It's time to think about getting in financial shape in 2011. Vague resolutions and good intentions won't do it. You have to have a plan. Stumped for ideas? Here's a 12-month agenda.

　　新年正一天天臨近，應該思考一下如何在2011年讓財務狀況健康起來了。含糊不清的新年決心和良好的愿望并不管用，你得有個計劃。腦子有點卡殼嗎？我來提供一份12個月的全年計劃。

　　No, it's not comprehensive. But it's doable.

　　這個計劃算不上面面俱到，不過具有可行性。

　　Each month, set one financial target and hit it. Easy, manageable -- and it means this time next year you'll be looking back on 2011 with some satisfaction.

　　每個月都要設定一個財務目標，并予以達成。目標簡單，能夠?qū)嵤?mdash;—也就是說，明年這個時候，你將帶著一點成就感回顧2011年。

　　JANUARY: Max those savings! Financial planners argue you should be saving 15% or more of your income each year. Set your 401(k) contributions to the highest level you can handle. At least contribute up to any company match, and ideally push the limits -- $16,500 if you're under 50, $22,000 if you're over. If you are self-employed, or have self-employment income, talk to a broker about special tax-savings vehicles open to you, including Solo 401(k) plans, SEP-IRAs and Keoghs.

　　一月：盡可能提高儲蓄比例。理財顧問認為，每年應該把收入的15%以上存起來。因此，將你401(k)退休計劃的投資額提高到你能應付的最高水準，至少達到公司設定的水準，最理想的是提高到上限——如果你不到50歲，每年投資16,500美元；如果超過50歲，每年投資22,000美元。如果你是個體經(jīng)營者，或有個體經(jīng)營收入，找經(jīng)紀人談一下適用于你的特殊節(jié)稅手段，如Solo 401(k)計劃、SEP-IRAs 和Keoghs等。

　　FEBRUARY: Target your cash flow. Get out all your statements and check stubs for 2010 and work out where all your money went. Chances are you spent more than you planned, or maybe realized. Restaurants, shopping, premium cable, car payments -- it all adds up. If you want to get control of it, you have to understand it. Now set a budget, and talk to your family about ways to cut back and save more. 　　

　　二月：設定好你的現(xiàn)金流目標。拿出你2010年的所有帳單和支票存根，搞清楚自己的錢都到哪兒去了。有可能你花出去的要高于計劃支出的，也許還高于自己賺到手的。餐館、購物、付費有線電視、汽車費用等等——這些都會積少成多。如果你想控制支出，就必須了解支出狀況。現(xiàn)在，設好一個預算，跟家人商量削減開支和增加儲蓄的各種方法。

　　MARCH: Live without plastic for a month. Lock up your credit and ATM/debit cards. Generations lived without the spending ease and convenience of plastic. It is no coincidence they found it much easier to live within their means. Try it. Set a weekly budget, cash a check for that amount at the bank each week, and live on it. Unless you are traveling -- where a card can be invaluable -- you may find it easier than you imagined. Once you get used to it, keep going. 　　　

　　三月：嘗試一個月不用信用卡。把你的信用卡和借記卡鎖起來。祖祖輩輩的人沒有便捷的信用卡也都活過來了，而且他們的經(jīng)驗是，過自己能力范圍內(nèi)的生活要容易得多。嘗試一下，每周制定一個預算，每周根據(jù)預算去銀行取一次錢，靠現(xiàn)金生活。除非你要外出旅行——銀行卡在這個時候不可或缺——否則你會發(fā)現(xiàn)，不靠銀行卡比想像的要簡單。一旦習慣這種方式，就要保持下去。

　　APRIL: Spring clean your investments. Decide on the asset allocation you should have. Then look at what you have right now. There's probably a ton of rubbish in there -- mediocre mutual funds, stocks bought on tips, money left sitting in a low-yielding account. Don't forget the unused car in the garage that's still worth $4,000. Time to stop procrastinating. Clear out the rubbish, and put the money to better use. 　　　

