Today marks the Chinese New Year and to all celebrating we say Happy New Year!! This year is the year of the Golden Dragon, perhaps the most auspicious of all the zodiac signs. As well as bringing with it an expected population boom, the dragon also brings with it the promise of prosperity. This got us thinking, just what are you doing to help promote your own prosperity in 2012?

Your money

Looking after the money that you have and trying to find ways to maximise these funds is an essential part of ensuring a prosperous New year. Even if you have a mortgage or other debt, aiming to achieve a healthy level of savings (around three months worth of salary is a guide) is important to help achieve security and comfort with your finances. Also, regular reviews of the best ways to maximise your savings should be constantly considered and reviewed (term deposits, investments etc).

Your home

With exit fees now a thing of the past, moving your home loan between lenders has never been easier. Shop around to ensure you have the best possible home loan rate. A person's home is often the single greatest asset to their name so paying off your mortgage as soon as possible is essential to your overall wealth and financial position.

Your credit

Do you have five credit cards all maxed to the limit? If so, get your scissors out and start chopping those cards now! Even the slightest amount of credit debt can affect your overall rating and in the long term the pants you bought for $80 will end up costing you more like $90. If you haven't already develop a repayment plan and start making efforts to get those credit cards down to a $0 debt level.