If, like many Aussies, you plan on setting a New Year’s resolutions for 2016, there are a few tips to ensure your goals aren’t on the backburner by Australia Day.

There’s a reason so many people fail to stick to their resolutions, and it’s because we’re not very good at setting resolutions we have any chance of keeping. Many resolutions doomed for failure are too vague, unrealistic or unmemorable.

Some of the most popular resolutions, like ‘save more money’, ‘lose weight’ or ‘spend more time with family’, don’t actually provide any firm end goal, making it easy to give up by March or even earlier.

Ensure your resolutions include specifics and smaller stepping stones to achieving those goals – and most importantly – make sure you write your goals down or tell someone else about them to keep you accountable!

Of course, it’s easier to keep a resolution that is focuses on YOUR enjoyment to and why not – that’s what retirement should be all about!

In 2016, I resolve to:

1. Look after my health and wellbeing

Losing weight is one of the most popular resolutions made on December 31, but why not focus more on health and wellbeing? Rather than aiming to lose five kilos, pledge to go for a walk a few days a week, integrate a new type of healthy and tasty food into your diet or try a wellness based activity like tai chi, meditation or pilates.

A healthy body is a healthy mind, so committing to making small changes to positively affect your physical health is going to do wonders for your emotional wellbeing also.

It’s never too late to improve your health, so start in 2016 and your body will be thanking you for years to come.”

2. Develop a passion

Whether it’s unearthing an old passion or discovering a new one, find an activity that brings you joy and put more time into it.

Did you love drawing when you were younger? Have you always secretly wanted to learn guitar?

Be it photography, hiking or salsa dancing, sign up for a class or put aside an hour every week to spend time doing what makes you happy.

Even better, get your partner, neighbours or friends involved. Sharing your joy with others will benefit all of you.

3. Improve my financial situation

While resolving to win the lotto and move to France might be wishful thinking, there are real steps you can take to improve your finances or reach a goal like a much-wanted holiday.

Like all things financial, education is key. Do your research – borrow topical books from the library, read personal finance magazines and sign up to receive e-newsletters from reputable websites.

If you haven’t already, consider meeting with a financial planner to discuss the kinds of options to access and make best use of your superannuation or the equity on your home to help fund the retirement lifestyle of your dreams.

For the smaller luxuries in life, don’t feel bad at all about indulging yourself after a lifetime of looking after others! To help with saving, consider the total amount you might need and break that up into weekly or monthly payments. For example, setting aside $30 a week will yield more than $1,500 by the year’s end, or even more if you deposit into a high-interest savings account!