Are you an ostrich, a squirrel, a peacock or a panda when it comes to money? No matter what your financial personality, a New Year review will be good for your monetary health. The challenge begins with gathering the evidence from last year. Painful and time-consuming as it may be, you need to do the sums on your lifestyle if you are to have any chance of getting financially fit. There's no great science to listing income and out-goings, you just have to be thorough. It's easy enough to compile a table of the various categories or, if you have Internet access, you could use the Lifestyle Calculator provided on www. finance 2u.com. Of course, it helps if you have kept your affairs in some kind of order. It's difficult to keep track of your finances if your idea of filing is stuffing everything into a drawer. Now is a good time to buy yourself a filing box - most stationers sell ready-made personal finance folders divided into categories. You'll probably already know this but once all expenses have been accounted for, you will be able to see whether you are living within your means.

Then it's time to ask yourself some questions. If there is money to spare, are you putting it to work for you? Do you have extravagant spending habits? Are you frittering away your disposable income? If there is nothing left at the end of the month, or less than nothing, where can you rein in?

Tackle debt: If you can't maintain a zero balance on your credit card, cut it up and switch to a debit card. Making the minimum monthly payment while splashing out on a credit card is the most expensive way to fund your lifestyle. Take a deep breath and make a list of all your debts, including overdraft, credit cards, personal loans, credit union etc. Then rank them in order of interest rate and prioritise the repayment of the highest.

Until you are out of the red, there is little point in making savings or investments, it's the equivalent of trying to walk up an escalator the wrong way.

Pension homework: A pension is the most important investment you can make. At the moment you are working for two people - the younger you and the older you. You may need to support yourself after retirement for almost as many years as you were earning.

If you already have a pension, do you know where you stand with it? Review the existing contribution levels and find out what will be there at retirement. If it's not enough, consider increasing your contributions.

It is also very important to review the investment strategy, according to Mr Alan Morton of independent financial advisers Moneywise. "Managed funds are not the place to be for anyone under 50. At this stage you should be in pure equity and there are dozens of good funds out there."

Mr Morton recommends any of the following:

Scottish Provident Global Champions Fund

Canada Life Focus 15

Eagle Star 5*5.

Make sure it will be possible to switch without penalty to a more conservative fund at a later stage. If you are in a company scheme, you are allowed to bring your contributions up to 15 per cent of your gross salary through additional voluntary contributions, regardless of your age. Ensure you get a handle on the charges if you are about to top up. Go for evenly spread charges. Early encashment values are highly important for an increasingly mobile workforce. The self employed, or people in companies without a pension scheme who have yet to start, can make a single contribution to a personal pension in January and have it back dated for tax relief for the 2000/2001 tax year.

Savings and investments: Once you have your main debts at a manageable level and you have readily accessible money put by as an emergency fund, the next step is to make your money work for you. How you choose to do this depends on how much you have left at the end of the month and what stage of life you are at. The most important issue is to get into the habit of saving regularly. Think about the term of your saving goal - is it a holiday, a child's education in 10 years time or a deposit for a house? If you have plans for your savings in the next five years, it's probably best to keep the money on deposit but make sure you are getting the best rate.

Northern Rock offers 5.75 per cent on deposits of £1,000 (€1,270) or more but some Irish institutions are competitive on larger deposits. If you are looking beyond the next few years, talk to a financial adviser about what type of investment fund would suit your requirements. Alternatively, you could put a mixed basket of shares together with a stockbroker.

Tax take: For the self-employed, the more organised you are the better you will be able to avail of the tax relief available. The deadline for filing your tax return is January 31st. The range of tax-based investment opportunities is shrinking but there are still certain property investments, business expansion schemes and film industry investment opportunities available. Don't forget to have some kind of system for retaining receipts for work-related expenses. Health insurance or non-routine medical expenses are tax deductible. It may be a paltry sum but there's no point in missing out on rent relief if you qualify. The form is available from the Revenue Commissioners.

Make a will: This is important for everybody but particularly those who have property or children. For a single person, if you don't make a will, everything will revert to your parents. A will can be very simple but you might as well make a list of your assets at the same time. It will be necessary to get good tax advice from an accountant or solicitor if you have significant assets. You will need to appoint an executor and trustees in the case of dependent children. A solicitor will charge anything from £70 to draw up a will, depending on the complexity of the document.

Mortgage: Household debt for housing purposes as a percentage of disposable income has increased from 29 per cent 10 years ago to almost 50 per cent this year. For those who have managed to secure a roof over their heads in recent years, home loan repayments are probably their biggest expense.

There are some ways of reducing the cost of a mortgage, one of which is to accelerate the repayments. By paying back more sooner, you pay less interest in the long run. If the idea of increasing mortgage repayments is out of the question, there is also the possibility of raising some additional income by renting out a room. One of the measures introduced in Budget 2001 was to allow homeowners to take up to £6,000 in rent per annum without being liable for tax. Many borrowers automatically purchase mortgage protection insurance from their mortgage provider. The market is quite competitive so shop around and you could save thousands over the term of the loan.

Insurance: If there are people in your life who would suffer financially in the event of your death, it is important to have a life assurance policy.

Straightforward term life assurance can be purchased for a fixed period or you can begin an investment that incorporates a life assurance element.

What would happen if you became ill or incapacitated during the year? If you have an employer, how long would they continue to pay you for? To protect against financial hardship, think seriously about taking out permanent health insurance or critical illness cover. Now is also a good time to review your premiums on general insurance. Some financial websites give instant quotes for home and car insurance, giving you an indication of what is available. Review household and protection insurance contracts with your adviser or broker to ensure that you are not underinsuring yourself, your building or contents.

One more issue: if you have access to the Internet, register for online banking.

It will save you lots of time and hassle for bill paying, and you can easily monitor all your transactions and spending on laser and credit cards. Telephone banking is the next best thing.