BOGO (AKA BOGOF) - an acronym for Buy One Get One Free

Recently, I rediscovered the wonders of coupons.  Never have I saved so much with just a tiny piece of paper that I cut out by following the dotted lines. Go figure, that the Sunday papers were filled with what at the time I considered to be a total waste of paper and instead it allowed me to be lost in frugality. 

The past decade has taken its toll on me, many of you, the country and our finances. From 9/11, its ensuing wars, and the collapse of the housing market, the world is a very different place today then it was ten years ago. 

There was a time when the only people who were frugal were the elderly and soccer moms.  They had intricate Librarianesque ways of sorting their massive collection of coupons.  In 2010, those two groups were joined by everyone from the Baby Boomers to Millennials.  Saving money has become one of the most vital tasks in life other than eating and sleeping. So this holiday season, why not be frugal with these New Year's Resolutions. 

How hard could it be to make and follow through on a New Years' Resolution? I personally have never officially made one... Okay, okay, maybe I should rephrase that by saying that I have never actually shared my resolutions with anyone besides myself. Surely I am not alone in using such a secretive tactic. Resolutions are not to be taken lightly, as people are generally trying to tackle a life problem that for the most part they have been habitually doing for years.

I am going to call these resolutions BOGO promises, as they should double a person's motivation and see to it that they see the entire process through till the end.  Let's take losing weight for example.  Why not couple a resolution to lose weight with a resolution to save money?  Imagine just how much money one would save if they simply stopped eating out at their favorite neighborhood sit down restaurant or simply cut the fast food burger combo with large fries and soft drink out of their diets all together. 

Your goal may be to just lose weight, but you would save a serious amount of money in the process and that's a good thing.  If your motivation was the reverse of this example and you wished to save money by not eating out as much, you honestly could lose a bunch of weight in the process without even breaking a sweat. 

Now what if your resolution was the difficult task of kicking a smoking habit?  That's an easy one in BOGO terms. You would actually get more than two resolutions out of the way by eliminating tobacco. With the price of cigarettes and their health risks being what they are, you would save a lot of money and get healthier simultaneously.

You should feel free to mix and match resolutions to your hearts' content, the BOGO deals here are endless. To help get you started on your goals, The New York Public Library offers a tremendous amount of free resources for card holders and visitors alike.  So if you live in New York City or just rang in the new year here with use, use The New York Public Library to get you started on your way to making the most out of your promise.  Happy New Year!

Books on some popular New Year's Resolutions:

• Quit Smoking
• Weight Loss
• Financial Saving
  
• Travel
• Career Change
• Continuing Education
• Stress Reduction