Do you make financial resolutions at the start of a new year? Whether you do or don’t, here are some things you should consider for 2025. Taking the time to focus and review before you make any resolutions can make it easier for you to keep your promises to yourself.
- Make a list of the 10 things that matter most to you.
- Get a copy of your bank or credit card statements and review your spending.
- Be real with yourself; did your expenditures align with the 10 things you said matter most to you?
- Examine your attitude toward and relationship with money.
- Ask yourself: Do you view money as the answer to all your problems or a useful tool?
- Consider how life events have shaped your view of money.
One major pro tip: Don’t ask for or be guided by financial advice from someone who can’t handle his or her own finances.
Once you have reviewed the items above, you will have an idea of how and why your relationship with money is what it is. This information can help you create sustainable financial resolutions that can lead you into a better 2025.
Here are some categories you may want to group your resolutions into:
- Align: Before you make resolutions, plan expenditures and ask yourself how they align with your top 10 priorities.
- Protect: Think of resolutions that will help protect your financial future and those you love.
- Save: How can you do a better job of saving for your current and future self? What will the 67-year-old you think of how you chose to save?
- Manage debt: Debt can be a friend or a foe; there is good debt and bad debt. Having an emergency fund can help avoid short-term, costly bad debt.
- Invest: Once again, consider your 67-year-old self. Will she be pleased about how you have invested for her retirement?
You can count on unexpected expenses arising; they are a part of life. Taking the time to plan and adhering to your plan can help you put yourself in a position to avoid being derailed when the unexpected occurs.
As Dr. Kevin Elko says, there are two pains we must face in life: the pain of discipline, or the pain of regret. You get to choose.
