Creating a path to financial security largely requires instilling good habits, acting with consistency, getting started early, and possessing a basic understanding of finance and investing concepts. It's not rocket science, but it does take some effort and dedication.

Here are 12 New Year's resolutions to help you get started. Start at the beginning and aim to knock off one each month. We guarantee that at the end of the year, you will be on much firmer financial footing.

1. Set Up an Emergency Fund. This should be one of your first priorities. Unexpected things happen—job loss, illness, expenses you didn't anticipate. The emergency fund helps insulate you from some of life's curveballs. Plan on setting aside living expenses for six months or longer.

2. Get a Handle on Spending. It's boring, and you've heard it before, but it's important to figure out how you're spending your money. For most of us, at least 5% to 10% of annual spending is wasted on impulse purchases, avoidable fees, poor planning, and the inappropriate use of debt. Use a personal financial planning software program like Quicken, Moneydance, or Mint.com to track your expenses.

3. Set Specific Goals. If you don't know where you're going, you're unlikely to get there. Set specific, quantifiable goals. Specify time frames and prioritize your goals. Start with long-term goals, then break them into more manageable annual goals designed to get you where to want to be.

4. Set an Annual Saving Target. It's hard, but it has to be done. (See point #2.) Try to pay yourself first. Spending more than you earn and funding the excess consumption with debt creates a double whammy. Not only do you pay interest on the debt, which impacts your future ability to save, but you also lose the earnings on the foregone savings.

If you invest $5,000 a year, earning 6% per year, you would have $183,928 after 20 years. If you wait just one year to start investing, the amount would fall to $168,800, a reduction of 8.2% or $15,127. That's the cost of delay.

5. Pay Off Debt. The inappropriate use of debt is the quickest way to jeopardize your financial security. Use cash or a debit card for purchases, not a credit card. Pay off or consolidate consumer debt to lower your interest charges. Look into refinancing mortgage debt or swapping variable rate debt to fixed rate if you haven't already.

6. Contribute to Your Employer's Retirement Plan. This can be one of the best deals out there, given the tax-deferral and employer match. If you don't have a company retirement plan, look at other tax-advantaged options, such as IRAs for Americans. For non-Americans in the offshore markets, beware of investment-linked insurance schemes often billed as savings plans, pension plans, or education funds. They are anything but, and high fees will quickly erode any long-run investment returns you hope to achieve.

7. Read a Book on Investing. There's a lot of "noise," conflicting advice, misconception, and faulty "market wisdom" surrounding investing. Many people lack a complete framework and context for making informed investment choices and tend get whipsawed by short-term, emotionally laden investment decisions. Do yourself a favor and read a book on investing. Some of the best are The Intelligent Asset Allocator and The Investor's Manifesto, both by William Bernstein, and All About Asset Allocation by Richard A. Ferri, CFA.

8. Develop an Appropriate Investment Strategy. Once you've read the book, create an appropriate long-term investment plan that is suitable for your unique situation and financial goals. You can do this either on your own or with the advice of a competent, unbiased financial advisor. Once you have a plan, stick with it.

9. Review Your Insurance Coverage. Review your insurance needs. Look at health, life, disability, homeowners or renters, auto, liability, and, if you are over 55, long-term-care insurance. Don't buy what you don't need, but don't skimp on the coverage you do need. Generally, it's best to buy each type of coverage separately and not lumped in with some other financial product. If you can't evaluate your insurance needs yourself, seek out an unbiased advisor to help. Ideally, this will be someone who is not compensated based on the insurance product sold to you.

10. Simplify Your Financial Affairs. Keep your financial life as simple as possible. It's easier to manage and you're more likely to keep up with it. Close unneeded bank accounts, limit the number of credit cards, use an online broker, and have your statements delivered online. Keep good records.

11. Get a Will. Most people don't have wills, and for those who do, it's unlikely to be up to date. However, having an up-to-date will is important if you want to take care of your children and spouse, particularly in situations where there are ex-spouses and children from previous marriages. While you're at it, review beneficiary designations on all insurance, pension, and retirement accounts. Ensure your spouse has access to the financial accounts and knows where the records are kept. Consider whether a financial or healthcare power of attorney is required.

12. Get Competent Advice When You Need It. Don't be pennywise and pound foolish. The level of complexity and sophistication in financial products has increased immensely in the past few decades. So has the slickness of the marketing. In today's world of specialization, it is impossible to keep up with it all. Don't feel you have to do everything yourself. In the long run, it can often be cheaper and more effective to get competent, unbiased advice when you need it, rather than attempting to go it alone. Just ask any wife whose husband tried to save a bit of money by refusing to call the plumber.

This New Year resolve to bid farewell to bad financial habits, instill some good ones, and get started on creating your own financial security.

Have a great holiday season and all the best in the New Year!

Creveling & Creveling is a private wealth advisory firm specializing in helping expatriates living in Thailand and throughout Southeast Asia build and preserve their wealth. Through a unique, integrated consulting approach, Creveling & Creveling is dedicated to helping clients cut through the financial intricacies of expat life, make better decisions with their money, and take the steps necessary to provide a more secure future. For more information visit http://crevelingandcreveling.com/.

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