Many New Year’s resolutions get broken. And broken quickly. We’d like to share a simple strategy that can help you fix that – all while giving your finances in 2025 a kickstart.
First, ever hear of “Quitter’s Day?” It’s the day that people start dropping their New Year’s fitness resolutions in big numbers. It falls on the second Friday of January, and it’s based on 2019 research from millions of fitness app users. Even if other types of resolutions have their own “Quitter’s Day,” the point is this: our resolutions can quickly go off the rails.
The problem isn’t always us. It’s the goals we set. They’re simply too big, so big that they soon feel nearly impossible to reach. The result? We give up.
The same totally holds true for some resolutions we make about money. They might be too big. Think about a resolution like, “This year, I’m going to get my financial act together.” Sounds great. But where to start? That’s a huge statement, and it’s not specific, which unfortunately sets you up for failure.
Still, the idea of getting your finances in order is spot-on. The trick is to turn that big goal into a series of smaller ones – specific goals you can track and reach.
So, let’s take that trick of turning a big goal into little ones and see how it can work for your finances in 2025. We have five resolutions that you can tackle one at a time, which can really kickstart your finances in the New Year.
Resolution 1: Think big and start small with your 401(k).
This is a perfect example of where you can turn a big goal into a smaller goal made up of small steps.
Treat putting money into your 401(k) like someone training for a marathon. Just as someone would start by running for a mile, then two miles, and gradually up to running the full 26.2 miles, you can build up your contribution level over time.
For example, you could start by having 1% of your paycheck go into your employer’s 401(k). Suppose you make $60,000 a year. That’s $50/month (or $25 per paycheck if you’re paid twice a month). You’ll barely notice that $25 is taken out for your retirement each paycheck, and you’ll also get your company match (if one is offered).
Then, set a date. In a few months, bump that to 2%, or another $25 per paycheck. Then set another date and bump it up again to 3%. Every time you get a raise or bonus, bump it again as well. You won’t notice the extra 1% deduction, but one day you’ll realize you’re saving 10% or more of your salary for retirement. You’ll be surprised how much you’ll have after a few years.
Resolution 2: Take three easy steps that can organize your finances.
When you have a clear picture of your finances, you have a clear head. And with a clear head, you can make some smart money decisions. Not only that, but a clear picture of your finances can also save you plenty of time and stress. Getting them organized is a smart move all around.
Three steps can get you there. First, create a checklist. Second, assess (or reassess) your goals. Third, decide what actions to take, one goal at a time. In fact, we have an entire article that walks you through it. Once again, this approach takes a big topic and breaks it down into smaller topics you can knock out over time. Then, once you’re organized, you can map out milestones, life events, and major purchases with a lot more confidence. And as always, your planning team can offer up plenty of help when you tackle this resolution.
Resolution 3: Spend your money intentionally.
Intentional spending means spending money on the things that matter most to you. That includes what you like, the goals you have, and what you value in life. In other words, intentional spending puts your money toward your priorities. You have a much clearer idea of what to say “yes” to and what to say “no” to.
That means getting your priorities down. For example, you might place a high value on time with friends and travel. Your intentional spending might focus on things like evenings out, day trips, and maybe an annual snowboarding vacation too. On the flip side, you might find that you have a bunch of subscriptions to streaming services, but you really don’t spend a lot of time watching shows. Shows are nice, but … maybe they’re not a priority and you can cancel a couple of those subscriptions.
This is one more place where your planning team can help. In fact, intentional spending gets to the heart of your personalized Financial Roadmap. When we create it together, the very first step focuses on you, the kind of life you want, and how your finances can get you there. Your roadmap gives you one more way you can understand your priorities and then put your money toward them.
Resolution 4: Talk to your partner about finances regularly.
Love and … finances? Strange as it sounds at first, the two absolutely go together. When you set up a home together, you’re setting up a romantic partnership and a financial partnership too. No doubt, managing money in a partnership can be challenging, and it might not always feel romantic. But agreeing on how you manage your money is crucial to maintaining a healthy, long-lasting relationship with each other and your finances.
This resolution also calls for three smaller steps:
- The first step is to understand the psychology of money. A lot of the lessons we learned about money we learned as children, even if we don’t realize it. This simple quiz will help you uncover how they shape the financial decisions you make.
- Next, it’s time for you and your partner to understand each other’s feelings about money. Have your partner take the quiz and see what they learned about their own attitudes about money. From there, have a chat together. Map out your priorities, and see how you can make financial decisions together that work for both of you.
- Last, set up a regular time where you can discuss finances together. The topics can range from big to small – like investing and retirement to planning a vacation or regular nights out. See what you need to do to get there. And realize that your planning team can help with that too, all as part of your roadmap.
Resolution 5: Teach your children about money.
This resolution naturally follows the last one, because we play a big role in how children view money. Our kids start learning money habits from us as early as three years old. By the time they turn seven, they’ve formed many of their attitudes about money. So, no doubt about it, we can add teaching healthy money habits to our long list of important things we need to do as parents.
And if you have a child or children older than seven, it’s not too late to get started.
Of course, how you go about this depends on the age of your child. You can take a page from how financial planners teach their children about earning, saving, spending, giving, and investing. For example, they open savings accounts with them, and have open, age-appropriate talks about money and finances. They even take their kids shopping and talk about what they’re buying, for how much, and why – all as part of a family budget.
You can also talk to them about intentional spending – or at least their version of it. It’s the same conversation you had in resolutions three and four. You can talk about what’s important to your family and to them and how money goes toward important things. That way, you can help them prioritize.
For example, maybe your kiddo has her eye on a new Lego set. (Great, we love doing Lego together!) Because the family thinks playing Lego together makes for quality time, it’s a priority. Now you can look at what her monthly spending limit is, her savings, and the cost of the set. With that, together you can make her a plan to get that set.
In 2025, think small steps, so you can keep stepping.
As you can see, these smaller resolutions all stemmed from one big resolution. And many of those smaller resolutions have smaller steps within them too. That’s by design. You can handle small steps, because you can keep them going and you can see progress as you go. That’s how you’ll hit your goals. And remember, you have people who have your back as you keep those resolutions in 2025. Your planning team is always here, a message away with any questions you have or advice you need.
