Careers and finances high on resolutions lists

I know a new year is about to begin, but I'm not planning to make any resolutions.

Chances are, I would just break them anyway.

For example, last year in a late-December column, I mentioned that I hoped 2007 would see me drop at least 20 pounds, get in shape and eat better.

I'm 0-for-3 on those goals. In fact, I think I may have gone the other way on the weight issue.

Sigh.

But despite such failures of the recent past, I have decided that I will once again see how my hopes for 2008 match up with those of others nationwide, thanks to annual predictions from Arizona-based myGoals.com.

The company, which operates a Web site for setting and reaching personal and professional goals, said health and fitness will maintain its spot at the top of the heap for 2008, with 28 percent of all resolutions focused on those topics, compared to 27 percent last year.

However, career goals take a huge leap in this year's sample, representing 21 percent of all expected resolutions, compared to 12 percent for 2007.

"There is a strong entrepreneurial current running through this trend," said Greg Helmstetter, chief executive officer of myGoals.com, in a press release. "More and more people are realizing that one of the best ways to get ahead is to strike out on their own, not to mention the freedom and satisfaction that come from being one's own boss."

The release said 30 percent of career-related resolutions for 2008 should be entrepreneurial in nature, up from 20 percent last year. Actual goals set by visitors to the Web site have included "To create an independent successful private practice" and "To start a jewelry business."

MyGoals.com's predictions are based on the goal-setting activity of its users during the third quarter of 2007. Five hundred goals were selected at random and tabulated to generate the trends. No survey was involved, and the results are not scientific.

But the nonscientific results show that the nation's Web surfers are seeking personal financial growth.

"In 2008, we expect people to focus a lot of time and energy improving their careers and getting out of debt," Helmstetter said.

Resolutions regarding debt reduction are expected to increase to 52 percent of all finance-related resolutions for 2008, up from 26 percent for 2007. Money-saving resolutions are likely to increase from 11 percent to 24 percent of all finance-related goals.