Experts will tell you that when making resolutions, it's best to keep them realistic, specific and as detailed as possible. Things are no different in the financial world. Financial resolutions shouldn't be dreamed up during a commercial break while watching the Rose Bowl. They need to be developed and planned. Imagine a classic heist movie in which the bank robbers energetically plan everything down to the last detail, even synchronizing their watches. Why so much planning? Because they are trying to pull off something that's hard to do. And for a lot of us, achieving our financial goals in a given year is hard to do. In fact, for some of us, it's never been done!

Forget making resolutions
Things that are made cheaply and easily tend to fall apart quickly. That's probably why resolutions that are made on a whim end up on the scrap heap as early as February. But if you build your resolutions with care and forethought, like a craftsman planning a year-long project, you might just be smiling at the end of 2008. So forget making resolutions; instead, make a plan. If your resolution is to save more money, put a plan on paper. How much money, do you want to save? How much is that per month? Where is the money going to come from? What will have to be done on a daily basis to make this happen? What will have to be cut out of your spending? Be specific. Don't just say,"We'll dine out less." Better to say,"We'll dine out no more than twice a month, which will save us at a minimum $75 per month."

Protect your plan
Once you have your plan on paper spelling out how you will achieve your resolution, try to shore it up. Where are the plan's weak points? In other words, what are some scenarios in which you see the plan failing? If dining out less is part of your plan, do you think you'll be tempted to eat out when the grocery supply dwindles? Maybe you should shop for groceries once a week rather than every other week, to keep at-home meals more exciting. Be honest with yourself and bolster your plan with strategies to ward off failure.

A few ideas to get you started
The No. 1 financial resolution for Americans is surely to pay down their debt. A close second is to save more money. Another good one is to increase your financial literacy. If that's your resolution, plan to read a book a month. Pick out the first six-months of books. Where will you find the time to read, etc? Other good resolutions include improving your FICO score, starting a retirement account, building a college fund, and checking your credit report. Just keep in mind, a resolution is nothing without a plan.