Hey, Sandwich Generation! Let's Trim The Fat From Your Wallet And Waistline Together

It's finally the New Year: a time to reflect on the past 365 days and decide how to charge forward into a new era. And for many Americans, this period of resolutions involves losing inches and pounds or revamping money habits. However, with the right mindset, proper planning and dedication, these two types of goals need not be exclusive.

For the Sandwich Generation, that ubiquitous demographic snugly situated between aging parents and increasingly independent children, statistics indicate that sticking with New Year's resolutions are particularly difficult.

According to Statistic Brain Research Institute, although maintaining a resolution over a long period of time is difficult across all demographics, the success rate of resolutions has a tendency to decrease with age.

Sandwich Gen: Are You (And Your Budget) More Meatball Sub Or Veggie Whole Wheat Wrap?

In order to be successful at any self-improvement goal, there are a few straightforward guidelines that will keep you on track if you put in the work.

1. Take An Honest Evaluation Of Your Figures

Be fiercely honest with yourself when you begin. Look at where you stand from multiple perspectives, and write down exactly how you measure up. If you fudge a bit here and there at the front, you can't accurately track the milestones you hit.

• Weigh yourself.
• Take your measurements.
• Track your food intake.
• Evaluate your physical endurance and resistance.

• Determine your total debt.
• Look at your assets, bank accounts and sources of debt.
• Track your spending habits.
• Evaluate the good savings tendencies you have and where there is room for improvement.

2. Set Goals

Determine where you would like to be in a year's time. Write down the specifics and create a plan to meet those goals.

• Create a spreadsheet or other way of physically tracking your success.
• Write down each goal, no matter how small it is.
• Have in place a source of accountability. Even if that just means populating your spreadsheet with "due dates," it helps to have in writing when you want to see results.

3. Take Responsibility

Nobody is perfect. Acknowledge that fact, but put it into a specific context. Nobody is perfect, but you have a level of control over who you are that not a single other person has.

Mistakes are bound to happen, and bad things happen to good people. However, your current situation is inherently related to the decisions you have made along the way.

Likewise, you have the power to make changes moving forward. Unlike anyone else in this world, you have more control over what happens to you tomorrow. What you feed your body, what you spend money on, how you fill your time— these are all things that you control every day.

• Whenever you find yourself making excuses for where you are or how hard it will be to move forward, change your rhetoric. What you really mean when you say "I don't have time" is "I've not made that a priority."
• Practice switching "I don't have time" for "I've not made that a priority" in your everyday interactions. You'll soon recognize that it's harshly true.
• With the change in rhetoric juxtaposed with your goals, you'll begin to see how time and priorities interact. Making something a priority means making time for it.

4. Trim The Fat And Put The Plan To Work

Here's the fascinating part: When executed purposefully, putting your body and your budget on a diet can work hand in hand.

So many steps that will help build a stronger you will also help build a healthier financial you.

Consider the benefits of cutting back on eating out. Your stomach will thank you for not fueling your body with less-than-healthy food choices, and your wallet will thank you for not spending multiple times what it would cost to prepare food at home.

• Prepare meals at home.
• Eat more veggies and fruit and less processed foods. They typically cost less and are much healthier.
• Drink your recommended amount of water. Not only is water the cheapest beverage choice, but by giving your body the necessary liquids, you'll begin to see so many benefits.
• Reconsider all of your beverage habits. Love that grande caramel latte with an extra shot and whip? Look at the price you'll pay calorically and monetarily; compare those numbers to a plain cup of coffee with creamer and sugar.
• Get up and move. Instead of spending your hard-earned money on mindless activities, look for activities that can get you moving and cost a fraction of the price of a movie theater visit. Even taking up a more pricey habit – albeit a physical one like golf – can over time help you meet your goals.

Above all, work with yourself instead of against yourself to make your dreams a reality. Don't try cutting out all of your bad habits at once or completely overhauling who you are. If you really enjoy that grande caramel latte, make that a reward for meeting your goals. Don't beat yourself up over enjoying the finer things in life, but recognize what that means for your wallet and your waistline.

If you find it excruciatingly difficult to stay motivated, get help. Talk to a financial advisor or life coach about where you want to be and your struggles to get there. You are not alone in your personal journey to betterment. Stay motivated and get healthy.