Ah the good old resolution. We make them every year, each time more determined to succeed, and each time we break these promises to ourselves within weeks of making them. Think back… have you really ever made a resolution that you stuck to all year?

Didn’t think so.

So just what is it that we’re doing so wrong? It must be possible to pledge to do something and stick to it, but why do we always end up falling short?

I think there are two reasons why we never see through …

1. Prepare in advance
If you’re cooking, make something you can prepare a day or two beforehand so you don’t spend the evening itself stressing over a stove. Nigella’s Christmas book contains lots of hearty winter recipes – not just turkey and Yule log – and is one of the few cookbooks that tells you exactly what can be done in advance.
2. Get your decorations in the sales
Buy table decorations in the sales, many of which have already started. The White Company already has 50% off a range of …

As 2012 draws to a close, we become ever smushier, reflecting on what has been an eventful year for both for TotallyMoney and the personal finance blogging world at large. Let’s take a look back at some of the highlights…
January
Kicking off the year with panache, Crystal from Budgeting in the Fun Stuff shared 20 financial milestones for your 20s. Meanwhile, Compounding Returns unearthed reasons for renting.

Here at TotallyMoney, FruGal challenged you to do one simple thing to improve your finances.
February…

A post-Christmas lunch family walk, or Boxing Day pre-film fest walk is a tradition my family have long enjoyed. Heave yourself off the sofa and up a hill or along side a river in the bracing cold before returning home for cocoa mulled wine.  A family walk is a cheap or free source of entertainment for all the family plus it wears the small folk out so you can get a bit of peace later on in the day.

Here are some of the best Christmas …

I’m not very organised when it comes to Christmas. I haven’t actually bought a SINGLE present yet (I will, I promise). Yet every year I scoff at those who buy their presents in the January sales. But this year, while I don’t think presents are the way to go, like A Thrifty Mrs I’ve realised that there are a few festive things I could save on if I bought them over the next couple of weeks.
Christmas decorations
You don’t need to put these up. Just wait until they’re in the …

So, you’ve had the turkey for Christmas dinner and more turkey and stuffing sandwiches than you’ll freely admit to, now is the time to pep up the remains of leftover turkey with something a bit different, something with a bit of a kick to it, something fresh and tasty.

Umm nom.
To make spicy turkey noodle soup, you’ll need:
2L chicken stock

300g vermicelli noodles

2 teaspoons of turmeric

3 tablespoons of lime juice

1 tin of coconut milk

Around 30g fresh ginger finely chopped into strips

2 red chillies (including seeds), chopped

1 Star anise

1 tablespoon …

New Year is often a costly lacklustre anti-climax, yet we hold it in a weird reverence. We fend off our drowsiness with masochistic zeal while frittering away the dregs of December’s pay packet, because somehow the final Saturday of the year is WAY more important and worthy of our hard earned cash than any other Saturday night.

If you’d rather keep your costs down while seeing out 2011, here are the best free New Year’s Eve parties this December…
Mayor of London’s Firework Display, London
This hugely popular free fireworks display …

Urgh. New Year resolutions. They’re horrid things, and usually broken within a day. Not this time, oh no. Money worries make me worried which makes me super unhappy.

I’d quite like 2012 to be kickass, which means I need to tackle managing my money head on. Happy wallet, happy mind.
1. I’m curbing my takeaways
This is where a massive chunk of my money goes. But, not because I particularly like shoving unhealthy food into my face and losing my cheekbones. I work long hours, I don’t always have time …

The days can be long when you’ve children to entertain. Expensive, too. Here are some affordable things to do with them during the winter break:
South Bank Christmas Market

Kids can ride the merry-go-round, eat gingerbread hearts and roasted almonds, while their parents enjoy a glass of glühwein. Admittedly if you do all that it won’t be free any more, but you can still soak up the atmosphere of this Christmassy German market gratis.

For more information, visit the website.
Gallery workshops
Most …

Christmas is so nearly here (can you sense my excitement?!) that I thought I’d better get on with telling you how to ice that delicious Christmas cake from a few weeks back.

If you’ve been keeping up with the brandy soaking, your cake should be beautifully moist by now and ready for icing. It might seem a little old-fashioned, but I really like using royal icing on Christmas cake. Somehow, plain flat white icing just isn’t exiting enough.

You can buy royal icing sugar readily from any supermarket, and while …