Here we are at the beginning of another year. New Year's resolutions of 2005 are faded memories, victims of the same lack of discipline that makes short work of post-Christmas diet plans. Consequently, there's plenty of remorse over things we did -- or didn't do -- this year and renewed vows to reform our ways in 2006.

Not that things will be any different this year, but if you're looking for suggestions on improving your finances, here's a few you might try.

Don't mistake trading penny stocks for investing. It's more akin to gambling. Pennsylvania is doing its usual bang-up job bringing slots to the state, but that's no reason to play penny stocks until our bureaucrats get all their ducks in a row.

Yes, it's possible to make money betting on 2- or 3-cent swings in the prices of penny stocks, where the most casual of comments on stock message boards causes alternating paroxysms of hope and despair. But in order to do that, you have to buy when everybody is selling and sell when everybody is buying. Most investors aren't equipped, intellectually or emotionally, to do that.

If you just can't wait for slots, buy a lottery ticket instead.

If you're sitting on U.S. Savings Bonds that have matured, redeem them and put your money to work. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, more than $13 billion of matured bonds haven't been redeemed.

"You may as well cash them in, since they are no longer earning interest," says Jack Quinn, chief executive officer of SavingsBonds.com. "That's just dead money."

People will say they just feel more comfortable holding onto the bonds or they don't know where to invest they money. But they can feel just as comfortable reinvesting the cash in conservative instruments such as certificates of deposit. You can find regional banks paying 4 percent or more on a six-month CD. Park it there while you develop a long-term plan.

Remember, taxes must be paid on interest earned from Series E and EE bonds when the bonds are redeemed or when they mature, whichever comes first. Just because you don't mind sitting on bonds that aren't paying interest doesn't mean the Internal Revenue Service is willing to wait for its cut of the action.

If you don't have one, get a will. If you die without one in Pennsylvania, the state will decide what happens to your money, and we all know what smart decisions it makes with other people's money.

Those who have a will should review it to make sure it's up to date. While you're at it, check on the beneficiaries you've named for your retirement accounts.

Get to know your financial adviser better. "Go in and physically meet your financial source of advice," says David Darst, chief investment strategist for Morgan Stanley's Individual Investor Group. He says for even better results, get to know the person who manages your adviser's office.

"Your service will be better if your broker knows you know the manager," Mr. Darst says.

Avoid the urge to plunder your retirement accounts, particularly to finance a vacation, a high-definition television or some other instant gratification item.

A recent study of 200,000 401(k) plan participants by human resources consultant Hewitt Associates revealed that 45 percent of them elected to cash out their balances when they changed jobs instead of shifting the money to their new employer's plan or an IRA. Younger workers were more likely to take the money, but even 42 percent of those ages 40-to-49 cashed out, Hewitt says. The smaller the balance, the more likely workers are to cash out.

Not only do these job jumpers pay a 10 percent penalty on the early withdrawals, they miss out on an opportunity to make a small pot of money grow tax-free. Hewitt says a $10,000 balance rolled over by a 40-year-old into an account that earns 7 percent annually will grow to $50,000 by the time the workers turns 65.

If you don't mind working a few extra years or living leaner when you retire, by all means indulge yourself and take the money now. But if you're interested in a longer, happier retirement, resist the temptation.

In a related manner, don't fall for advertising like a notice BeneTrends placed in the International Franchise Association's magazine recently. BeneTrend's ad reassures would-be entrepreneurs that it's absolutely legal to use your 401(k), IRA or other retirement money to start a company or franchise. While that may be the case for some of the magazine's more enlightened, financially well-off readers, it screams "Don't try this at home!" to most retirement savers.

No matter how paltry the pot of money is, it's your retirement fund, not your chance to chase the American Dream.

High gas prices haven't deterred your summer vacation planning? Here's an investment that will take some of the sting out of the price of getting there.

A one-year National Parks Pass costs $50, a cheap price for front-row seats at Old Faithful, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and other sites every American should see at least once before they die. Order one online at www.nationalparks.org.

Then use it. If a full moon rising over Yellowstone's Lamar Valley doesn't make you feel like a million dollars, money is the least of your problems.