New Year's Resolutions and You: How to Make 2015 Different

If you are like many people, you feel a renewed sense of purpose when it comes to making some changes in your life. The beginning of 2015 brings about the opportunity to make a fresh start when it comes to improving your life. Making resolutions for the New Year is a tradition that is thought to date back nearly 4,000 years ago with the ancient Babylonians who reportedly made such promises in order to appease the gods and begin the year on a positive note.

Are Any of These New Year's Resolutions on Your List?

• Lose Weight

This is a popular resolution that is grounded in improving your appearance, but doing so has other benefits as well. Shedding extra weight can make you healthier as well. Start this resolution off on the right foot by getting a physical from your doctor to make sure there are no ailments at the heart of your excess weight. Working with your doctor also enables you to get a realistic goal weight that you can work toward.

• Exercise

Another resolution that you often find on many people's lists is exercising more. Increasing the amount and time that you exercise is a particularly good resolution to pair with losing weight. Combined with a diet that provides you with enough fiber, protein and nutrients, exercise can help you lose weight more steadily.

• Budget

If you are like many military families, you can use extra money all year long. The first step in getting a handle on the money flow both in and out of your house is to keep a log. This concrete step will show you which areas of spending can use improving. Strategies such as couponing, taking advantage of sales and selling your unused children's toys and household items can help improve your bottom line.

• More Quality Time with Important People in Your Life

There's no doubt about it - life is busy for everyone. Even if you are a stay-at-home mom, your kids likely have after school activities such as sports, dance or art that they must be shuttled to. There is also your husband to consider. Spending alone time with each other on a regular basis is crucial for maintaining that foundation that allows you to withstand the inevitable separations that the military brings to your family.

How to Keep Your Resolutions in 2015

If you are like most people, you don't have a problem making your New Year's resolutions each year - it's keeping them that trips you up. Here are some ideas to keep you on track.

• Make concrete goals instead of vague ones

Instead of simply vowing to "lose weight," choose a target weight goal to aim toward. Turn "exercise more" into "exercise for at least 30 minutes 3 days a week."

• Schedule it:

Unless you schedule dates with your kids and your husband, it can be all to easy to let day-to-day tasks life take over all your time. Putting dates with each of your children - and your hubby! - on the calendar makes it more likely that they will occur. You can also take advantage of small pockets of time, such as while you are in the car, to connect.

• Reward yourself

When you make your resolutions, break them down into mini-goals and reward yourself after you reach them. Some ideas are when you reach an exercise milestone, after you stay within budget for a month or when you reach your mini-goal for losing weight.