Its that time of the year again! Time to start thinking about your new year resolutions. According to a 2022 poll by YouGov, 37% of respondents stated that they had a goal or resolution they wanted to achieve in 2023. If numbers remain similar for this year, there will be quite a few people make some sort of resolution for 2024. Nevertheless, as you probably know picking your resolution is the easy part. If you want to actually achieve your resolutions there is some major effort that needs to be put in.
Anyway, before we get ahead of ourselves, lets take a look at some of the basics and how we might be able to help you achieve your new year resolutions.
Most Common New Year Resolutions
There are always a variety of resolutions, the top five new year resolutions are as follows:
- Improve fitness (48%)
- Improve finances (38%
- Improve mental health (36%)
- Lose weight (34%)
- Improve diet (32%)
While we may not be able to help you with your fitness resolutions (sorry!) we will give try to give you the resources to reach your financial resolutions.
How to Achieve Your Financial Resolutions
A resolution is first and foremost a goal. When creating a goal you have to be realistic and think about something you can actually achieve. Creating a super difficult, unattainable goal can lead to failure, leaving you feeling defeated. Take a look at some of these common resolutions and ways to make them achievable.
Calculate your net worth
When it comes to financial goals or resolutions a good starting out point is to calculate your net worth. Net worth is basically just a calculation of your assets and your liabilities. This lets you know where your current priorities are and what part of your finances needs improving. Click here to learn more about how to calculate your net worth.
Save money
Saving money in some form or another is a very common resolution. Here are some things to look at when tackling your savings goals:
- Create a budget to know how much money you can realistically save and find ways you could cut spending to save even more.
- Make sure to transfer money directly to your savings or investment accounts immediately so you can’t access them. Better yet, set up an automatic transfer so you don’t even have to remember to do it.
- Look at how you can save more money for your retirement. Make sure to take advantage of your employers 401 (k) if you can or budget even more money to it. If possible, consider opening an Individual Retirement Account (IRA).
Pay down your debts and credit card bills
This is a pretty common one but now is a good time to look all of your debts and make a plan to pay them off.
- Calculate how much you can pay on your personal loans, debts and mortgage. Make sure you make a budget so you know what you can realistically pay.
- If you have a mortgage, consider paying more toward your principal to cut down on how long you need to pay on it.
- If you have credit card debt, determine how much you can realistically pay on it. Try not to use the credit cards you are paying on for best results. You should also calculate if it makes more sense for you to pay down high interest credit cards or save the money. If you can, transfer your balance to a lower interest credit card or a 0% promotional rate.
Repair your credit
Make sure you check your credit report annually. You are able to get three free credit reports each year. Check to make sure that there are no mistakes and look for ways you could improve your credit. A poor credit report could potentially impact your ability to get a lower interest loan which could cut into the amount of money that you are able to save.
We’re here to help you make financial resolutions you can keep
We want you to be successful in reaching your financial resolutions. Check out some of the resources we offer on our website to help you achieve your new year resolutions:
MoneyEdu
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Sources used: Forbes Health and Investopedia