Along with losing weight and getting organized, saving more money or clawing out of debt typically round out the top 3 New Year’s resolutions. As far as changes go, it’s probably the most difficult to follow through on. It takes hard work and, yes, organization. But the financial and emotional freedoms that come from not having to worry about money are worth every bit of effort.

We are often asked what are the most important things to organize when it comes to making good on New Year’s resolutions to become more financially fit. The good news is that there are only a handful that are truly crucial to success. Focus on these five and you will be well on your way.

1. Keep a Budget.

If you don’t know what your are spending money on each month, your chances of succeeding in your mission to get spending under control are slim to none. Keeping track is very easy as long as you have the tools for tracking ready as you go through your daily life. There are pen and paper tracking tools, like this free budget printable from GetButtonedUp.com and neat apps like Cashish for smart phones. Just get in the habit of jotting down every penny you spend. At the end of your first month of tracking, tally up each category. Then target areas to reduce spending. Track your spending again and see if you can hit those targets. After a bit, the entire thing becomes like a fun game. The trick is just to start. If you’re overwhelmed by the thought, use one debit card to pay for everything one month. Then download your statement and analyze to your heart’s content.

2. Eliminate Paper Bills or Organize Them in a Folder.

In this day and age, you can pay virtually every bill online. Subscribe to online statements or services like Manilla.com that enable you to organize all of your accounts and pay bills in one place. If you ever do need a copy of a bill, you can always print it out. If you are uncomfortable with paying bills online, invest in a project folder or binder with pockets that enable you to group bills by due date. Regardless of how you pay bills, schedule a time once a week and pay anything that is due.

3. Track Your Big Picture.

If you don’t have a snapshot of your total financial picture handy, you need to create one. It’s easy. Simply start a fresh spreadsheet and begin by listing your assets in column A: checking accounts, savings accounts, IRAs, cars, boats, etc. Starting in column B, across the top write the months of the year. Put the value of each asset under the current month. Do the same for your liabilities (credit cards, loans, mortgages, etc.). Don’t get discouraged if your liabilities are more than your assets. Watch the picture improve each month as you track your progress. Celebrate your progress at the end of each month.

4. Maximize Contributions to Your 401k.

Everybody needs to have a 401k and contribute to it every, single paycheck. If you are lucky enough to be employed with a company that matches, you would be crazy not to contribute the maximum amount possible to your 401k. All contributions are pretax, which means they reduce your total tax burden (because they are subtracted from your income).

5. Organize a Sweep Into Your Emergency Savings Fund.

Even if you can only afford to sweep $5 into an emergency savings account each month, having one is a must. Set one up that is NOT directly linked to your checking account (we love ING’s saving accounts as they are more difficult to take money out of). Then put in place a monthly, automatic transaction that deposits the target amount into your savings account. Once your emergency fund reaches 6 months of living expenses, start sweeping those savings into a different, long term savings or investment account.

Do you have these five areas buttoned up? If not, which of these areas do you struggle with? Ask us a question about your weak spot and we might be able to help.

We’re thrilled to share the news that the amazing Amy Suardi, our savings expert, has a makeover series on TLC! In the series she works with a variety of families facing different savings challenges. As always, she’s warm, helpful and full of insightful tips.

Here’s her latest video – helping a growing family reign in their weekly spending.

We highly recommend following Amy’s series over on TLC.

Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances, our money makeover winner, Angie has had to withdraw from the year-long money makeover process.

We are going to go back to the original pool of applicants and will select a new winner. Amy and I will start fresh with new in January with a new, year-long money makeover.

As those on the East Coast dig out from under the mess caused by Hurricane Irene, many will be reaching out to their insurance agents to discuss and make claims. We thought it might be helpful to outline the kind of damage that is typically covered by different insurance policies (home, car, flood).

What kind of storm damage is typically covered by homeowner’s insurance?

Typically, your homeowner’s insurance will cover the damage (less the deductible) to your house caused by fallen trees or limbs. It will also probably cover the cost of removing the damaged trees & limbs (up to $500 or $1,000 depending on your policy). And should your house be uninhabitable, it will also cover “reasonable living expenses” – just be sure to check with your insurance agent to see what is “reasonable” before booking your room at the Four Seasons.

A lot of communities experienced flooding caused by swollen rivers and tidal surges. If I experienced flooding in my basement or ground floor, is that covered by my homeowner’s insurance?

