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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2007 New Year's Resolutions
Show Trends in Home Improvement, Personal Growth
Scottsdale, AZ — December 4, 2006 — myGoals.com today announced its annual predictions describing what types of resolutions people are expected to make during the coming New Year's season.
myGoals.com, the Web's premiere site for setting and reaching personal and professional goals, bases its predictions on the current year's third quarter goal-setting activity. According to an anonymous, random sample of goals people have set at the site, this year's New Year's resolutions are expected to break down as follows:
| New Year's Resolutions |
| 2006 |
|
2007* |
|
% Change |
|
Health & Fitness
|
details
|
31 |
% |
|
27 |
% |
|
-4 |
|
| Personal Growth & Interests |
details
|
10 |
|
|
15 |
|
|
+5 |
|
| Personal Finance |
details
|
15 |
|
|
15 |
|
|
0 |
|
| Career |
details
|
15 |
|
|
12 |
|
|
-3 |
|
| Education & Training |
details
|
9 |
|
|
9 |
|
|
0 |
|
| Home Improvement & Real Estate |
details
|
5 |
|
|
7 |
|
|
+2 |
|
| Time Management & Organization |
details
|
8 |
|
|
6 |
|
|
-2 |
|
| Family & Relationships |
details
|
5 |
|
|
5 |
|
|
0 |
|
| Recreation & Leisure |
details
|
2 |
|
|
5 |
|
|
+3 |
|
* Projected
** Does not equal 100% due to rounding |
100% |
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101%** |
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| | View Graphic
High Res Graphic for Print
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this press release, data, or
graphics (in whole or in part)
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People Opting to Work on Their Homes and Themselves
"In 2007, people are going to spend a lot of time working on improving their homes and themselves," said Greg Helmstetter, CEO of myGoals.com. While health and fitness are always the most common category of goals tracked by myGoals.com, the past year has shown a decrease in that category's popularity, back down to normal levels after a two-year jump above normal. Categories showing increased interest this year are home improvement and personal growth.
"People are a little less concerned about job security, their waistlines, or buying a house. Instead, they're seeking ways to make themselves feel fulfilled and happy," said Helmstetter. "This is good news. When personal growth becomes a priority, it means that people are confident that their lower-level, basic priorities such as finances and health are under control." This New Year's, 15% of all resolutions are expected to relate to Personal Growth and Interests, up from 10% last year. This category comprises a wide range of goals, including improving one's mental outlook, appearance, social skills, spirituality, and spending time doing things such as reading, writing, and participating in one's community.
Improving Homes Instead of Buying Them
Another notable shift is a decrease in goals related to buying real estate such as homes, second homes, and investment properties. This trend is offset by a corresponding increase in goals related to home improvement. "It's just like the what the economists tell us," said Helmstetter. "When people stop buying houses, they concentrate on improving the house they've already got." Last year, 30% of all real estate-related goals were to buy a home, whereas 45% were to improve a home. This year, only 9% of real estate goals will relate to buying a home, whereas a massive 64% will involve improving a home.
While home improvement is often a form of financial investment, as a goal category, it includes some benefits that are not unlike those seen in goals related to personal growth. "Improving your home — whether you do it with your own two hands or hire professionals — can be an extremely challenging and rewarding experience," says Helmstetter. "It's a very creative process, always involves learning, and results in happiness and other tangible benefits that will surround you every day for years to come. All in all, putting money, hard work, and love into your home is not only good for the home, it's good for the family and good for the soul."
See also: Tips for making good New Year's Resolutions
Most Popular Resolutions for 2007
#1 - To Lose Weight
#2 - To Start My Own Business
#3 - To Pay Off Debt
Our methodology
Breakdown of Resolutions by Category
2007 New Year's resolutions are expected to break down further as follows:
Health & Fitness Resolutions:
| Weight Loss | 60% |
| General Fitness | 15% |
| Exercise | 12% |
| Diet & Nutrition (Non-Weight-Loss) | 9% |
| Health & Wellness | 4% |
Actual goals people have recently set in this category:
"To lose 10 pounds"
"To Lower My Cholesterol"
"To Set Up a Home Gym"
"To have a healthy back"
"To reduce stress in my life"
Of Interest (Health & Fitness):
Weight loss is the #1 most common resolution, with the most common amount people want to lose being 10 pounds. We offer a pre-made GoalPlan, "To Lose 10 Pounds," to help people get started.
