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There’s no bigger symbol of the new year than packed gyms across the nation. But getting fit can cost a pretty penny. Between gym memberships, gear equipment, and trainers, you start to question whether it’s worth it.

Take the edge off and save a little bit of pocket change by noting some tips on how to cut down on those fitness costs this year.

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Just as everyone is sitting down to assess their plan of action with their diets, their workout regiments, their careers, and their finances, the new year is the perfect time to sit down and assess your plan of action with your love life. If things didn’t go the way you’d hoped in 2012, for the most part that was no stroke of bad luck. It was an accumulation of wrong decisions, shortsightedness, and perhaps failure to respect yourself and your needs. Don’t just charge into 2013 saying, “My love life will be better this year!” Ask yourself how?What will you consciously do, or perhaps not do, to improve your love life? A great way to begin is to make a list of behavior and treatment you just won’t tolerate. This might help you get started with your list.

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Tis the season for making resolutions and, if you’re like most folks, you probably already have a list of projects and goals that you’re preparing to tackle in the New Year. According to a recent report by the University of Scranton’s Journal of Clinical Psychology, 45 percent of people make resolutions, but only about eight percent of people will actually prove to be successful before December 31, 2013.

And aside from scribbling plans to drop 15 pounds on a bar napkin or mentally tossing around an idea to start a new business, there may be a better – and much more effective – way to document hopes and dreams that vastly improves the odds of them actually coming true.

In 2006, Rhonda Byrne took over the literary world with her book The Secret. The self-help tome guided readers in the “law of attraction” – the idea that if we think positive thoughts, the universe will cause us to encounter people and opportunities that match those thoughts and feelings. One of the primary tools Byrne advocates in the book is the use of a vision board, constructed of a bulletin or poster board covered with pictures and phrases of an individual’s dream life.

The belief that staring at a board full of random magazine clippings can actually propel us into prosperity and happiness is still far-fetched to some, but with over 21 million books in print and $300 million in sales (from the book and related movie combined), it is evident that The Secret, or at least the theory it represents, is no fluke.

Kelly Daugherty received The Secret as a gift from a friend and, although she was initially one of the skeptics, decided to give vision boards a try as she prepared to launch Smashing Golf & Tennis, her unique line of athletic apparel-meets-shapewear.

“I’ll admit, I was a non-believer,” said Daugherty. “Actually I was more than a non-believer. I would tell people to stop wasting their time and that vision boards are for people that believe in voodoo, astrology and tarot cards.”

Ultimately, Daugherty was attracted to the notion that creating a vision board could help her to channel her efforts to get her startup off the ground.

“To me it was about focus and positive energy,” she added. “For example, I really wanted to be in specific media outlets, which meant I spent a lot of my day networking with media and trying to create new story ideas. In turn, I wasn’t spending as much time as I would have liked selling to additional geographic regions, but every time I would get distracted, I would go back to my vision board and say ‘In Year 1 — these are my goals. Attain these, and then make another board.’”

And vision boards aren’t just for business. As an international athlete, global soccer ambassador and owner of Eat Soccer, a website geared toward all things soccer, Qiana Martin saw such incredible success with her first, career-oriented vision board that she now makes one for nearly every facet of her life.

It’s unfortunate that most New Year’s resolutions don’t make it past January. For some of us, losing weight lasts just as long as the trial membership to the gym. Eating healthy doesn’t last as long as the expiration date on the yogurt. And the goal to have better relationships usually goes well until someone says something to us that we don’t like.

Every year people rush to make their list of resolutions in hopes of being a better person in the new year; and while it’s not impossible to keep resolutions, usually they’re broken…unless you plan for success. Yes, even your plan needs to have a plan when it comes to New Year’s resolutions.

So before you make that list of changes for the New Year, here are five things to consider that could help you with your success.

It’s the last MN Morning Jam of the year folks! So it’s fitting that we go out with a bang (and some wine, which we will drink much later in the evening), and some Nas, who is coincidentally playing a New Year’s Eve show tonight in NYC at Radio Music City Hall. The extra fine rapper teamed up with the late and great Amy Winehouse for this groove-worthy track about his search for the right lady. And the good news is, he doesn’t sound too picky in his search for a boo (“She could be from out the hood or either work for the president”). The song is off of his album, Life is Good, which was one of the best albums of the year, and it’s definitely worth a two-step at your desk.

No matter what you’ve been through this year, we’ve made it to a new year (in a few hours) with new opportunities. Let’s be thankful, and remember as Nas would say, that yes, life is good! Happy early new year loves!

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Don’t you love that quiet lull the office falls into between Christmas and New Year’s Day? With clients and coworkers traveling for the holidays, the workplace can feel like an adult version of Home Alone. But, there are better things to do with your downtime than playing Facebook games or building towers out of office supplies with your cubicle mates. This is the perfect time of year to gain perspective on 2012, and get focused for the New Year. Follow these steps to make sure your mind is right for 2013.

