It’s true, the calendar change from 2011 to 2012 is not that big of an event. Granted, we will celebrate as if it were, thinking that “out with the old” and “in with the new” can be impacted by some arbitrary date. It is often this short-term thinking, the hopefulness that this year will better than the last, that is at the heart of why we never seem to feel confident in our retirement plans, our investment decisions and how we manage our money. All of these are long-term efforts that exist in the absence of short-term events like a change in the date.