An Easier New Year's Resolution to Follow

You can categorize the spending you do on your credit card when you download the bill payment. And if you use your debit card instead of cash wherever possible -- dry cleaners, gas station, etc. -- those debits will be downloaded as well. You can give all your spending a category.

Now, peek under the bed: With a click of your mouse all your spending is neatly displayed by category in a pie or bar chart. Now you know where all the money went.

Know if Your 40l(k) is Wisely Invested

You don't actually have to change your investment choices, but wouldn't it be nice to know if you're doing the right things with the money you set aside? Don't bother asking the person sitting at the desk next to you. He doesn't know either. And, after all, each person is different, with different goals and dreams. So how do you know about what choices you should make?

If your company offers a service called Financial Engines, you have the answers at your fingertips. Then service's tool creates a personalized modeling scenario of how you should best structure your investments within the plan to meet your retirement goals. (If your company doesn't offer this service, go to my Web site and click on the FinancialEngines blue icon on the home page for a free one-year trial.) You don't actually have to change your fund choices, but at least you'll know!

Know if You Can Ever Retire

This is the biggest bogeyman of all. We think we can't possibly know the answer to that one -- much less save and invest enough to reach that goal. So we huddle under the bedsheets, afraid even to peek into the darkness. Nonsense -- there's a very easy way to know how much you need to retire, and how much you should save every month.