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Career Resolutions:
| New Job & Promotion | 23% |
| Entrepreneurship | 20% |
| Job Tasks & Performance (non-Sales) | 20% |
| Income | 10% |
| Sales | 8% |
| Authorship & Publishing | 5% |
| Other | 13% |
Actual goals people have recently set in this category:
"To be financially independent"
"To start looking for another job"
"To make 125 contacts a week"
"To become an expert in advertising"
"To become a VP of Human Resources"
Of Interest (Career):
"To Start My Own Business" and "To Write and Sell a Screenplay" are two very popular goals for which we offer pre-made GoalPlans to help get people started.
|
Personal Growth & Interests:
| Attitude, Motivation & State of Mind | 29% |
| Improving Appearance | 22% |
| Social Skills | 14% |
| Writing | 13% |
| Hobbies, Activities & Interests | 11% |
| Reading | 7% |
| Spirituality | 2% |
| Community | 2% |
Actual goals people have recently set in this category:
"To stop slouching"
"To stop biting my nails"
"To adopt a pet"
"To learn to delegate more efficiently"
"To update my wardrobe"
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Personal Finance Resolutions:
| Debt Retirement | 26% |
| Income | 17% |
| Save Money/Prepare for Retirement | 11% |
| Wealth | 8% |
| Investing | 6% |
| Creating a Budget | 4% |
| Other | 26% |
Actual goals people have recently set in this category:
"To get no late fees on bills"
"To create a will"
"To improve credit rating to buy a new car"
"To retire by age 50"
"To pay off my debt"
Of Interest (Personal Finance):
"To Pay Off My Debt" is the third most popular resolution people set. We offer a pre-made GoalPlan, "To Pay Off My Debt," to help people get started.
|
Time Management & Organization Resolutions:
| Getting Organized | 44% |
| Time Management | 22% |
| Cleaning & Reducing Clutter | 11% |
| Goals About Setting Goals | 11% |
| Projects | 11% |
Actual goals people have recently set in this category:
"To fix up the upstairs office"
"To plan my wedding"
"To weed all of the gardens"
"To wake up at 8:00"
"To control paperwork"
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Family & Relationship Resolutions:
| Relationships & Friends | 33% |
| Social Skills & Image | 53% |
| Family | 13% |
Actual goals people have recently set in this category:
"To initiate conversations more often"
"To watch less television"
"To plan our 25th wedding anniversary"
"To be a great wife"
"To reach out and call my friends"
Of Interest (Family & Relationships):
"To Spend More Time with My Family" is a very popular goal for which we offer a pre-made GoalPlan.
|
Education & Training Resolutions:
| Learn Skill/Take Course | 38% |
| Degrees | 34% |
| Success in School | 17% |
| Test, Certificate & License | 3% |
| Other | 7% |
Actual goals people have recently set in this category:
"To learn Dutch"
"To learn to play the guitar"
"To attain the rank of Black Belt"
"To improve my German"
"To finish my Master's"
Of Interest (Education & Training):
Thirty-nine percent of the degree-related goals sampled were seeking graduate degrees.
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Home Improvement & Real Estate Resolutions:
| Home Improvement | 64% |
| Buying a Home | 9% |
| Selling a Home | 9% |
| Moving | 6% |
| Other | 12% |
Actual goals people have recently set in this category:
"To put the house on the market"
"To paint the kitchen"
"To update living room furniture"
"To do 30 minutes of yard work"
"To clean out the basement"
|
Recreation & Leisure Resolutions:
| Travel & Vacations | 53% |
| Sports | 18% |
| Outdoor Activities | 12% |
| Other | 17% |
Actual goals people have recently set in this category:
"To backpack through Europe"
"To spend more time outdoors"
"To improve chipping to the green"
"To take a trip to Disney World/Orlando"
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Methodology
myGoals.com's annual predictions of New Year's resolutions are based on the ordinary goal-setting activity of myGoals.com users during the third quarter of the current calendar year. Three hundred anonymized goals, set by the site's users, were selected at random and tabulated to generate the trends outlined above. No survey was involved. This is not a scientific study and should not be taken to represent the behavior of the entire U.S. population with statistical significance. myGoals.com's userbase does, however, generally broadly represent the adult, U.S. Web-surfing population.
About myGoals.com, Inc.
myGoals.com is the Web's premier site for setting, managing, and reaching personal and professional goals. Individuals can set as many goals as they like, creating custom GoalPlans from scratch or selecting from a library of pre-made GoalPlans that contain expert advice for accomplishing the goal. myGoals.com then sends email reminders to keep the individual on track, until the goal is accomplished. This subscription-based service is free to trial for 10 days. Gift certificates available.
# # #
NOW SCHEDULING INTERVIEWS
MEDIA CONTACT:
Anthony Helmstetter
myGoals.com, Inc.
(480) 948-1659
press@mygoals.com
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reserved. Patents Pending.
Permission is granted to reproduce this press release, data, and pie-chart graphic, in whole or in part, with credit given to "myGoals.com".
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