If you keep just three of your resolutions for 2003, make sure they are the following, writes Laura Slattery.
It's now a whole 10 days into January, the time of year when tradition dictates that everyone is back to work and miserable.
Once all those novelty gift socks have been safely stored at the back of the underwear drawer and the memory of what you got up to on New Year's Eve filed away in a mental catalogue of embarrassing moments, traces of Christmas should be as few and far between as the remaining pine needles on the living room carpet.
But if it's your current account balance that's making you cringe, you could find that financial hangovers are more difficult to shake off than the normal kind.
This is also the time of year when bills decorate hallway doormats and direct debits set up to pay off seasonally stretched credit cards take effect. Add January sales to the madness, and it's quite possible that personal finances all over the nation are a little out of shape.
Never mind, a bad start to the year only sets the scene for a strong recovery later, right? Just like everybody at heart knows the key to losing weight is to eat less and exercise more, we all also know that the trick to budgeting is to spend less, save more. Before the words "easier said than done" can even spring to mind, below are three other much more easily achievable personal finance priorities for 2003.
Don't be afraid to complain: Lots of people hate attracting the waiter's attention in a restaurant when the soup is wrong side of lukewarm and adopt the moan quietly approach.
But when there are serious, long-term implications at stake, it is not a time to be meek.
The art of complaining is not about how loud you raise your voice, but finding the right person to raise your voice to in the first place. So if you think you are being ripped off on a financial product, whose attention do you attract?
Central Bank regulations oblige investment intermediaries to outline their complaints procedures in their "terms of business" letter and to inform consumers of their right to refer unresolved complaints to the Central Bank.
The Bank's Consumer Information Unit advises consumers to put their complaint in writing to the broker or agent selling the product, giving as many details as possible and making it clear what kind of remedy they expect and when they would like a reply. It also advises consumers to keep a copy of all correspondence and a record of all contact.
If that doesn't work, the Central Bank deals with complaints about insurance brokers, the Insurance Ombudsman looks after complaints about insurance companies and the Ombudsman for Credit Institutions deals with complaints relating to credit institutions, including disputes with the operation of bank accounts or mortgage agreements.
This year, some consumer protection responsibilities will transfer to the new single regulator, the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (IFSRA), following the enactment of legislation. A consumer director will sit on the board of IFSRA.
Consumers can also complain to the Director of Consumer Affairs about false or misleading claims about goods, services or prices.
The director may prosecute the company or trader concerned, but does not have a role in seeking redress on behalf of individual consumers.
The Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs (ODCA) ran an advertising campaign on consumer rights over the festive period.
Information on consumer issues, including a guide to consumer credit and consumers' right of recourse to the Small Claims Court, is available on the ODCA's recently redesigned website, www.odca.ie.
Consumers who have an unresolved dispute with a retailer or company in another EU country can contact the European Consumer Centre (ECC) in Dublin. They will be able to tell you what your rights are in the situation and try to resolve the complaint with the company.
If that fails, the ECC's Clearing House operation will help Irish people resolve cross-border consumer disputes without going through the costly exercise of taking an overseas-based retailer to court.
Save what you can afford to save: Buy what you can afford to buy is a common piece of advice, but saving too much can have its pitfalls too. People who commit themselves to some investment products often lose out on bonuses or even pay exit penalties if they find they need the money sooner than expected. Keeping a separate fund aside for emergencies can help avoid this.
It also doesn't make too much sense to build up savings if you're going to need to borrow money to pay for consumer goods over the length of the savings term, as the interest you pay on loans will far exceed any rate the financial institution will offer you on your savings. If you do borrow, remember to milk your creditworthy status at the bank or building society and apply for loans there rather than opt for the expensive finance deals attached to particular products such as cars, hi-fis, television sets and now mobile phones. If your credit rating has slipped recently and every loan application is met with a harsh but polite rejection letter, it might be time to join the local or work credit union.
If you can afford to put money aside, the pick of savings products is still the Special Savings Incentive Accounts (SSIAs) - as long as you had the foresight to take one out before last April's deadline.
It was thought that the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, would cap the amount people could contribute to their SSIA in last December's budget, preventing accountholders from bumping up their level of contributions.
But, in the end, SSIAs were left untouched. That means accountholders can still top up the amount they are contributing to the maximum of €254 a month, then benefit from the unrivalled guarantee of a 25 per cent Government bonus on what they have saved after five years.
If you don't have an SSIA most newspapers carry tables of the best interest rate without having to stump up a five-figure sum as an initial investment.
Draw up a will: Dying intestate doesn't sound like a very nice way to go, and it certainly isn't a pleasant experience for those left behind. Somebody who dies intestate dies without making a will, leaving it to the law to decide who inherits the estate.
If you die without a will, are married and have no children, the surviving spouse inherits the entire estate. If there is a spouse and children, the spouse gets two-thirds of the estate, with one-third divided equally among the children.
If any child has already died, then his or her children receive the share. If the children are minors, their share of the estate is automatically tied up in a trust.
The division of assets under intestacy rules can become awkward if the person who died was the sole owner of the family home. An adult child might want to cash in their share, leading to rifts between the remaining parent and the child and the possible sale of the family home.
Under a will, spouses are legally entitled to one-third of the estate, or one-half if there are no children.
Children are sometimes surprised to learn, however, that they have no automatic right under a will to inherit any share of the estate, unless they can prove to the court that the parent failed in their proper duty to support them.
Making a will is the classic example of something people put off and put off, but leave it too late and naturally enough you won't be able to do anything about it. You must be over 18 and of sound mind to make a will, which can be changed or revoked at any time as long as the person is mentally competent.
Viewers of the funeral parlour-set drama series Six Feet Under will be aware of the idea of a "pre-need", where sometimes perfectly healthy people arrangeand even pay for their own funeral.
A will can offer people the chance to do the same thing - choosing music, readings, flowers and a final resting place - without actually taking the morbid step of visiting the undertaker.
If this all sounds too gloomy, a more common way of personalising a will is to leave "specific bequests" or items of sentimental value to certain loved ones.