When it comes to water damage, insurance policy holders need to pay careful attention to the source of the damage. If your roof sustained wind damage and water leaked in because of that – it will be covered by your homeowner’s policy. Ditto if rain seeps into your house because of damaged or overwhelmed gutters and causes damage to the walls and/or ceilings .

However, any water that comes from flooding is not covered by standard homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policies. For that, you will need flood insurance provided by the Federal Government.

If I don’t currently have it, how do I apply for flood insurance so I am covered in the future?

Because floods are typically confined to a few geographic areas, fewer people apply for flood insurance and insurance companies lack a large enough base to cover their costs. In response to this, the federal government stepped in with the National Flood Insurance Program.

According to FloodSmart.gov

In 1968, Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to help provide a means for property owners to financially protect themselves in the event of a flood. The NFIP offers flood insurance to homeowners, renters, and business owners if their community participates in the NFIP.

Homeowners can also supplement the basic building insurance you get through the government. Companies like Allstate offer comprehensive contents coverage, which ensures items like your washer/dryer, carpet, and furniture are covered in the event of a flood.

What happens if a car was badly damaged – either by falling trees/debris or by water?

If your car was damaged by a falling tree or limb OR by the flooding, you should file a claim under the optional comprehensive portion of your auto policy as it will likely cover both.

Additional information & resources

Most insurance agencies have a wealth of information on their sites about the kind of coverage they offer and tools for helping you determine what you need. Here are links to the big four:
Allstate
State Farm
Geico
Progressive

In addition, I’d be remiss if I failed to point you in the direction of our Valuables.doc – a binder for cataloging the contents of your home. Every homeowner (and renter) should have one of these. It sounds overwhelming – but if you break it down like we have in this binder, going through the items in your home and cataloging them for insurance purposes is pretty painless.

How did you fare with Irene?

Saving money can be as unappealing as going on a diet. Yes, the results will be fun, we think, but the process won’t.

Just like in losing weight, we’re supposed to change our lifestyle. But what exactly does that mean?

Don’t be daunted: I’m here to tell you that being frugal can be incredibly satisfying. I have been writing about the win-wins of cutting costs for over a year and a half and I could go on for another decade.

With the launch of Buttoned Up’s year-long Money Makeover, I thought it would be a great time to look at ways to overhaul our thinking and embrace a new normal.

So if you too want to button up your finances, here are three ways to toss the old “no pain, no gain” mantra, and start loving your new frugal life.

1. Focus on what you love

When I was in college, I asked my psychology professor if I could analyze in my final paper the main character of Madame Bovary, my favorite novel. “Sure,” he said, “go where the passion is.” That was the best paper of my academic career. I really loved that book, so the writing became fun.

When you have to get down to work to cut costs in your life, start with an activity you love. Do you relish traveling? If you direct your energy into it, I know you can find surprising ways to skip the Bali trip and have super-fun and memorable vacation.

If you love eating, put your all into carefully making up your grocery list, discovering farmer’s markets, watching cooking shows, and trying recipes from your favorite restaurants. We just discovered homemade pizza, and I don’t think we’ll ever be able to call the delivery guy again.

2. Simplify your life

The infinite choices we have today – from paint colors to cereals to elementary schools – can lead to overwhelming confusion.

Decide to simplify your life in three ways that will make you feel more peaceful — and save you money. For example, you could:

• eliminate an after-school activity next year or cut out a hundred cable channels
• shop at only one grocery store (you’ll know its layout, prices, and sales better), or
• clear out your closet and vow to only classic pieces you discover at the same thrift store

Limiting our spending also limits our choices, and sometimes that can be a refreshingly good thing.

3. Make it about people

Sometimes we can get so caught up in trying to do more, do it better, and do it faster, that we stretch ourselves into a string of saltwater taffy, flimsy and drooping.

The simple act of slowing down and spending more time at home can jumpstart our relationships — and our happiness. Skip the Mexican restaurant and have a picnic in your backyard. Make a bouquet of wildflowers and pretty weeds. Invite another couple over for a simple dinner. Ask to borrow your neighbor’s wheelbarrow and offer to lend your snowblower. Send over a plate of cookies when you know someone needs a hug.

Not only will you spend less on entertainment and eating out, but you’ll increase the good feelings among the people you love, the people you want to know, and people like neighbors, who can be an invaluable resource for sharing, helping out, and saving money.

So experiment with different ways to increase your happiness. I am still surprised at how things I initially did because of our tight budget, made me happier, healthier, or wiser.

