Focusing on fitness, improving your diet, and achieving better mental health are sound New Year’s resolutions. Don’t overlook the changes you need to make in order to reach your financial goals, though. If you keep your finances in mind, you can set a plan in motion that will encourage a more prosperous future. 

Right now is the perfect time to plan out the changes you want to make next year, given that 2023 is coming to a close. If you want to secure a more financially stable future, there are impactful, money-focused resolutions that you may want to consider. That doesn’t mean you have to abandon fitness goals, but you may want to consider starting the year with your finances in mind. Explore the following options and see if they make your resolution list. 

Quit Your Regular Savings Account And Open A High-Yield Option

It’s always a great idea to save because that provides a sense of security. The unfortunate reality is that savings accounts tend to fall short in regards to earning substantial interest. Take your financial future to the next level by closing your regular savings account and opting for a high-yield savings account instead. A high-yield savings account allows you to grow your money at a faster pace, considering that they have higher interest rates than regular savings accounts. Do a quick search or consult your financial advisor to find which high-yield savings account is right for you. 

Invest In Your Financial Knowledge

The world of finance constantly changes, so staying informed is vital to your financial success. One potential resolution you can adopt in 2024 is to invest more time in expanding your financial literacy. That may look like reading books or articles, meeting with a financial advisor, or taking online courses about finances. When you understand the intricacies of taxes, personal finance, and investing, you can make better decisions that aid your long-term financial goals. 

Create A Budget And Stick To It

If you want financial success, you have to learn to budget. Begin the year by creating a realistic budget that takes your income, expenses, and savings goals into account. Track your spending in a diligent way and make adjustments where necessary. If you manage your budget successfully, you can understand where your money is going and you’ll help yourself save more. A great first step to budgeting is to start making coffee or tea at home if you buy a coffee out every day. If you eat lunch out, consider meal prepping to help save more money.

Move Some Savings To A Certificate Of Deposit

If you want to maximize your savings, explore different investment options. Traditional savings accounts offer safety, but they don’t have the best interest rates that keep up with inflation. A regular savings account, for example, has an average 0.46% interest rate, which is lower than the current inflation rate. Rather than settling for a low interest rate, diversify your savings and set aside  some to a certificate of deposit (CD). A CD offers fixed interest rates, so you can leave your money deposited in the account until the CD matures. Explore the options available to you because there are so many out there. If you leave your money in a different type of account, you are potentially passing up an easy way to earn more money. 

Review And Update Your Insurance Policies

You cannot predict your future, which is why having the right insurance coverage can help your financial security. Take the time to review your insurance policies, including health, life, home, and car insurance policies. Does your coverage align with your current needs? If it doesn’t, contact your insurance providers to adjust your policies and provide a safety net.

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For most people, the beginning of the year is a chance to accomplish new goals and develop better habits. What happens to all of that excitement and energy after the ball drops at midnight? How quickly does that ambition fade and how likely are you to see your New Year’s goals through? In this article, we explain what the most common resolutions are and the likelihood of intentions turning into reality. 

A recent survey of 1,000 U.S. adults looked at participants’ overall outlook surrounding types of resolutions and how much they prioritized them. In 2022, the same Forbes Health/OnePoll survey concluded that prioritizing mental health was the top resolution for 2023. For 2024, fitness was at the top of this year’s survey list. 62% of participants said they felt pressured to set a resolution, with women feeling slightly more pressured than men. Overall, 48% of people wanted to improve fitness in 2024. Of that percentage, 55% say that physical and mental health are of equal importance. 

In this year’s survey, more people cited fitness as a top resolution than improving finances. What may or may not surprise you is that women (52%) in the survey were more likely than men (42%) to focus on fitness. The great news is that 80% of people in the survey felt confident that they would be able to reach their goals in 2024.

Most Common New Year’s Resolutions

In 2024, the OnePoll survey found some resolutions to be more common than others. The most popular goals for 2024 are:

• Improving fitness (48%)
• Improving finances (38%)
• Improving mental health (36%)
• Losing weight (34%)
• Improving diet (32%)

Other, less popular resolutions included traveling more (6%), regular meditation (5%), drinking less alcohol (3%), and performing better at work (3%). That last one either suggests that people don’t want to excel at work, or that they feel progressing at work is not necessary. 

How Common Are New Year’s Resolutions?

Setting a New Year’s resolution is a very common practice within the U.S. A poll from 2022 reported that 37% of Americans had a goal or resolution in mind for 2023. 87% said they were somewhat likely to keep that goal throughout the year. Another study found that the practice of setting a resolution may be more common in the U.S. Similar polls in Sweden, for example, found that just 12% to 14% of people set resolutions or goals. 

Regarding New Year’s resolutions, American adults can also be very ambitious. A survey from 2020 revealed that about two out of every five respondents already had a goal for the new year. Survey authors noted that 18% of people from that survey had multiple goals. 

How Long Does The Average Resolution Last?

Do you set lofty goals for the new year and then realize that you are no longer pursuing them by March? Well, you can rest easy because you are not alone in that camp. Failing at New Year’s resolutions is a very common practice, but that is typically because people set lofty goals that are not feasible. There is no point in setting a goal to lose 20 pounds in one month, especially if you haven’t done any preparation to detail how you will make that goal happen. If you want to quit drinking coffee and don’t start tapering off prior to the beginning of the year, you may abandon your goal very quickly. 

