-- Lose weight and get fit.

-- Eat healthier and diet.

-- Get out of debt and save money.

Sadly, this list represents some cultural insight into 1) the top needs of many Americans and 2) a lack of discipline in three key areas of life in the richest nation on earth.

Although we are well into February, it's not too late to make resolutions in those areas where you want to see improvement. And to help you, I want to give you some ways actually to achieve your financial or personal goals so that you can be among those with resolutions that are still intact at the end of the year.

MAKE A SPECIFIC GOAL

Let's assume that one of your resolutions in the area of personal finances is something like this, "I will get out of debt and save more money in 2012." That is a good resolution. But now you have to get some details in your plan. Your next step is to define how much you want to accomplish in each plan category and record them in the form of detailed, measureable goals. Here is an example:

"I will pay off $8,500 in credit card balances within 12 months so that I can be debt free.

"I will save $1,500 in an emergency savings account within 12 months so that I no longer have to rely upon my credit cards."

DEVELOP A PLAN TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL

In order to achieve your debt reduction and savings goals, you could do the following:

1. Download a free budgeting plan at crown.org.

Once you have downloaded the budgeting plan, spend a few hours working through the numbers to determine how much money you earn and how much you spend each month. This will help you determine if you need to a) decrease your spending, b) increase your income or, c) do both in order to have the amount of money you need to apply towards debt and save some each month.

This step is very important and one that cannot be omitted if you want to complete your goal.

2. Establish a separate bank account to automatically withdraw the amount you need to pay off credit cards and to save each month. For instance, in the example above, you need to withdraw about $425 each paycheck or about $850 per month to have $8,500 to pay off your credit cards and save money for emergencies.

Once you have made the automatic transfer, use the account only to pay off the credit cards and nothing else. If you have established your budget correctly, you will have a surplus of $62 per pay period or $125/month remaining and $1,500 in emergency savings by the time you reach the 12th month.

VICTORY OVER THE LACK OF DISCIPLINE Continued...