Head over to my other blog DIYFrugal by clicking HERE to see pictures and hear about our frugal paint job from last weekend!

You are getting an exclusive preview TODAY of Saturday's column in the Phoenix! I have also posted it over at DIYFrugal b/c I need to hear it and so do you!!

The New Year is a great time to dream dreams, set goals and make a plan of action. Begin this year knowing what you want to achieve and setting out to make it happen.

Here are a couple of pointers to start you on your way:

1.       Evaluate 2009. What were your goals for last year? How far did you get? What steps did you take? What happened good you want to do again? What happened bad you want to never have happen again? What can you do about it, if anything?

2.       Make a list of what needs to happen right now. Clean up from the holidays? Throw out the Christmas tree? Reevaluate your budget? Step on the scales? Send thank you cards? What do you need to get done today? What needs to happen this week?

3.       Then, make a list of what needs to happen next. Leave room for steps you are going to take in January, steps that had better be done by March-April and then, what you are going to look at in June to see where you are half way through the year. By continually revisiting important goals, you hold yourself accountable and have a much higher likelihood of success.

4.       Under each goal, write what tools you are going to invest in to meet your goals. Do you need a book on personal finance? Do you need an appointment with a finance counselor? Do you need weight advice or a session with a personal trainer? Do you need a professional home organizer to get you on the right path?

Success takes investment of time and discipline. If you received money for the holidays, use a little of it to invest in the goals you wish to achieve. If there is nothing left, free up cash by returning items you don’t need or selling the old.

Prove to yourself and those closest to you that you are serious about defining steps to achieving goals you didn’t reach in 2009 or perhaps dreaming new dreams. Let others hold you accountable and encourage others to join your journey. Whether you decide to run a marathon, lose fifteen pounds, strengthen your faith, actually save money, get a new job or just get a job period, or learn a new skill, your issues are not uncommon. Many have gone before you on this quest and with the Internet full of great information, don’t shut yourself off. Ask for help. Look around for resources that have been created for your goals. They are out there and in fact, may be sitting on your shelf waiting for you to pick up and read and be reminded of what you forgot last year.

You can do it. I am rooting for you. Let me know what I can research or write to help you reach your goals this year!

With questions or comments, e-mail Sarah at sarah@peppel.com or send me a tweet at www.twitter.com/DIYFrugal. Head over to DIYFrugal.com for more money saving tips.

Tired of E-bay fees or entries getting quickly buried on Craiglist? Selling products online just got easier. The SOC Exchange has arrived.

Sarah Freymoyer and Shannon Ott of Chester County Moms.com and I ate lunch with Franco Lagudi of the SOC Exchange, a new website for selling everything from jewelry to cars. We delighted in tantalizing entries at Roy's Restaurant in Philadelphia as we talked to Lagudi and enjoyed catching up with other mom bloggers from the area who were also invited to hear about the new, economical way to make money and offer resources in today's economy.

“Only one dollar a month or ten dollars a year,” said Lagudi, sharing his vision for a new site which eliminates the complicated fee system of E-bay and provides a free non-auction site like Craigslist. “It is straight selling but you can haggle.”

When asked the benefits of this new site, Lagudi adds, “You get your own website, blog, RSS feed and more. There are many value added tools that help you create your own store for selling items. This is E-bay for today's economy.”

For more of this article, hop over to my new site DIYFrugal. It will also be published on Chester County Moms which has many great local resources!