Did you start the year full of good intentions? Are they slowly but surely falling by the wayside? Or are you rubbing your hands together with dollar bills in your eyes after the long-awaited January pay cheque? Whatever you do this coming February, don’t let yourself fall off the financial resolutions wagon.

As FruGal has pointed out in her recent series, January was the time to get back to basics, now is the time to keep it that way. Get out your notebook or expense app such as iXspensIt and start keeping track of the things you’re buying. When you make yourself accountable, you immediately begin to rethink those frivolous items. That green scarf with the violet flowers in the reduced bin doesn’t look as tempting when you think that might be half your electricity bill.

If your exercise urges are waning, try and stay on track. Most January gym memberships are abandoned by March – don’t contribute to that statistic! Keep up your healthy lifestyle by and eating more fruit and veg and taking long walks.

The urge to shop becomes all the more consuming after we’ve had to scrimp our way through January post Christmas blow-out. Start making yourself accountable. Spending is a slippery slope. Today you may be buying yourself bit and pieces with cash, then one day when you don’t have the cash you will go for the emergency credit card that you promised yourself you would never use.

January’s nearly over but let’s stick to the business of being financially smart.

Will you be frugal this February?