{"id":692,"date":"2025-01-23T04:05:50","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T04:05:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/how-a-new-years-resolution-can-set-up-financial-goals-for-success\/"},"modified":"2025-01-23T04:05:50","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T04:05:50","slug":"how-a-new-years-resolution-can-set-up-financial-goals-for-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/how-a-new-years-resolution-can-set-up-financial-goals-for-success\/","title":{"rendered":"How a New Year\u2019s Resolution Can Set Up Financial Goals for Success"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Thinking about making a New Year\u2019s resolution to get your finances in order? You might have better luck sticking to it than you\u2019d expect.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Despite public perceptions that such resolutions are a waste of time, some findings suggest they can help people achieve their goals, at least for a while.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2024\/01\/29\/new-years-resolutions-who-makes-them-and-why\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">A 2024 survey<\/a> from the Pew Research Center found that a \u201clarge majority\u201d of people who made New Year\u2019s resolutions said they had kept at least some of them a few weeks into the new year. And Fidelity Investments, which annually surveys American adults about their financial resolutions, found that almost two-thirds of those who made resolutions for 2024 said they were able to stick with them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">John C. Norcross, a psychology professor at the University of Scranton, was a co-author on <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/11920693\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a small study<\/a>, published in The Journal of Clinical Psychology in 2002, that found that almost half the people who made a New Year\u2019s resolution reported being successful after six months, compared with 4 percent of people who acknowledged a behavior they wanted to change but had not made a resolution.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He advised choosing realistic goals and being prepared for change to take time. \u201cIt\u2019s not a 100-yard dash,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Jeff Kreisler, a managing director and head of behavioral science for J.P. Morgan Private Bank, said that people often make resolutions in January because of the \u201cfresh start\u201d effect; it\u2019s a point in time when there\u2019s a clear demarcation between the past and the future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">According to Fidelity, among Americans who said they were considering a financial resolution for 2025 (65 percent), the top goal was to save more money (43 percent), with many worried about unexpected bills.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Pew\u2019s survey found that almost a third of American adults had made New Year\u2019s resolutions for 2024. Those about money or finances were the second most common (61 percent), behind those targeting health, exercise or diet. Resolutions were especially popular among younger adults, Pew found, with almost half of participants ages 18 to 29 saying they had made at least one.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But because of human nature, simply relying on self-discipline to stick to your money resolution isn\u2019t wise, Mr. Kreisler said. Instead, \u201cplaying little tricks on ourselves\u201d is often helpful.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Start with a concrete goal as a resolution, he said, and jot it down: \u201cYou\u2019re more likely to stick with goals if they\u2019re written.\u201d Then break it into digestible bites, so that it feels less daunting. Rather than saying, \u201cI\u2019ll save for my child\u2019s college education,\u201d commit to saving $200 a month \u2014 or whatever amount you can afford \u2014 in a 529 college savings account.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Expect that there will be setbacks, so you are not tempted to give up the first time you fall short. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to be perfect,\u201d Mr. Kreisler said. If your resolution was to save $500 and you saved just $150, he said, \u201cit\u2019s better than zero.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Another technique is to acknowledge that while resolutions like saving and investing will benefit you in the future, they can feel burdensome right now. If you have resolved to, say, check your credit card statements monthly in the new year, it\u2019s OK to reward yourself with a small treat after completing the task, said Karen C. Altfest, a certified financial planner based in New York. It could be going to a movie, taking a run in the park or having a glass of wine, she said \u2014 whatever appeals to you, as long as it isn\u2019t extravagant.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Reframing the way you think about your financial resolution can make it feel like less of a chore, said Ashley Lapato, a personal finance educator at YNAB, a budgeting app. Say you have resolved to create a \u201cpayday routine\u201d in 2025. Each time you get a paycheck, she said, calculate how much you need for living expenses \u2014 like rent or mortgage and utilities \u2014 then assign a \u201cjob\u201d to the balance. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cAsk, \u2018What do I want this money to do for me?\u2019\u201d she said. It could be eating good food, or saving for a vacation or a down payment on a home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Keeping the ultimate payoff in mind helps make allocating your money feel less like a sacrifice, she said, and more like \u201can opportunity to get more this year for what you want out of life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Bridget Venus Grimes, a certified financial planner in Coronado, Calif., suggested that if you had trouble sticking to a goal of saving more, a resolution might start with tracking expenses for a couple of months to see where your money was going. If, for example, online shopping is your downfall, delete and unsubscribe to promotional emails and texts alerting you to deals. \u201cGet rid of the temptation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Set yourself up for success. Many advisers recommend making saving or investing automatic so that money is transferred regularly from your paycheck, or your checking account, into a designated savings account without your having to think about it each time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Here are some questions and answers about New Year\u2019s resolutions:<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-484d85be\">I\u2019m resolving to build emergency savings in 2025. Where\u2019s the best place to keep my cash?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Unexpected expenses were cited as a top concern in Fidelity\u2019s resolution survey.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Leanna Devinney, a vice president and leader of a Fidelity branch in Hingham, Mass., advised keeping emergency cash equal to at least three months of expenses in an account offering \u201cliquidity,\u201d meaning that you can withdraw the money quickly if needed. Options include high-yield savings accounts, money market accounts and short-term certificates of deposit. (Just be aware you may have to pay a penalty if you break the C.D. before its term is up.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some employers offer programs to help workers save for unexpected expenses, so check with your benefits office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-410e5c06\">Is it best to set just one resolution at a time?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">If the goals are complementary \u2014 say, saving money and creating a budget, or saving money and starting an investment plan \u2014 simultaneous resolutions can be as successful together as they would be separately, Dr. Norcross said.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-4ee6d6d8\">Why do some people skip making New Year\u2019s resolutions?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Of the 70 percent of Americans who told Pew that they did not make New Year\u2019s resolutions for 2024, more than half said their main reason was that they simply \u201cdo not like\u201d to make them. About 12 percent said they did not make one because they broke resolutions too easily, while 9 percent said they could not think of one and 6 percent said they \u201cforgot.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thinking about making a New Year\u2019s resolution to get your finances in order? You might have better luck sticking to it than you\u2019d expect. Despite public perceptions that such resolutions are a waste of time, some findings suggest they can help people achieve their goals, at least for a while. A 2024 survey from the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":693,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[388,389,386,387,390,312],"class_list":["post-692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-loan","tag-financial","tag-goals","tag-resolution","tag-set","tag-success","tag-years"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}