You may find turning over a new leaf this month entails tossing out the old and ringing in the new, but you should take a second look before doing that. What you may find much more satisfactory is to simply rework and refurbish what is already there. Sometimes a new paint job makes everything new again, so you don't have to start over from scratch. They don't make things like they used to, so preserve what you can. It's also a good time to initiate that new credit card, but avoid impulse buying, as it's easy to go overboard right about now. Ditto for mortgage or other loans -- a good starting time, but just take what you need and no more.