One of the most popular resolutions made at the start of a new year is to lose weight. Gym memberships increase, pantries get cleaned out and people head to the bookstore or Amazon.com for the year’s newest diet. With that in mind, we were very pleased to be able to offer our members the opportunity to review and try a new weight management program from best-selling author, Cynthia Sass.

Sass, whose first book, The Flat Belly Diet – a New York Times best seller, released her second title, Cinch!: Conquer Craving, Drop Pounds And Lose Inches last week, just in time for the New Year.

Cinch!, a 30- or 25- day program, focuses on getting cravings under control and teaches a healthy way of eating that can be continued beyond the thirty days. Our members are finding it very helpful!

From Mom Blog Network – “In my quest to loss 100 I have read countless books, viewed advice found on websites and considered more than my share our diet pills. None of these things ever put it into perspective like Cinch! … This single book has been a solider by my side helping me retrain my brain how to eat, stay on a healthy track and do what works for me in the process.”

From Obsessive Coupon Disorder – “If there’s one thing I especially like about “Cinch” it’s how Sass fortified her chapters with ‘side bars’ on related topics.  This is where her “diet” book becomes more. Sass incorporates mini-history lessons on topics such as: coconut yogurt, soy, chocolate, grapes, frozen vs. fresh, organic farming, emotions in relation to weight and there’s even a superb question-and-answer section.”

From Frugal Plus – ” Did you think you would see a recipe featured in a weight-loss book  for California Chicken Cilantro Burrito Bowl?  I luv cilantro and chicken, and this is one of my favorites!”

Another popular resolution is money management. Between credit card statements reflecting Christmas spending arriving in mail boxes, W-2 forms trickling in and tax forms showing up, this time of year definitely finds people thinking a lot about their money.

It may be that you want to make sure that you support your favorite charities more often this year. GiveBack can help you achieve that goal. It’s quick and easy to sign up and you will be able to direct funds to any charitable organization that has a tax ID.

What are some of your resolutions for 2011? What tools will you use to implement them?

As we approach the holiday season, amidst the chaos, I tend to reflect about the things I’m thankful for, the things I can’t wait to put behind me and the things I’m looking forward to in the new year.

We recently connected with the folks at a new site called GiveBack.org that helps anyone set up their own personal giving foundation and organizes everything in one place.

Here’s a quick video about how it works:

The site was founded by Stephen Paletta who won $1 million dollars on the TV show Oprah’s Big Give in 2008 and was charged to give it away. (No pressure there, eh?) As a result of this process,  he and his team created an easy way for ANYONE to set up their own charitable giving foundation.  They’ve developed a really simple, organized (& free) was to manage your charitable giving whatever the level.

• You create your ‘foundation’ easily by registering via Facebook Connect or by name and email.
• You select and  ‘follow’ the charities that you’re interested in by dragging them into your Charity ‘tool bar’.
• Then, whenever you desire, you can make a donation to any officially recognized U.S. charity.
• Then, at the end of the year, they provide one tax deduction document for you to use.  (Ah, a nice change from scrounging for receipts in my make-shift filing system at home.)

What I really love is that 100% of your donation goes to the charity of your choice.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO START YOUR ACCOUNT TODAY?

Sorry to ‘shout’ but we’re coming up on the dreaded Black Friday and Cyber-Monday and you may be planning in to partake in a little online shopping.

If so, why not do it from your GiveBack account via to the hundreds of retailers on GiveBack’s shopping site.  This way, you get your purchase anyway but you also get up to 15% of your purchase back into your GiveBack foundation so that you can donate it.  FTW!

To get some first-hand accounts, check out what Isabel Kallman from Alpha Mom, Gabrielle Blair from Design Mom, Liz Gumbinner from Mom 101 and Allison Worthington from Blissfully Domestic wrote about their recent experience with GiveBack.

So, why not sign up now (they’ll even put $5 in your account to get you started) and post a comment letting us know that you registered.  Now, through December 31, 2010, GiveBack will be selecting one account per day to match the donations up to $100.  Since they just got started at the beginning of the month, I’d say your odds are pretty good (for now) so what are you waiting for? 

Give thanks and GiveBack.

Have you opened your personal giving foundation yet?