1. Stop invalidating yourself.

Like I mentioned, I had a very difficult year. I had a lot of my friends come and vent to me about their problems and immediately stop and say "oh, but my problems are nowhere near as bad as yours. I have no right to be upset."

STOP THAT.

Why are you ranking life issues? Your life issues are just as important as anyone else's. It's obviously affecting you greatly, so that's more than enough reason to understand that you are valid in wanting to talk about those issues. Life struggles are not some weird competition to see who has it worse. There is no first prize for worst life. There just isn't. Unless someone specifically tells you otherwise, you are valid to vent and talk about anything that makes you feel bad to your loved ones. Leave that habit behind this year.

2. Don't feel pressured to keep in contact with toxic people.

If someone is putting you down, destroying your self-worth, making you depressed, making you stressed, and/or just straight up sucking the life out of you, drop them. I don't care if that's family or that friend you've known your entire life. Leave them in 2018. No room for that negative Nancy in 2019.

3. Don't force yourself to be strong on bad days.

You can't possibly be strong and have your walls up every single day of the year. You'll quickly get burnt out and feel worse. Take a day or two a week for you. Do something that makes you feel good. Let yourself cry. Let yourself be weak. Practice self-care.

Trust me. Your body and mind will thank you for the upcoming days where you have to be strong.

4. Budget your money, especially if you never have before.

I know it might sound insane to insinuate that someone has budgeted their money before, but believe it or not, I know quite a few people that never have. If you're the same way, don't feel bad. Start small. Budget for the upcoming week, or two if you get paid biweekly. Then slowly work up to a month ahead. Maybe even several months ahead.

Put aside money to have a cool spring break or to go somewhere new during the summer. Save for that new piercing you've been on the fence about. All the while, you can budget to take care of bills and other responsibilities. Money can be a huge stress, so why not try to eliminate that stress as best as possible?