If you want to sober up quick on New Year’s Day, open your credit card statement.
Americans are worried about money. They’ll probably be more worried in the new year, when they wake up, bleary-eyed, after a month of binge-shopping on gifts.
You may not be surprised, then, to hear the most popular financial New Year’s resolutions for 2025. They represent the opposite, basically, of what many of us do around the holidays, which is spend money and take on debt.
In a survey by The Motley Fool, the finance and investing site, consumers named “paying off debt” as their top financial resolution for 2025, especially credit card debt.
In a survey by Edward Jones, the investment firm, consumers named “building a savings account” as their top financial resolution. No. 2: paying off credit card debt.
A third survey, from the personal finance site WalletHub, yielded three top resolutions. Together, they sum up the aspirations of the American consumer: Save more, spend less, and make more money.
Build up your savings, or pay down your debt
Increase savings or reduce debt: They’re both great goals, financial advisers say.
“Get that momentum going to where you’re either building up your savings or paying down your debt, whichever you’re trying to accomplish,” said Robert Brokamp, a certified financial planner and senior adviser at Motley Fool.
But, which to prioritize? That’s a subject of endless debate.
If you enter the new year carrying credit card debt, many financial planners would urge you to pay it off pronto. Credit card rates hover near all-time highs.
Other experts would argue that savings comes first, especially emergency savings.
“That is the top thing I talk about with my clients,” said Nicole Schelkopf, a financial advisor at Edward Jones. “It keeps you out of debt.”
New Year’s resolutions are aspirational, and many consumers will enter the new year feeling very resolute. In the Edward Jones survey, 81% of Americans voiced confidence they can keep their New Year’s resolutions.
In the same survey, however, more than half of the consumers who made resolutions for 2024 admitted that they failed to achieve them.
But let’s proceed in the spirit of positivity. Here, from the experts, are five financial New Year’s resolutions for 2025, and some tips on how to make them stick.
Make a budget
“The fact that we’re on pace to end 2024 with over $1.3 trillion in credit card debt is a clear sign that we need to do a better job budgeting,” WalletHub reports.
You can keep a budget on a spreadsheet, mapping out a plan for how to spend your money every month. You can also use a budgeting app. Brokamp of Motley Fool recommends Budgets Are Sexy, YNAB (You Need a Budget) and Goodbudget.
