A recent MoneyRates.com poll, conducted jointly with GetRichSlowly.org, found that an overwhelming majority of respondents plan to save more money in 2010 than they did in 2009. Given the state of retirement savings in America, a renewed savings effort couldn't be more timely, but the key now will be turning those good intentions into reality.

This will be a recurring focus of MoneyRates.com throughout this year, as we regularly remind readers of 12 monthly resolutions they can try in 2010 to make higher savings rates a reality.

Poll Results and Savings Data

The recently concluded poll showed that 76% of the 2,164 respondents plan to save more money in 2010 than they did in 2009. Sixteen percent plan to save about the same amount, while the remaining 8% plan to save less.

The intention to save more in 2010 is understandable; most Americans urgently need to boost their savings rates. According to the Retirement Confidence Survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), only about half of all Americans--54%--are either very or somewhat confident that they have enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement. Even that number may be a little shaky, as 31% of workers who report not having saved anything for retirement still say they are very or somewhat confident in having enough money to live comfortably when they retire.

Given the fact that so many Americans are behind on their retirement savings, having 76% of recent poll respondents say they intend to save more this year is a step in the right direction. But intentions, as it turns out, are only a tiny step. Another poll conducted by MoneyRates.com and GetRichSlowly.org in late 2009 found that most respondents failed to meet their savings goal for that year--and in most of those cases, the recession wasn't even the culprit. The main problem was that people spent more than they meant to.

Twelve Monthly Resolutions from MoneyRates.com

While it's promising that most poll respondents intend to save more this year than last year, the simple truth is that New Year's resolutions often don't make it out of January.

To help you get better results, MoneyRates.com is offering a series of 12 monthly resolutions for 2010. These 12 resolutions are:

1. Take a fresh look at your mortgage.
2. Direct deposit paychecks into savings accounts or money market accounts.
3. Look into your cable, Internet, and land line costs.
4. Take full advantage of tax-deferred savings plans like 401(k)s or IRAs.
5. Reexamine your mobile phone plan.
6. Build emergency savings.
7. Kick a bad habit.
8. Attack your credit card debt.
9. Eliminate high-interest credit cards.
10. Shop for better savings account rates.
11. Compare insurance quotes.
12. Be thoughtful about holiday gifts.

MoneyRates.com will focus on one of these resolutions in each month during the year, as a reminder of a money-saving technique you can try. The idea is to make building up savings rates a small but ongoing effort, rather than a grand New Year's resolution that will fade as you revert to old habits. The goal is that when MoneyRates.com conducts a poll on savings results at the end of this year, it will show that most respondents have succeeded in meeting their goals for 2010.

Source:

2009 Retirement Confidence Survey Fact Sheet: Saving for Retirement in America • http://www.ebri.org/files/FS-03_RCS-09_Saving.FINAL.pdf • Employee Benefit Research Institute