By the time you read this, the great majority of New Year's resolutions for 2005 — personal and business — will be little more than hazy memories.

The reason for such lack of commitment, say the experts, is the impossibly difficult demands that we place on ourselves with well-meaning but naive pledges. However, when it comes to your business life in 2005, there's no need to make ambitious but unattainable promises. Here are seven easy steps you can take to lower expenses and pump up your net income in the New Year:

1. Slash Your Costs for Keeping in Touch

With your cell phone, pager, broadband Internet access and regular telephone service, you're never far from anyone you want to reach (or anyone who wants to reach you). The trouble is that you're probably paying more than necessary for all that techno-communication. If you're like most truckers, you added individual services one at a time, paying top dollar for each. One way to lower these costs is to take advantage of the "bundled" plans now offered by most providers. These plans range from unlimited local and long distance telephone calling to single-provider telephone, Internet connection, cable TV, and cell phone service. Contact your primary provider to see what bundled plans are available in your area. In addition to saving you money, dealing with one company will greatly simplify your bill-paying procedures.

2. Take Charge of Your Cash Flow

Generating income and controlling expenses are only the first steps on the road to a healthy bank account. The final step is the easiest to overlookÑand one of the easiest ways to fatten your wallet: Never allow ANY of your money to lie idle. If you don't already have one, open a money market account at your bank. Then, ask the bank to link it to your checking account for telephone or online transfers. From then on, deposit all income into your money market account where it will immediately start drawing interest. NEVER make deposits directly into your checking account. Keep a minimum balance in the checking account and transfer cash only as needed to cover checks written. The additional interest you'll generate by following this simple procedure amounts to found money.

3. Give Your Accountant a Cut in Pay

Sure, you hate paperwork and record keeping. Don't we all? But if you find yourself scrambling to find receipts and other records at tax time, you're probably costing yourself some real money.

"When clients present me with a shoe box full of unsorted papers, I have to charge them for the hours it takes to make sense of them," says CPA Tom Normoyle of Huntingdon Valley, Pa. "A simple filing system that separates records of different types is one sure way to reduce my fee."

Normoyle says that even the simplest of systemsÑone file for income and one for expensesÑcan be a money saver. But going a step further by separating expense files into categories such as medical, charitable donations, capital purchases, and taxes can really make a difference in how much time it takes him to prepare tax returns.

4. Save Money While You're Paying Bills

Paying bills may never be fun, but new technology has made the task quicker, easier and a little less costly. Nearly all banks are online these days and most offer free (or almost free) online bill-paying. Once you sign up and choose a password, you log on to the bank's Web site where you enter the payee's name, address, phone number, and the amount to be paid. The bank takes over from there, either by mailing a check to the payee or making an electronic transfer of the money. The bank stores the payee information so that the next time you need to pay, you need to just click on the payee's name and enter the amount of the payment. You save time, the cost of postage, buying checks and trips to the post office. What are you waiting for?

5. Slay the Credit Card Monster

Without credit, many of the industries that support trucking would not exist. But credit has its dark side as well. A pocket full of credit cards can sweep you up in the illusion that you have more money than you actually have.

The more credit cards you carry around, the more likely you are to dig your self into a bottomless financial pit. If your wallet is bulging with plastic, now is the time to unload that burden. First, decide which cards you want to keep. Perhaps you have a "reward" card, and maybe a low-rate card for purchases you can't pay off in full. If you keep a separate card for business, you'll want to hang on to that one. Cancel the rest on a controlled basis, perhaps one each month or two. Cancel the newest ones first. Credit reporting agencies are impressed by a history of responsible credit usage.

6. Dig Yourself Out From Under All That Paper

With all the paper you're required to slog through for business purposes, you don't need to add to the burden by hanging on to reams of paper because of the worry that you might need it some day. Most of it will never again see the light of day.

Organizing Professional Maria Gracia suggests these guidelines for hanging on to paper:

• Credit card and ATM receipts. Keep them only until your monthly statement arrives.
• Monthly bank, brokerage and credit card statements. Hang on to them until you get the year-end one. Then, dump the rest.
• Paycheck stubs or other income records. Keep them only until you get your W-2 or 1099 form(s) for the year.
• Year-end statements and tax returns. You should keep these for seven years.

There are some records you'll need to keep indefinitely, such as insurance policies still in effect, medical records, home improvement receipts and mortgage papers. Of course, you'll want to keep major appliance warranties until they expire.

Once you've banished the paper dragon, keep him away from your door by getting your name off junk mail lists. Go to the following Web site www.dmaconsumers.org.

7. Get Rid of Insurance You Don't Need

The cost of insurance is a growing burden for truckers. In addition to policies on your rig, there are only five types of insurance that you must have:

1. life
2. health
3. disability (as long as you're working)
4. homeowner's
5. auto

For most truckers, the rest are a waste of money. Here's some insurance you should take a pass on:

• Life insurance on your kids is a classic example of insurance you don't need (unless you're raising a future Shirley Temple).
• Flight insurance sold at airports is probably one of the poorest investments you can make. Despite the threat of terrorism, air travel is one of the safest forms of transportation. It's so seldom that a claim is placed against one of these policies that only about five cents of each dollar goes to pay claims.
• How about cancer insurance? Some insurance consultants say it makes no sense to insure against a single disease. Buy cancer insurance and you'll probably die from a stroke or get run over by a bus.
• Always pass up credit life insurance and car rental insurance. Your own auto policy or credit card will probably cover that base.

Once you've pared things down to the five basic types of insurance, look into consolidating some of the remaining policies with one company. That can often be another money saver.

Mo Money Help

If you're looking for advice, tips or simply some investment explanations (what is a Roth IRA, anyway?) here are some Web resources to help you find the answers:

Motley Fool

This is a site full of advice and information on finding a financial advisor, getting the best home mortgage, IRAs, CDs and more, at www.fool.com.

MSN Money

Microsoft has a great selection of helpful articles on investing, saving and avoiding fraud, at moneycentral.msn.com.

Dave Ramsey

The best-selling author and radio show host preaches beating debt and building wealth through his "Total Money Makeovers," found online at www.daveramsey.com.

Kiplinger

For more than 80 years, the Kiplinger organization has been providing personal finance and business management advice, through The Kiplinger Letter, Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine and the Web site www.kiplinger.com.

The Complete Tightwad Gazette

The newsletter that gave this book its name is now defunct, but author Amy Dacyczyn has gathered six years worth of frugal tips in this book. You'll find literally thousands of ideas for saving money, from the simple or practical to the difficult or bizarre. Topics include "cheap breakfast cereals" and "cutting college costs." Find it at bookstores or online at www.amazon.com.