Tools to help you in the New Year…

We all do it…make resolutions for the New Year.  They say “It’s a poor carpenter who blames his tools”…but I believe to make your resolutions stick you need to depend on your tools.  So I have a few tools to share with you to help you achieve your goals for 2011.  These are resources I use on a regular basis and have not any problems with any of them.

To help you stay on track with your weight loss goals I found a great online resource- Live Strong

They have a wonderful online calorie counting tool so you can track what you eat everyday and the calories you burn.  You can even print out your food log for your physician or personal trainer to look over.

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The next tool is from Credit Karma.  I have been using this for a few years now and I love it…and it’s totally FREE!  Instantly receive your free credit score and credit report card online. Free credit tools to track and optimize your credit score. No credit card needed …

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And for those who are always looking for deals on groceries and printable coupons my FAVORITE site is A Full Cup.

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Ever heard of snowballing your debt?  If not, here’s an explanation-

From Wikipedia- The debt-snowball method is a debt reduction strategy, whereby one who owes on more than one account pays off the accounts with the smaller balances first, proceeding to the larger ones later.

This site is great!  You plug in what you owe and it will “snowball” your debts.  The following is from the site- Whats The Cost

Click on the right of the website to login and it will allow you to register so you can keep coming back to plug in payments and see your debt melt away!!

The pic below shows you how it breaks it down…the image below is not of my own personal debt….

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Want to look at your 3 credit reports absolutely FREE???  Then go to Annual Credit Report.  Here’s what Clark Howard has to say about this great resource.

From Clark Howard.com:

Due to the passage of the 2003 Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA), all Americans are entitled to one free credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — upon request every 12 months. There are several ways you can request your free credit report:

• Online: Visit AnnualCreditReport.com(This is the ONLY site that’s truly free! Don’t be fooled by ads saying otherwise.)
• Telephone: (877)-322-8228
• Mail:  Complete the Annual Credit Report Request form and mail it to the following address:

Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

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And last but not least is Clark Howard. I love going to his site and listening to his program on the radio.  On his site you will find a wealth of knowledge to help you – “Save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off”!  Clark Howard’s words…not mine!  You can find great advice from the Financial Guru himself!

I hope these tools help you achieve your goals for 2011.