Vow to Save Money Every Day in '09

What if the only New Year's resolution you made was to save money every day? Sound doable, or overwhelming?

Even if the only thing you manage to do is to simply think about saving money every day, I guarantee that you'll be in better financial shape this time next year.

One Question to Stop Mindless Spending

How many times have you gotten your credit card bill or bank statement and wondered what you got for $39 at Acme Mart or where that $100 ATM withdrawal went?

Wonder no more. If you vow to save money every day, you're likely to make smarter decisions with every dollar that passes through your hands.

Ask yourself every time you whip out your wallet: "Hey, is there some way I can spend less today?" The simple act of acknowledging the opportunity to cut costs will bring mindfulness to your everyday spending. It will take a little while to remember to ask that pointed question, but after you do it for, say, a week, it'll start to become second nature.

There are other ways to make more mindful money decisions, too:

Kick the Plastic Habit

Credit cards are a major cause of overspending. When we whip out the plastic, our mind goes numb; we don't process the transaction the same visceral way we do when we spend cash. (Think of it like using poker chips in Vegas, only without Wayne Newton tunes in the background.) In fact, some experts say people spend 15% to 30% more when using credit instead of cash.

Spending actual cash forces you to think about every dollar you spend, so you experience a physical reaction to forking over $1s and $5s.

Try this trick to get in tune with your spending: Institute the "envelope" approach to budgeting for a few weeks, whereby you carry around just the amount of cash you want to devote to various spending categories (lunch, entertainment, cute shoes) for that week. See how it affects your purchasing. Chances are it'll keep you from frittering away your money -- so much so that you'll tell the whole family to play along.

Keep the Bigger Picture in Constant View

How much joy does a stale turkey sandwich from the corner deli add to your life? What about that gossipy magazine you tossed into your grocery cart while waiting in the checkout line? How much closer do those purchases get you to that two-week cruise or covering Junior's college costs?

Think of every financial decision in the context of your larger life goals, be it getting a new briefcase, paying cash for your next car, or securing your retirement. No, that doesn't mean sacrificing all short-term pleasures (love those gingerbread lattes, by the way). But combined with the budgeting method I've outlined here, this is a pretty powerful motivator to keep the mindless spending in check.

Write a list of your big money goals on a small index card and keep it in your wallet. This constant visual reminder of what you really want to do with your money will make you think before you buy anything that doesn't align with your real wishes.

Always Shop With a List

Studies show that as much as 60% of supermarket purchases are unplanned. With the average family shelling out $5,000 for groceries every year, that's $2,000 of unnecessary stuff running across the scanner.

It may be cliché, but shopping with a list will keep you honest. Lists (and that "envelope" budgeting method, again) are great for big-ticket retail excursions, too, such as holiday shopping and "Skip Work to Go to the Outlet Mall Day." Y'all celebrate that one too, right?

Happy Habit Trails

Try out a few of these money practices over the next month. You might be surprised how quickly they become habit -- and how much more attractive your finances look when it's time to ring in 2010.

Fool.com columnist Dayana Yochim sometimes tallies how much money she didn't spend on stuff she thought she absolutely couldn't live without. So far, she's fake-saved hundreds of thousands of dollars.