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.

Before the feeling of the New Year ebbs, jot down the items you need to save for in 2012– like, oh say, the 2012 Holidays!

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.

Today is Tax Day. Take 10 minutes today to set up (if you don’t have already) a simple folder to put your tax items & receipts as you get them during the year. 10 minutes now will be worth many hours early next year.

If you find yourself getting hit with late payment fees, because you are waiting to get paid, call your credit card and have the payment date moved.

Is your New Year’s Resolution to better manage your finances?

Money matters seem to confound a lot of people. Although the math of saving is simple (more money in than out equals success), adopting any new habit can be difficult. Getting yourself organized is a critical component to managing your money well. Without a plan, you won’t get too far. That’s why we’ve designed this free printable Monthly Spending Form. It’s the easiest way we know of to keep track of where every dollar goes each month. Not too much detail, but enough to give you a clearer sense of where your dollars are going each month.

Track all of your expenses and start salting away those dollars!

Every dollar you save by spending smarter month-to-month represents ‘found money’ that can be used to buy something shiny and new today or to help you through some unknown event in the future—maybe six months from now, maybe thirty years from now. Happy saving!

Make copies of this form to use every month.

Download here.
Also, see below on ways to save.

Ways to save

If you spent more money than you earned this month, take a look at where actual spending differed significantly from your expectations. If you can figure out where the problem areas are (and why), it’s much easier to determine how to keep them from derailing you again.