Reevaluate your financial goals

If you're like many, you may have committed to a program of financial self-improvement in January and then let those resolutions slip as the months passed. Now is a great time to recommit.

I'm Sheyna Steiner with the Bankrate.com Personal Finance Minute.

This time, make sure your goals are attainable and sustainable. By setting smaller goals and achieving them, you're more likely to stay motivated.

To begin, many consumers benefit from wrangling credit reports into shipshape. That means pulling reports from each of the three credit reporting agencies and making sure that all the accounts and information on them is accurate and up to date.

Paying off the credit card accounts and loans on your credit reports is equally important. Paying off debt can be a long process but keeping long-term goals in mind helps keep motivation fresh.

Once you've met your goals, keep planning with an eye on your entire financial picture. As time goes on, your assets will grow, debts diminish and goals will be achieved.

For more on this and other personal finance issues, visit Bankrate.com, I'm Sheyna Steiner.