Financial New Year’s Resolutions for a Good Year

The start of the new year is a popular time for setting goals and making resolutions that will help you be a happier, healthier, more prosperous version of yourself. It can be pretty easy to set yourself up with some high expectations for the new year with popular promises like losing weight, eating better, picking up a new hobby, or finally clearing out that junk room. But along with all your hopes for a better, more fulfilled you, why not set some financial resolutions to improve your life, too?

You can start out by planning ahead for the holiday season and any new year’s festivities you might have in the works. Start a budget for your holiday spending, plan out your parties in advance, only gift as needed, and if you need tips for hosting on a budget there are plenty of ways to indulge your guests without spending excessively.

In choosing financial resolutions for your upcoming year, it’s important to set realistic and measurable goals to prepare yourself for success as much as possible. Envision your goal as a final destination and plan out the steps you need to take to get there. Financial resolutions can be anything like tackling some scary debt, investing, committing a certain portion of earnings to savings, or more. If you’re ready to make some money-based goals for the upcoming year, here are three things you can do to help you achieve your financial goals.

1. Set Up a Debt Plan

If you have been struggling with debt and you’re ready to make a change, then make this upcoming year the one where you finally take measurable, tangible strides to relieve your debt. Especially if you’re relying on short-term solutions like payday loans more than you’d like to, having a debt plan can be a huge help. Paying off debt isn’t easy and it won’t happen without deliberate planning and ongoing commitment.

2. Have a Savings Plan

How much should you be putting away? Are you putting away any money at all? Even if there are moments in your year where you need to turn to a short-term loan to help with emergency scenarios, it’s important to plan out your savings scheme when getting back on your feet.

Cash flow shortages can be helped by a payday loan provider like GoDay that ensures your lapses in saving or planning don’t cause you major strife. Still, you should plan out how much of your income you want to put away (15% is a good rule of thumb) and where you want to put it — into a TFSA, RRSP, or elsewhere.

3. Track All Expenses

Do you make small purchases throughout the day and end up losing track of how much they all cost? When you start tracking everything you buy you begin to grow mindful of where your money goes. You can use a mobile money tracking app to help you or set up an excel spreadsheet to fill out daily. From there you can start to notice patterns in your spending and hopefully develop a sense of how to operate in a financially responsible and sustainable manner.