3 Signs You Won’t Hit Your 2024 Financial Goals — and How To Turn Them Around in 2025
Written by
Kerra Bolton
Edited by
Jenna Klaverweiden
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It’s discouraging to realize you haven’t hit your 2024 financial goals despite your best efforts. Whether it’s saving for a big purchase, paying down debt, building your retirement fund or saving for emergencies, unmet goals can deflate your confidence and negatively influence next year’s financial outlook.
The good news is recognizing where you’ve gone off track with your finances and making the needed adjustments can help make 2025 better.
Here are the four key signs that you won’t hit your 2024 financial goals and how to turn them around in 2025.
Also see the cost of unfulfilled financial goals each new year.
Unrealistic Goals
Setting unrealistic financial goals is a surefire way to guarantee you won’t achieve them by year’s end. Setting an unrealistic goal could set you up for failure if the results don’t match your expectations. To set realistic goals, per Forbes, it’s important to have a clear understanding of your financial situation currently and be specific when identifying objectives for the future.
“Track your income and expenses to identify where your money is going,” said Melissa Murphy Pavone, founder of Mindful Financial Partners. “Knowing your numbers in detail allows you to make intentional choices about spending, saving and investing.”
Unexpected Expenses
Unexpected expenses, like medical bills, car maintenance and home repairs, are a natural part of life. They are also among the top reasons financial goals fall apart.
According to Empower research, 37% of Americans say they can’t afford an emergency expense over $400 and 21% of people have no emergency savings at all.
Financial experts recommend recalculating your budget, factoring in unexpected costs and having an emergency savings fund of three to six months’ worth of expenses to build financial resilience. “This creates a safety net, so you’re not forced to rely on credit or disrupt long-term retirement investments when unexpected events occur,” Pavone said.
Having a financial safety net can set you up for success in 2025 and help you achieve your financial goals.
Overspending
Experts said overspending is another sign that you may not meet your financial goals this year.
“Another sign is if you’re consistently overshooting your monthly budget,” said Erika Kullberg, an attorney, personal finance expert and founder of Erika.com. “How can we course correct? The key is to consistently review your bank statements.”
By regularly reviewing your finances, you’ll be able to recognize when you’re overspending and correct it. “Doing that will provide the reality check you need and keep you on top of any patterns of overspending, unnecessary descriptions or frivolous expenses that are derailing your budget,” Kullberg said.
Bouncing Back
Sometimes, the best intentions go awry. You can still bounce back even if you don’t hit your 2024 financial goals.
“The absolute, most important thing is not to let the fear, panic or shame linger,” Kullberg said. “Notice that, accept it and then move on. We all fall off the wagon from time to time.”
Kullberg said the next step is to focus on creating a new plan, break down your goals into smaller steps and build consistency.
“Whether you’re saving $10 a week or $10,000 — consistency is everything,” Kullberg said. “If you’ve missed a savings target, consider automating a portion of your income to go directly into savings moving forward.”
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