It’s time to begin our year anew. When January comes around we all believe that transformation is truly possible. We set goals, make lists, promise to honor our commitments, and set about doing everything we’ve always wanted to do with our lives but never found the motivation, money, or time.
The best place to start, and it will cost you no money whatsoever, is the handy dandy Internet. Whether it’s weight loss or self help, health and wellness, financial success, or romance, there are ways around shelling out your hard-earned cash to make changes that never really stick anyway. I mean, come on, who are we kidding?
1. Figwee.com. I almost hesitate to give away the URL for Figwee because it will no longer be my little secret. Weight loss websites charge a modest monthly fee to give us dieters a reassuring calorie counter and positive reinforcement. While weightwatchers. com and myfooddiary.com are both certainly worth the money they cost, Figwee is absolutely free. Not only that, but if you become a member now, you are a member for life. Figwee is in Beta form now, which means they’re still working out the kinks, but one day it’s going to be a contender. Let your fingers do the walking (and maybe they’ll be in shape by summer) to figwee.com.
2. Get Rich with Ramit Sethi. Sethi runs the very popular and useful blog, I Will Teach You to Be Rich, (iwillteachyoutoberich.com), which is straightforward, useful, and just a touch smug. He has also just signed a book deal to put all of his useful secrets into a big book, but for now you can get all of his cool info for free. It takes some digging around but eventually it’s worth the time to get to know this blogger’s oddball personality. If he’s too hard-core, however, one blog that is very helpful is Boston Gal’s Open Wallet (bostongalsopenwallet. blogspot.com). Boston Gal has opened up her checkbook and life savings for all to see as a motivator towards helping achieve her financial goals.
3. Getting yourself organized is no easy task. You may be already organized and therefore probably aren’t making any resolutions. You’re probably saying to yourself, if I want something done I’ll do it immediately. But for those of you who are having a hard time finding your keys or your newly expired insurance bill, well, this website may be for you. Get organized with the help of Carmen Coker (getorganizedtips. blogspot.com). This is easy to digest information that won’t overwhelm you. You don’t need to pay a coach or a consultant; here are all of the nifty suggestions laid out on a daily basis. Subscribe to the RSS feed and stay on top of the small things.
4. Meeting your true love on Craig’s List. Okay, so maybe Craig’s List has gotten a bad rap over the years because it features, well, how do we say this delicately…I have a dream that Craig’s List can overhaul its personal section so that more women and men can find each other without the pervert/call girl onslaught. I know it’s possible. We all have to work together to revolutionize it. It will always be free. But if Craig’s List still freaks you out, try Date Hook Up (datehookup.com/). They are free and therefore offer a decent selection of potential mates.
5. Finally, a resolution list is not complete without the requisite “get more fun out of life” or “enjoy every waking moment.” To that end, I submit the highly addictive Cute Overload (cuteoverload.com). Make it a daily stop as you go about your week. It is guaranteed to make you momentarily happy. The happiness might evaporate once you’re back in traffic, but if your heart and your soul is weary, this website will lift you up where you belong.
