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3 New Year's Resolutions We Wish You Would Make (and Keep)
If you’re like me, every new year is a time to set goals and intentions for the coming year. Research shows that roughly 50% of adults in the United States make New Year’s resolutions. On the surface, this is great! But if you dig a little deeper, you will uncover that only about 10% of adults keep their resolutions for more than a few months. In fact, we have an entire day, January 17, dedicated to ditching resolutions.
These days, the only thing more cliché than setting a New Year’s resolution is breaking that intention. If you have already abandoned your resolutions this year, hear me out. 2021 is our year to rethink our finances, stick to a budget, and get rid of debt! Keep reading to hear about financial resolutions we wish you would keep.
#1 Budgeting
No matter what your financial goals are, it is important to know how your money is currently working (or not working) for you. Summit Credit Union, headquartered in Wisconsin, makes this very easy by providing budget calculators on their website. Anyone can quickly calculate expenses, checking and savings balances, household cash flow, net worth, and debt repayment plans. There is even a calculator to help assist in deciding whether to return to work after having children.
Credit unions are here to help you create a budget that is easy to follow AND easy to stick with, even after your other New Year’s resolutions fade away. Learn how a credit union can help you kick-start your budget creation.
#2 Saving
We all know we should be saving, but it’s much easier said than done. According to many financial advisors, we should have at least three months of emergency savings. In theory, this is a great idea. But in practice, it might be difficult for us to achieve all at once. Instead of putting unnecessary pressure on yourself by setting a long-term goal to save a certain amount of money by a pre-determined date, we recommend setting short-term, achievable, goals. A Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union team member offers this savings advice: “It’s hard to stick to a [savings] goal when it’s not measurable… Transfer $50 into a savings account as soon as you get paid. So, you’re hiding it from yourself BEFORE you can spend it.” Short-term goals like this will help you stay on the right track towards your New Year’s resolutions.
Find a credit union to help you start saving today!
#3 Checking In
Another reason we abandon our New Year’s resolutions is that we get discouraged or overwhelmed if the goal feels too unrealistic. As time passes, it’s also easy to get caught up with everyday life and forget the intentions we set at the beginning of the year. Sometimes, the biggest obstacle in achieving our goals is ourselves.Numerica Credit Union, headquartered in Washington, provides advice on how to overcome these obstacles so you can hold yourself more accountable.
First and foremost, they warn that you need to be more aware of your spending habits. Understanding your relationship with money can help you identify spending behaviors that contribute to your financial goal’s downfall. Secondly, they encourage you to ask yourself if the purchase is a need or want.
Checking in with yourself and holding yourself accountable is a New Year’s resolution we hope everyone keeps – it’s important to set these standards for yourself.