The types of goals you set will determine whether or not you achieve them. To be fair, your personality and drive also factor into the equation. You are more likely to have success with action-oriented goals within the first year. Avoidance-oriented goals (like quitting alcohol or abandoning carbs) don’t do as well. The beauty of resolutions is that you do not need confetti, fireworks, or a ball to drop to spark a fresh start. Any time of year is the perfect time to begin a resolution. You decide when to make a change and don’t need to wait for January 1st to set out to achieve your goals.

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If you feel stressed about finances, especially after the past couple years, you are not alone. It’s not a secret that money has close ties with your emotions. An overwhelming amount of debt can cause anxiety and nagging guilt nay result from overspending. Your relationship with money, however, is a two-way street and you can benefit your overall health by budgeting properly.

According to a 2020 American stress report, about 64% of adults stated that money is a primary source of stress. Additionally, a 2021 report found that only 39% of Americans could comfortably cover an unexpected $1,000 expense without dipping into savings. Financial stability is an integral tool for survival, and psychiatrists say that the fear of instability can trigger stress and anxiety. 

Some stress is beneficial in certain situations, but it’s difficult to silence financial stress. It lingers in the back of your mind, no matter if you are spending money or not. Chronic stress, especially financial stress, can increase the risk of high blood pressure, mood swings, depression, anxiety, and heart disease. According to another 2020 report, people in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities suffer from financial stress the most. The worry comes from being able to afford rent, mortgage, student loans, and childcare. 

Money And Mental Health

You can blame poor mental health on a lack of money, but that’s not the root of the problem. The primary reason that links stress to finances is the way in which you manage money. Sometimes, you have to take a step back from the situation to think about the problems you have with money. Perhaps the chronic disorganization of budgeting is causing stress. That’s why it’s integral to look at why money issues started. In addition to figuring out the cause of financial stress, you ultimately have to forgive yourself and progress from there. 

Accountability is everything and you have the power to take steps that can help you fix your situation. You can learn to budget and stick to it. Once you do, you can experience the following health benefits. 

Budgeting Helps Reduce Physical Symptoms Of Stress

When you establish a budget and follow it, you can help set aside funds for the future. A budget also lets you know where you stand with the financial goals you set. According to a recent review of studies, budgeting may help relieve anxiety and existential dread. The reason for this is that a budget can help you feel in control, which can promote relaxation about finances. Dialing down your stress about money can reduce muscle tension, stomachaches, and even blood pressure. 

Budgeting Helps you Fund Your Healthcare

This isn’t to say that budgeting gives you more money to put towards health insurance. The takeaway is that following a budget can help you set aside funds for activities, appointments, or other things that make you a healthier person. For example, you can get a gym membership, therapy sessions, massages, chiropractic adjustments, and healthier food. Investing in yourself is a form of self-care, and it helps to have a budget in place to fund healthy endeavors. 

Budgeting May Improve Immune Function

How could this be true? Well, anything that can reduce stress levels can lift some pressure off the immune system. Stress causes the body to expend energy to primary functions. That slows digestion and makes the immune system sluggish. By turning off your fight-or-flight response, you can help improve immune function. 

Budgeting Improves Self-Esteem

There’s a correlation between what you do to save money or control spending and how you feel about yourself. Think of adhering to a budget as a sense of competency and accomplishment. When you set goals or priorities in one part of your life, they tend to have a domino effect on the other aspects. You’ll begin to build steam and find that your self-esteem and self-confidence benefits. 

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Credit is a game, and so is your credit score.

Your credit score can increase or decrease very rapidly, depending on your actions. It can decrease even if you think you are doing everything right and necessary to maintain a high credit score or rating.

Because banks and other financial institutions need money, it is in their best interest for people to accrue debt and thus pay interest on loans. Interest that you pay for credit is debt and interest that you receive via a banking saving account is gain, or being technical, income.

Banks and mortgage companies need you to carry debt. Paying your monthly credit card balance in full by each grace period can actually hurt your credit rating.

Some financial experts believe that the best way to keep a high credit rating or score is to maintain a little debt (via interest), which you do by carrying debt month-by-month by only paying the minimum payment due on your account on time and for just a few months (3-6 months) before paying off the entire balance owed. Although you may maintain a high credit score by doing this, you’ll stay in perpetual debt and pay hundreds and thousands of dollars in interest over the long run depending on the amount of money you owe.

Credit can be a great tool if a person has a solid financial education under their belt. If a person lacks financial education and is not financially astute, mature, responsible, and accountable, credit can become a tyrant and a slave master. You’ll be working all the days of your life attempting to pay off your debt.

While you may not be able to smoothly navigate social waters without a credit card, you are able to become financially astute and learn as much as possible about your nation’s economy and economic system, and formulate your own personal economy, an economy that does not have to follow the trend of the nation’s economy.

Intelligence and consciousness can really save you a lot of money and headaches and grief. It really can. Investing in intelligence, knowledge, information, and consciousness is far cheaper in the long run that being and remaining ignorant, uninformed, and unaware.

If you make your credit cards work for you and without harming you, they’re okay and helpful to have. On the other hand, if you’re working for credit card companies (issuers) because you’re paying off debt each month, credit cards are detrimental.

Credit cards are not the way to financial prosperity. Credit cards just allow for easier transactions in society.

Thank you for reading.

This article is compliments of DHerbs.com

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