Money-related goals and losing weight top every New Year's resolution list I've ever seen. Yet we don't seem to be getting any thinner or richer.

This survey just in from Allianz Life is no exception. The online survey, commissioned by the insurance and financial services company, found that four in 10 Americans will make resolutions about exercise and diet or better money management.

And if they had free access to either a nutritionist, a financial expert or a personal trainer, 44 percent of respondents said they'd pick the financial expert.

That doesn't surprise me, considering that financial experts cost far more per hour to hire than a personal trainer or a nutritionist. The smart money would go for the $250 per hour money manager and pick up a Jillian Michaels tape.

The question is, how can we make financial planning more affordable to the masses, who arguably need help investing and managing cash flow more than the wealthy?

I'm not a big fan of resolutions, but I do have a few goals that I hope to accomplish in the first months of the year:

  • Update the will to include our third child.
  • Shop for new home and car insurance. I'm pretty sure we're paying too much for home insurance. Now it's time to do something about it.
  • Eat out less. That's probably on every busy family's list. One strategy I'm trying out - I bought gift cards for some of the restaurants that we frequent that had those "buy $100 in gift cards, get $25 more" type deals. That stretches our money farther. And I'm hoping we'll think twice about going out to eat once the gift cards are gone.
  • Keep unnecessary purchases to a minimum. First "to-do:" Unsubscribe to the gazillion e-mails I received this holiday season. Heading to Catalog Choice is next.

How about you? Do you have financial resolutions? Any ideas for how to make financial planning affordable for all?