And that’s better than any diet on earth.

Amy Suardi, Butttoned Up’s savings expert, writes about ways that save money and make life better at her blog Frugal Mama.

My wallet officially became embarrassing a few weeks ago, when I opened it up to pay for a coffee. Out spilled ATM receipts (showing my dismal balance), slips of motivational notes to myself (“Go to the gym today!”), my sister’s library card, and lots of coins, which dropped and rolled in all directions on the floor Picking them up, I noticed they were Mexican pesos. Don’t ask.

When your wallet starts bursting, it’s time to take a hard look at what you’re carrying around and why. So I reached out to my favorite personal finance guru, Carmen Wong Ulrich. Carmen, the author of the new book The Real Cost of Living: Making the Best Choices for You, Your Life, and Your Money gave me some great tips for taming my out-of-control wallet.

What do we really need in our wallets?

CWU: I would never leave home without legal ID, an ATM/debit card and at least one credit card. These days, with so much available online and with apps, there’s little reason to have a wallet jammed full of retail cards and loyalty cards and anything else—other than cute photos of our loved ones!

I recommend carrying at least two credit cards on a daily basis, and this is not including your debit card (though, if you don’t have a lot of credit, your debit may count as one). Why two? Because many places accept either Amex or MasterCard/Visa, not both.

As for retail loyalty cards, there are great apps that let you have them all in one place: your phone! Download loyalty card apps and chuck all that plastic.

My wallet is full of ATM receipts. Should we even print them?

CWU: Nah, save the trees! Paper ATM receipts are remnants of a time when we didn’t bank online. Today, you can go straight from the ATM to seeing a record of the transaction on your phone or at home. It’s VERY rare for something to go wrong at the ATM but it can happen. So, always count how much money you’ve actually received vs. what you asked for and—should that not add up—head directly to a teller or make sure you get a receipt and check your balance. But, assuming the amount matches and everything looks right on screen, no need for a paper receipt.

How is your wallet organized?

CWU: Last year, I resolved to fix my overstuffed wallet! I did this by buying one of those hard-backed folding-envelope style wallets, which only allow a certain number of cards as well as cash and change. It means I have to dump out change and receipts on a regular basis or I can’t close my wallet! I highly recommend it for anyone who keeps receipts like I do for reimbursement or tax deductions.

What about you? Is your wallet super organized or jammed full? Any tips for paring down what you carry around?

UPDATE: WE HAVE A WINNER! It was an incredibly difficult decision to make, but after two meetings, lots of back-and-forth, we finally picked Angie D. as the winner of the financial makeover. Congratulations to Angle and thank you to all of our entrants.

With the end of tax season comes a flurry of vows to get financial acts together. “Never again,” many of us swear to ourselves as we drop our returns in the mail box.

If you’re in need of a money makeover – from organizing your papers to buttoning up your budget – we have an incredible opportunity for you!

Are you a financial mess? Win a year-long financial makeover!

We are looking for someone in need of a total organizational overhaul when it comes to their finances. Tell us why you you are the person MOST in need of this makeover in a comment on this post. If you are selected by the buttoned up judges as the winner, our savings expert, Amy Suardi will work with you one-on-one over the next 12 months to make over your finances.

You’ll master the basics, like tracking spending and budgeting. In addition, Amy will teach you how to plan a vacation for half the cost, spend less at the grocery store, pay down debt and beef up your savings…even make it through the Holiday season without blowing your budget. She’ll feature your key transformations and highlight the main lessons learned in a post on GetButtonedUp.com each month.

Interested? Here’s how to enter:
1. Leave a detailed comment on this post describing why you are the perfect candidate for a financial makeover and how you think winning would transform your life. Remember, the more detail you provide, the better able we are to assess your entry!

2. The contest beings at 12:01PM EST on 4/07/2011 and will close at 11:59PM on 4/26/2011. All entries must be received by the close in order to be considered by the judges.

Official Rules

1. ENTRIES: Entries become sole property of Sponsor and none will be acknowledged or returned. By entering, Entrant warrants that his or her entry (1) is original and does not infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party, and (2) has not been published in any medium.

2. JUDGING: All entries will be judged by a panel of GetButtonedUp.com editors who will evaluate the entries equally on the essay based on the ability to explain and show their potential for a year-long makeover that will be the most informative for readers. In the event of a tie, an additional “tie-breaker” judge will determine the Winner from among all such tied entries using the judging criteria above. Incomplete and/or inaccurate entries and entries not complying with all rules are subject to disqualification. Decisions of judges are final and binding. Winner will be notified in the post and by telephone, e-mail, or twitter on or about May 1, 2011.

