The beginning of a new year is a time at which many people start new initiatives to better themselves and improve their lives. Whether or not you specifically write out a list of “new year’s resolutions,” you may well take the beginning of 2013 as a time to look ahead to the year to come and figure out a few things to focus on personally.

As you go about preparing for the new year, one thing you may want to consider is the implementation of some new money-saving efforts. It isn’t always easy to manage your finances, but unless you have a specific plan laid out, it can be very hard to stick to any sort of savings effort in a strict and diligent way. However, if you make an effort to figure out a strategy for your savings, you may find that you have more success throughout the year with minimizing your expenses and making the most of your income.