　　四月：給你的投資來個春季大掃除。決定自己的資產(chǎn)配置，然后看看現(xiàn)在持有的投資品種，很可能有一大堆沒用的垃圾——表現(xiàn)平庸的共同基金、憑小道消息買入的股票、留在低收益帳戶上的資金等等。別忘了停在車庫不用的汽車，它還值4,000美元。不要再遲疑了，把這些垃圾清理走，讓錢發(fā)揮更大的作用。

　　MAY: Zap the debt. Pretty much any debt other than a reasonable mortgage is a burden. Credit-card debt is a disaster -- you're basically going backward financially as long as you carry a balance from month to month. To pay the 15% interest rate, you have to earn maybe 20% before tax. Not gonna happen. Cut up the cards, and live like a pauper till you get out of credit-card jail. 　　　

　　五月：減少債務。除了一個合理的房屋貸款外，其他任何負債基本上都是一種負擔。信用卡負債是個災難，只要你每月都有一個未償還的負債余額，你的財務狀況就會每況愈下。要支付15%的信用卡利息，你相應的稅前收入必須增加20%，但這不太可能發(fā)生。把信用卡剪掉，過著窮人的生活，直到你逃出信用卡債務的囚籠。

　　JUNE: Invest in yourself. Kudos to financial planner Dennis Stearns of Greenboro, N.C., for this suggestion: When someone asks him about investments, he writes, 'I ask them how much they could improve their lot in life if they invested [some money instead] in a leadership workshop, better communication skills or anything to improve their productivity.' After all, your knowledge and skills are your most important asset. This month, explore adult-education opportunities in your area. 　　

　　六月：投資自己。北卡羅來納州格林斯伯勒(Greenboro)的理財大師鄧尼斯•斯特恩斯(Dennis Stearns)曾給出一個令人叫絕的建議。當有人問他如何投資時，他這樣寫道：“我問他們，如果（把錢）投資在領導力培訓班、學習更好的溝通技巧或任何提高自身技能的事情上，他們的生活將會出現(xiàn)多大的改觀。”話說回來，你擁有的知識和技巧是你最重要的財富。在本月，探尋一下你所在工作領域的成人進修機會。

　　JULY: Check your progress on the cash flow. Print out all your statements. Analyze spending by categories. See what you planned to spend, and what you actually spent. This is a constant battle. Still looking for savings ideas? Cancel cable for the next few months. It's summer time -- what are you doing indoors watching TV? 　　　

　　七月：檢查你在現(xiàn)金流控制方面的進展。列印出所有的帳單，分類進行分析，看你計劃怎么花錢，最后錢是怎么花出去的。這是一項需要持之以恒的工作。還在考慮如何節(jié)省開支嗎？把未來幾個月的有線電視服務砍掉，現(xiàn)在可是夏天，你干嘛要悶在屋子里看電視呢？

　　AUGUST: Convert your traditional individual retirement accounts to a Roth IRA. There will be a tax hit upfront, but thereafter money in a Roth grows tax free forever. Even better: There are no required minimum distributions after age 70. Before 2010, Roth conversions were typically limited to those earning below about $100,000, but that limit was abolished: Anyone can now convert to a Roth. 　　　

　　八月：把你傳統(tǒng)的個人退休帳戶轉(zhuǎn)成羅斯個人退休帳戶(Roth IRA)。起初會有一個稅收負擔，但接下來，Roth帳戶資金的增值部分永遠是免稅的。更好的是，年齡達到70歲的羅斯帳戶投資者不會有年度最低提款的強制要求。2010年前，只有年收入低于10萬美元的個人才能轉(zhuǎn)換為羅斯帳戶，但這一限制已經(jīng)廢除：現(xiàn)在任何人都可以將退休帳戶轉(zhuǎn)為羅斯帳戶。

　　SEPTEMBER: Negotiate a Christmas truce with all the adults you know. That means family, extended family and co-workers. Stop the holiday shopping waste before it starts. This may save you hundreds of dollars. The only thing you will lose will be a bunch of sweaters you won't wear and trinkets you don't want. They'll save the same thing, too. 　　　

