Every year, 80 percent of New Year’s resolutions fail by February. For most people, their goals for the new year barely last a month, let alone all year. So, how can you set resolutions that are among the achievable 20 percent?
If you’re struggling to set goals, here are five ready-to-go resolutions that have staying power:
Boost retirement savings
If you haven’t changed how much you’re putting away for retirement in a while, it might be time to revisit that. There are many ways to automate this, like requesting to have more of your paycheck put aside for your 401k.
Check in with your retirement savings to make sure you’ll be putting aside enough this year, and automate that amount so you don’t have to think about it.
Invest more
Whether you’re a seasoned investor or a complete novice, there’s always room to learn. You can commit to investing more this year (again, make it S.M.A.R.T.!), or you can commit to just being a more educated investor.
This could be as simple as choosing some investing books to read throughout the year, or setting up a meeting with a financial advisor to really dig in to your investment plan.
Update your beneficiaries
Updating your beneficiaries might not be the most exciting New Year’s resolution, but it’s a very important estate planning step that’s often forgotten.
If you’ve experienced any big life changes (births, deaths, marriage, divorce, etc.,) then it’s very important to check the beneficiaries on your major accounts, like life insurance, bank accounts and retirement accounts.
Automate your emergency fund savings
According to a Bankrate survey, only 39% of Americans could cover a $1,000 emergency expense. But as we learned from the pandemic, unexpected expenses can and do come up.
Having well-funded emergency savings is something that everyone should prioritize, as much as possible. This is the step that allows you to achieve all other financial goals, because it protects you from having to dip into unexpected sources to cover an emergency.
I recommend aiming for three to six months of expenses saved in an emergency fund. That amount will help cover expenses in the event of job loss, injury, illness or economic surprises (like a global pandemic.)
You can take this resolution one step further by figuring out how much you can put aside monthly, and setting up an automatic deposit into your emergency fund for that amount.
Find a budget system that works for you
Your money needs to be managed, regardless of how much you have. That’s why everyone needs a budgeting system of some kind.
A budget tells your money what to do, and money works best when it’s spent or saved intentionally.
If you’ve struggled with budgeting before, don’t worry: there are countless budgeting apps and strategies out there. One of them will work for you. The trick is to find the one that sticks.
If you haven’t found a budget that you can stick to, commit to researching your options and figuring out what will work best for you. The key here is to know why your other budgets have failed. Did you forget to track your spending? Does your monthly income vary, making it difficult to keep up a regular budget? Do you feel like you have no time to review it regularly?
Whatever your struggle, there’s a budget for you.
Get ready for a successful New Year
Ready to set some goals? Here are some of my other New Year’s resolution posts to get you started:
Financial Goals for a New Decade
How to Set Achievable Financial Goals
Tackling Financial Goals in the New Year
About Your Richest Life
At Your Richest Life, Katie Brewer, CFP®, believes you too should have access to financial resources and fee-only financial planning. For more information on the services offered, contact Katie today.
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