals with each other.

2. Write down what you want to accomplish in 2017. Finish this sentence: Next year, I will ...

Be sure to make your dream specific, measurable, all yours, time sensitive, and written. The more in-depth your goals, the better your chances of accomplishing them.

3. Get a head start. What are some steps you can take early on to meet your goals? When you have a game plan, you’ll hit the ground running when January gets here. As an example, if you are planning to go on a debt-free vacation next year, start a vacation savings fund in your budget!

Take a look now to see how much you can start allocating each month. Give your goals action steps and reach them faster!

With a new year comes new opportunities. Second chances. Do-overs. You get to leave the past behind and make a fresh start! You can make this year better than the last.

As this new year begins, try out these proven principles that will set you up for success.

Let mistakes stay where they belong

There’s a reason the rear-view mirror is smaller than the windshield. Looking at what’s ahead is more important than looking at what’s behind you.

Yes, you need to take responsibility for your past, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay there. You can’t be excited about the future if you’re living in the land of regret!

Let experience teach you

Whether it’s those mistakes you’ve made or the unexpected trials that knocked you off your feet, learning from them can be fuel for future success.

When asked about his many failed inventions, Thomas Edison once said, “I have not failed 10,000 times. I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.” Failure deepens your compassion, forgiveness and empathy. It can give you more self-awareness, improve your skills, and motivate you to work harder.

Let gratitude decide your outlook

When you choose gratitude, you enjoy better relationships, feel better physically and emotionally, improve your self-esteem, and even sleep better at night. There are no downsides to seeing through the lens of gratefulness, but the benefits can radically improve your life!

So what are you waiting for? Let these principles make 2017 a great year for you! Write down those goals and resolutions, and then start working on them. A successful year is waiting. Go after it!

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Some people will sign up for gym memberships and then stop going by mid-January. Others will promise to clean up their debt — until the first credit-card bill from Christmas comes in. Still more will pledge to get a new job, and never search online or look through the want ads.

If you made a new year’s resolution in 2016 and didn’t follow through, think about how you would feel if you had stuck to it. You wouldn’t still be feeling tired from those times you got up early this summer to run. You wouldn’t still be hungry from that time you didn’t order a pizza, because you were sticking to a budget. Your health and money situation would be better, you would feel better, and you would have accomplished your goal.

What if we told you that accomplishing a goal wasn’t as hard as you thought? The secret to making a goal into a reality is getting started and taking small, consistent steps.

Most people hear “losing 20 pounds” and think it has to happen in a week. It doesn’t. It’s something that will require a little sacrifice each day over a period of time, not a crash course in pain and discipline.

Getting started on something is always the hardest part. But once you’ve done it a few times, it becomes part of your daily routine. It doesn’t become an extra chore; it becomes something that is already in your schedule.

Making a budget is the same way. When you first make a money plan, it won’t work. It will barely work the second month, but that is because you are getting used to doing it.

By the third month, you’ll have a much better feel for it, and your stress level will go way down. It just takes the determination to get through the rough patches that go with getting started.

We are on the cusp of 2017. You can either fall into the same trap as last year, or start making a little effort.

The race is about to begin, and you’re at the starting line. Get started, and watch yourself grow!

Used with permission from DaveRamsey.com