3. ELIGIBILITY: Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 19 years or older at time of entry (“Entrant(s)”). Void where prohibited by law. Employees of Sponsor and its promotional partners and their respective parents, affiliates and subsidiaries, participating advertising and promotion agencies (and members of their immediate family and/or those living in the same household of each such employee) are not eligible.

4. PRIZE: On a date to be agreed by all participating parties, the winner will set up a conference call with our savings expert, Amy Suardi, at a convenient time for all. Prior to meeting, the winner may be asked to fill in a questionnaire, providing Amy with information on areas of the family’s finances. Amy will then work with the family over the next 12 months to provide tips and insights into their spending along with simple ways that she can reduce her expenditures. You won’t be able to swap your prize for anything else and we won’t offer you cash as an alternative prize. The prize must not be used for promotional purposes and the winner and their family may be required to participate in publicity reasonably requested by GetButtonedUp.com.

6. WINNER’S LIST: You can find out the details of the lucky winner by email after May 15, 2011 – send email to contestinfo@getbuttonedup.com.

7. ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS: By entering into the contest you have accepted the above information, which Buttoned Up reserves the right to amend at any time. Promoter: Buttoned Up, inc., 7351 Neckel, Dearborn, MI 48126.

I was back in Philly this morning – chatting with the amazing Lu Ann Cahn on NBC’s the 10! Show about organizing your finances. While it may be a bit too late to do much about getting organized for tax time this year, here are a few simple things you can do to get ahead of the curve for next year (and generally be more in control of your money).

View more videos at: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com.

5 Tax Tips

It’s here again – tax time! Next to getting a cavity filled, sitting in rush hour traffic, and being seated next to someone with poor hygiene on an airplane, doing your taxes ranks right up there with your least favorite things to do, right? What is it about all those forms and the acronym IRS that sends people running for the hills? Hiding in the sand isn’t going to help you (the IRS DOES find you), but with a little expert guidance, you too can tackle tax season with a smile. We thought we’d turn to some experts for some surefire tips for tax preparation for this year and next.

Here’s what we learned from some of the country’s top financial planners and accountants:

1. Look at Tax Prep as Household Finance 101:

This is the one time of the year that most people have a clear picture of their entire finances. It’s all out on the table, literally, so use that chance to start some planning for the future, says J. Michael Collins, a consumer economics specialist based in Madison, Wisconsin. He mentions that it’s a great time to open a savings account if you don’t already have one to put away some of the tax refund you have coming to you.

2. Divide and Conquer:

Whether it’s a function of the economy or just a result of the new wireless world, more people than ever now work on their own as consultants, freelancers, or independent contractors. It’s easy to confuse the dry cleaning receipt (not deductible) with the parking ticket from a business meeting (deductible). That is just one of the reasons why Tampa, Florida business writer Colin Flood suggests opening a separate checking account to keep business expenses easily organized and trackable.

3. Give it Up:

You know that closet in the guest room that is just bursting with things you don’t need? Get rid of the extra stuff and you’ll find yourself saving on your taxes. Plan donations, says Jeff Staley, Managing Partner of Freedom Tax Relief in San Mateo, CA. Staley reminds donors to get receipts and when you’re not sure how much to deduct, go online to sites like www.itsdeductible.com to learn fair values.

4. The Virtual Shoebox:

Receipts can be the bane of your organized office but now with a new service called Shoeboxed.com. Simply dump all of your receipts into a pre-paid envelope and ship it to their location in North Carolina, where they scan and upload all of those bits and scraps into one neat Excel, PDF, or Quickbooks file. The best part? You can take advantage of their free shredding service, since their files meet all IRS requirements.

5. Start Planning for Next Year:

“What?” you may ask, since you’re just signing the forms for this year, but sketching out the upcoming year and paying estimated taxes may help you ease a tax burden, says Staley.

How do you organize your taxes? What tips can you give? Let us know!

Last month, we gave you a roadmap for organizing your time and tasks today so that you could be more thoughtful tomorrow.

This month, we’ve mapped out 31 small steps you can take each day of this month to become more financially savvy. So ahead, take one step today…and tomorrow…and see where you net out on the 31st.

If you’re interested in getting these monthly roadmaps as free printables, let us know in the comments!