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Too often at the beginning of a New Year, we don’t address one of the biggest problem areas in our lives: our finances. Instead of striving to be financially fit, our physical fitness is more important. While health and wellness should be a main priority in our lives, our finances should also take some type of priority as well. And as 2013 approaches, striving to be more wealthy should be another resolution to put on our list.

If you are looking to make a few changes in your financial part of life this New Years, here are a few suggestions of resolutions for your finances. Get in better financial shape in 2013!

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This year has been a great year to learn more about your own finances, how to start your own business, manage your finances and be savvy while doing so, according to Madame Noire Business. From small business tips on how to create your own mobile app as a small business to tips on preparing for the next tax season, MN Biz has informed, introduced and changed the way we see the business and financial part of our lives. Yesterday, we took a look at the big issues we covered over the past six months. Today, we look back on some of the best business advice from Madame Noire in 2012.

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Dear Single Sistas,

I’m writing this letter to my Single Sistas who may be feeling down in the dumps during this Christmas season because they don’t have a mate to exchange gifts with or spend quality holiday time with. This letter also goes out to those who may feel extremely lonely during this season because  they are fresh out of a relationship and this is your first time without a significant other. I’m writing this letter to encourage you to celebrate this holiday season in your season of singleness, and see and embrace the beauty that it is. I know many of you may be saying or thinking that you enjoy the holiday season with friends and family, but it would be nice to have a special man in your life to exchange a kiss or two under the mistletoe with, or exchange a kiss at midnight with at the beginning of a New Year. While I agree with you, I want to encourage you to find different ways to enjoy the holiday season while you’re single. One of the things you can do this season is volunteer at a shelter, or soup kitchen. Not only will this gesture help someone else, but it will make you see how blessed you are for the things you have and make you forget about not having a mate (at least for the moment).

Another thing you can do is spend the extra money you would have spent on a gift for your mate on yourself! Treat yourself to something extremely special and out of the ordinary and place it under your tree addressed to you from you! You can also spend that extra money on a weekend getaway for yourself, or start a new savings account to ring in the New Year. Another thing you can do during your single holiday is spend time reflecting on what the holiday season really means. So many people get caught up in the commercialization of the holidays that they have the tendency to forget what they are truly designed to be about…Thankfulness. One more thing you can do during this holiday season of singleness is actually just enjoy the fact that you are single! While spending time with friends and family is a wonderful thing, it’s also a wonderful thing to have quiet time for self-reflection.

Look back and reflect on your accomplishments, the good times you had this year, and focus on new beginnings and how you will be the best single woman you can be until the time comes for your season of singleness to end. I know it’s hard when you see and hear of friends getting engaged on Christmas or at midnight on New Year’s Eve, and you find yourself waning the same thing. I also know it’s hard to see the lavish gifts from a friend’s significant other too, but I encourage you to stay positive and grateful for all you have because your time will come when the time is right. Don’t be down this holiday season. Lift your heads and hearts because your/our season of singleness is a gift that’s not only given once a year, but all year round if you allow it to be the gift that it is, because the truth of the matter is, I’d rather be a single woman happy and enjoying my holiday without a relationship, rather than being a woman in a relationship, yet still single and more alone than you think during every season of the year. So I say to all of you, enjoy this and every holiday season in your season of singleness because there may come a time in your life when you wish you had done so. Enjoy being single, and appreciate it for what it is.

Sincerely, Your Single Sistah,

Liz

It’s a new year; waking up to work at the same unfulfilling job doesn’t have to be a reality for 2012. This year use these five steps to a more satisfying career to make 2012 the best year for professional development you’ve ever had.

Career Coach Kathy Caprino details on Forbes that the first step to a more satisfying career is to reconnect with early you. Take some time to remember what teenage and early adult you enjoyed and aspired to be. What was your passion, what skills and talents did you embody naturally? These early characteristics and passions are the essence of who you still are. If you are not using these skills in your career, then seek to find a career that utilizes what early you enjoyed.

Caprino next advises that you move away from what you hate. Certain job tasks in our adult life must be performed regardless of the job. But there are other skills that we hate that come with a specific job. Just because you may be good at statistics or public speaking or report analysis doesn’t mean you have to do it. Once you identify the tasks that you hate, find new career options that minimize working contact with these tasks.

The third tip is to always honor your personal values. After you have taken a moment to discover what it is you truly care about and value, search for opportunities that embrace those values. Be it helping others, transforming chaos into order, or creative design, a career that takes on what you value will lead to happiness.

The fourth step is to redefine your relationship with money. Financial security is the reason most of us take on a certain job. Once you assess your own relationship with money, take power away from the dollar and crown yourself the king or queen of your career decisions.

The last step is the most important: actively do something in the field or position you want! This isn’t accomplished by looking up jobs online or crying to everyone about how unhappy your job makes you. Try to actively take on the job you want by volunteering, interning, taking a course or shadowing a professional in your targeted area. Whatever you decide to do, try it and see how it fits.

It is also important to note that your perfect career doesn’t happen overnight. Taking on these steps will put you in the right direction, but patience is also the key to success.