7 New Year’s Resolutions If You Want To Spend Less and Save More in 2026
Written by
Paige Cerulli
Edited by
Jenna Klaverweiden
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The new year is the perfect time to create new habits and rethink your personal finance approach, and resolutions can help you set goals and change your financial situation.
If you want to spend less and save more in 2026, think about your financial goals and then consider putting some of these New Year’s resolutions and financial strategies to work.
Creating Your Resolutions
Before you determine your New Year’s resolutions, spend some time defining your goals. Austin Kilgore, analyst with the Achieve Center for Consumer Insights, suggested that you choose one or two specific resolutions that are meaningful to you. “Carefully consider what is doable and realistic for you,” he said. For example, it might sound great to save $10,000, but you’ll need to carefully think about what you can realistically accomplish over a set period of time.
To define your goals, start with a budget. “The idea is to treat it as a spending plan to help you do what you’d like to do in your life,” Kilgore explained. Prioritize your short- and long-term goals, then build your budget around those goals. That budget will help you frame your spending and savings resolutions.
As you develop your resolutions, you’ll need to find ways to change your habits too. Brian Page, M.Ed., CPFFE, Fair Play Certified, AFC candidate and founder of Modern Husbands, explained that while a resolution or goal is helpful, it must be accompanied by a systemic change in your personal financial infrastructure.
If your goal is to spend less, think about all of the ways in which you impulsively spend. If that occurs when you’re laying in bed scrolling your Amazon app, then remove the app from your phone. If you’re tempted by ads that you see on Instagram, remove your autofill financial information from Instagram.
“You’re creating an infrastructure that makes it more difficult and more inconvenient to spend money in ways that are counterproductive to your goals,” Page explained.
New Year’s Resolutions for Your Finances
Once you’ve defined your goals and thought about your spending habits, it’s time to put some resolutions into practice.
Here are seven resolutions that can help you spend less and save more in the new year.
1. Track Your Spending
Kilgore suggested making a resolution to track your spending to identify where you can cut back. “Keep every receipt for every purchase, online and off, including any subscriptions, for a couple of weeks,” he advised.
Seeing how much you spend each day can be eye-opening, and it helps you identify where you need to change those habits.
2. Save Your Savings
Resolve to save the savings you earn while you shop, putting them into a savings account. Kilgore explained that when you use digital coupons and savings cards, your receipt will typically show the dollar savings you’ve earned.
“Take that amount and actually deposit it into a savings account,” he said. Over the course of a year, those savings can substantially add up.
3. Learn To Cook New Dishes
Making a New Year’s resolution to learn to cook more dishes, and to do so more often, can help reduce your spending. Setting a goal to prepare one new dish a week can save you money on takeout and restaurant meals.
“Cut back and you could literally save thousands of dollars over the course of a year, and eat healthier,” Kilgore said.
4. Switch to Store Brands
If you haven’t already made the switch, transitioning to buying store brands over name brands can help you save money every time you shop.
Kilgore estimated that store-brand items can cost 10% to 15% less than brand names, so you could potentially save hundreds of dollars a year with this simple strategy.
5. Streamline Your Viewing
It’s easy to overspend on multiple streaming subscriptions, so resolve to streamline your viewing. Consider which services you use enough to warrant the cost, and set yourself a goal to cut your viewing costs by a certain amount per month.
“Options like local libraries’ DVD and online streaming selections, and inexpensive (but effective) antennas for local broadcast HD channels may work for you,” Kilgore explained.
6. Make a Savings ‘Bill’
Incorporate a savings “bill” into your budget that you pay regularly, such as every two weeks or every month. “Most financial institutions offer the capability to set regular transfers from checking to savings accounts,” Kilgore said.
You may also choose to have a portion of your paycheck transferred into a savings account. By setting up these regular transfers, saving becomes part of your monthly habit.
7. Automate and Divide Your Savings
Page explained that automation is key to saving money, but many people simply split their paychecks into checking and savings accounts at the same bank. “When you look at your banking app, psychologically and literally, you could treat them as one checking account, because it’s so easy, convenient and fast to move the money,” he explained.
Page recommended that you split a portion of your check into an account that’s entirely different from your checking account. For example, choose an online savings account with a high yield offered by another bank. Since you’ll have to open up another app to access that savings account, the money is out of mind, and you’re more likely to truly set it aside and save it.
He also suggested that you name your savings account to reflect your savings goal. You might have one savings account titled “Emergency Savings,” and another might be named “Hawaii,” reflecting your goal of saving up for a vacation. Those names help remind you of your goals, and it’s easy to see your progress toward each goal, keeping you motivated.
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