Get real: Attainable financial New Year’s resolutions for 2022

It’s almost that time of year when we start making plans to toast to the new year. Inevitably, New Year’s resolutions are not far behind. As resolutions go, we start out with the best of intentions, but many are eventually broken (speaking for myself). Why do so many of us fail when it comes to New Year’s resolutions? It could be because they are bad resolutions to begin with!

For instance, when it comes to financial-related resolutions, the top three promises that tend to be pretty commonplace each year include paying off debt, saving more money, and spending less. Vague goals such as these lack benchmarks or milestones and are easy to ignore. Instead, this year, let’s resolve to set goals that are specific and measurable. Need some examples? Here are three New Year’s resolutions with an example of a bad and good way to help you be successful!

Bad Resolution #1: Pay off debt
Good Resolution #1: Pay off $200 of debt each month, or $2,400 over the year.

An ambiguous resolution to pay off debt won’t get you far. Instead, decide to pay off a specific amount of debt per month, or a specific amount of debt over the course of the year. The key to success is including a dollar amount and specific timeline. Shorter goals usually make for more successful stories; by human nature, we like to report and surpass goals—so making shorter goals will keep you motivated to the bigger end game.

 

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