The New Year is coming and your local Better Business Bureau offers some tips for 2002.

"The most important New Year's resolution you can make would be to contact the BBB before making a major purchasing or investment decision, and before responding to any enticing, but unsolicited, offer," offers Wyoma Best of the Better Business Bureau of upstate New York. "The BBB system assists close to 25 million consumers each year, with reports on businesses, consumer education literature, general counseling and complaint resolution."

Top 10 Resolutions for a fiscally healthy New Year

(1) Resolve to be an informed investor. Scam artists are masters at tailoring their investment pitches -- to the weather; to natural disasters; to world events -- in order to entice unsuspecting investors. Make a promise to avoid any investment pitch requiring you to "act now," and those that "guarantee" unbelievable profits.

(2) Resolve to formalize a savings plan. Decide how much you need to bolster your financial cushion, and develop a plan to achieve your savings goal. If you are considering the services of a financial planner, check with the BBB for specific tips on finding a reliable one.

(3) Resolve to tackle your debt load. Outstanding credit card balances tend to mushroom. Establish a debt repayment plan for 2002 and keep strict records. Pay more than the monthly minimum amount due on credit card accounts.

(4) Resolve to carefully scrutinize unsolicited credit offers. Ignore ads from unfamiliar, out-of-state companies that promise, for an advance fee, to secure a low-interest loan or repair your credit rating, despite a bad credit history. Consumers who send the required fee in anticipation of a loan are sorely disappointed. They receive neither the loan, nor a refund of the advance fee.

(5) Resolve to deal only with reliable merchants. Don't do business with strangers who approach you at home. Carefully evaluate unsolicited phone calls or e-mail offers. Make sure the business has a permanent address and phone number, check customer references and contact the BBB for information about the company's marketplace record. Businesses that are accepted as members of the BBB have agreed to abide by high standards, which include truthful advertising and responding promptly and fairly to any customer complaints.

(6) Resolve to get all promises in writing. Make sure the contract provisions match what the salesperson told you. If it's not stated in the contract, you don't have an agreement. Read and understand the contract and guarantee, before you sign.

(7) Resolve to guard your personal information. Don't give out your credit card, bank account, or Social Security numbers to anyone you don't know who contacts you by phone, mail, or e-mail. If you are promised a prize or an award, don't provide personal information until you receive written information about the offer and have checked out the company with the BBB.

(8) Resolve to help your children become informed consumers. Have you counseled your children on how to establish a budget? Can they spot signs of fraud or rip-offs? Do they know about online privacy and security issues? Us the New Year to start briefing your kids on how to make wise purchasing decisions.

(9) Resolve to shop safely online. The number of U.S. households with active Internet users is surging. As new users jump online, the BBB cautions them not to abandon common sense with the click of their mouse. Cyberspace crooks have the potential to perpetuate scams quickly on the web, leaving no paper trails and bypassing all geographic boundaries. Visit the local BBB web site for helpful online shopping tips, available at www.rochester.bbb.org

(10) Resolve to resist the lure of "easy money." If you're contemplating working from home, do your homework first. View with suspicion any claims from unknown companies that promise you "fast money," "no experience necessary," and "work from the comfort of your home." Ask for references, contact information for satisfied customers and the business location and phone number. Then contact your BBB to see if it has a report on the company.