Suze Orman: ‘You Didn’t Fail’ Your Financial Resolution — 4 Ways to Get Back on Track
Written by
Tina Nazerian
Edited by
Cory Dudak
Commitment to Our Readers
GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.
20 Years
Helping You Live Richer
Reviewed
by Experts
Trusted by
Millions of Readers
It’s likely that, at the start of 2024, you made several New Year’s resolutions, some of which might have centered around your finances.
Now that we’re in March, though, those resolutions might have fallen by the wayside. As money expert Suze Orman said in the most recent edition of her “Money Monday with Suze Orman” newsletter on LinkedIn, “many of us have lost the resolve and momentum to stick with a financial goal we made part of our New Year’s resolutions.”
If that describes your current predicament, Orman’s message is clear: “Don’t you dare give up. You didn’t fail. Nor is the damage permanent.” Instead, she stressed, take time to assess what you learned during the last two months. Then, take specific steps to move in the right direction.
1. Hold Yourself Accountable to Someone
Orman’s first tip? Hold yourself accountable to someone.
She explained that it’s helpful to tell someone about the financial goal you want to achieve, and it’s an especially good idea to tell a friend, coworker or relative who might be interested in achieving the same financial goal as you (or another financial goal). Research has also shown the power of accountability in reaching goals.
2. Set More Manageable Goals
Which of the two sounds more manageable, saving $6,000 in a year or $500 every month for twelve months? Both goals lead you to the same amount, but one feels easier to attain than the other because you’re incrementally working toward it.
Orman noted setting “the bar too high” can cause us to abandon a goal. Instead, “consider breaking it down into a smaller bite.” Or, you might want to lower your goal. Perhaps “instead of saving $50 a week, it’s $25 a week that is sustainable.”
3. Switch Things Up
Next, Orman advised going “against your grain.” She wrote that research from “a while back found that people who tend to be very detail-oriented actually did better when their financial goal was less detailed. And people who are more big-picture did better if they made their financial goal very specific.”
So, you should think more generally about your goals if you’re usually laser-focused on the details and create clearly defined goals if details typically aren’t your thing. Orman noted that if you’re detail-oriented, you can opt to tell yourself, “‘I will look for ways throughout the month to save money'” instead of giving yourself a dollar amount to reach each month. And if you’re a “big-picture” person? She suggested giving yourself a number to hit rather than a “hazy-ish goal of ‘saving more.'”
4. Give Yourself a Pat on the Back
Ultimately, when you have more money saved up, you have more options in life, such as the ability to retire earlier, go on that vacation you’ve always wanted, buy a home, upgrade your car and so forth.
Orman advised celebrating “like crazy” once you reach your smaller goals on your way to the big ones. Doing so, she wrote, “is how we remind ourselves that we have the power to build the financial security we crave.”
More From GOBankingRates