　　九月：跟你認識的所有成年人商量一個耶誕節(jié)互不買禮物的休戰(zhàn)協(xié)議，包括家人、親屬和同事。在耶誕節(jié)購物的鋪張浪費還沒開始前就干脆叫停。這能給你省下幾百美元，你唯一失去的只是幾件你不會穿的毛衣和一些你不想要的小飾物，而且這樣對方也能省錢。

　　OCTOBER: Tackle your insurance. Dull? Chances are you are wasting hundreds of dollars a year on homeowners and car insurance. The insurance industry thrives on your laziness: Studies repeatedly find that identical coverage can sometimes cost half as much. Take this month to shop around aggressively to find cheaper coverage. And find out how much you can cut your premiums if you raise your deductibles. Sometimes that's a no-brainer. 　　　

　　十月：處理你的保險。聽起來沒啥意思？但你有可能每年在房屋保險和汽車保險上浪費數(shù)百美元。保險行業(yè)是靠你的懶惰發(fā)家致富的：研究不斷發(fā)現(xiàn)，重復的保險保障有時候會占總保費的一半之多。這個月，你要積極咨詢，找到更便宜的保險服務，并了解如何提高免賠額能節(jié)省多少保費。有時候，這是個顯而易見的好辦法。

　　NOVEMBER: Update your will. Do you have one? And if you do, how long ago did you check it? Circumstances change. Maybe you've had children or grandchildren. Or minors have graduated. Your assets have grown (or, alas, shrunk). Too many people avoid dealing with their wills because thinking about death makes them feel yucky. Too bad. You're going to die, like me, like everyone else. Deal with it. Dying with an out-of-date will can cost your family incredible amounts of pain and money and throw away decades of hard work. 　　　

　　十一月：更新你的遺囑。你有遺囑嗎？如果有，你多久檢查一次？情況是在不斷變化中的，也許你已經(jīng)有了孩子或者孫子孫女，也許孩子們已經(jīng)畢業(yè)了，也許你的資產(chǎn)增值了（或者，唉，縮水了）。太多的人不想處理遺囑的事情，因為覺得考慮身后的事情不吉利。這樣可不好，誰都有撒手人寰的一天，包括你、我和每一個人。要處理好遺囑，留下一個過時的遺囑會給你的家人會帶來無盡的痛苦，浪費大量的金錢，讓幾十年辛勤工作換來的財富打了水漂。

　　DECEMBER: Open 529 plans for your children and grandchildren. These are no-brainers. The money grows tax deferred (and tax free if it's spent on qualified education expenses). It will help discipline college savings. After two years, the money is also sheltered from creditors -- something to keep in mind as you contemplate the financial upheavals and increases in personal bankruptcies of the last few years. Oh, and you keep control of the money, so Missy can't take it and run off to join a cult. (Well, she can, but at least she can't take the college money with her.) 　　　

　　十二月：為你的孩子和孫子孫女開一個529投資帳戶，這些都是很簡單的東西，里面的錢是延遲納稅的（如果花在符合要求的教育專案上，則是免稅的），也就是大學教育金的強制儲蓄。兩年后，這筆資金債主是無法征用的——最近幾年，你見證了金融危機和越來越多的人宣告破產(chǎn)，因此這一點值得考慮。對了，這筆錢你是有控制權的，這樣你家的黃毛丫頭不至于把錢取出來，跑去加入一個邪教組織。（當然，她還是可以加入，但至少不會把大學教育金卷走。）

　　Good luck -- and best wishes for a happy, prosperous and financially fit 2011.

　　祝你好運——祝愿你的2011年快樂、興旺、財務健康。

　【我要糾錯】 責任編輯：雨非