2024 Financial Goals: Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for Monetary Success

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When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, setting financial goals can include everything from earning more interest on your savings account to achieving long-term financial security. Whether achieving your goals includes saving for retirement or simply building your bank account, the best thing you can do is to set clear-cut steps to take toward financial success.

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10 Resolutions To Help You Reach Your Financial Goals in 2024

If financial stability is your goal then financial planning needs to be your next money move. Starting your savings or investing journey can seem overwhelming at first, but when you break it down into manageable steps and pieces you may be surprised as to how quickly things start falling into place. Here are 10 financial goals to set in the new year to reach monetary success.

1. Create a budget and cut unnecessary expenses.
2. Pay your full credit card bill each month.
3. Improve your credit score.
4. Pay off student loans and other debt.
5. Make sure to take advantage of your 401(k) match.
6. Save more money.
7. Start an emergency fund.
8. Change your passwords.
9. Consistently check your credit report.
10. Start investing and diversify your portfolio.

1. Create a Budget and Cut Unnecessary Expenses 

When you set out to build your new budget, make sure to set realistic goals and parameters. Make sure to take stock of all of your monthly bills and expenses as you find you are spending more than you are saving and there could be ways to edit that. 

For example, a short-term financial goal could be to cut unnecessary expenses such as unused subscriptions, club memberships or eating out at restaurants. By cutting these now, you’ll be able to better manage your money to set long-term financial goals. Other ways to stick to your budget can include:

• Paying for things only with the cash you bring.
• Only buy things on your grocery list that are specifically for meals you’ve planned.
• Track your spending or use a budgeting app.
• Budget to zero, which means every dollar from your paycheck is counted for and allocated to needs or savings. 
• Pay yourself first by treating your savings as an expense you must pay monthly.

2. Pay Your Full Credit Card Bill Each Month 

Another financial goal you can set in the new year is to pay your credit card bill in full and on time each month. Not only is this one of the best ways to improve your credit score but it also saves you a lot of money in the interest you might be paying. Paying high interest rates keeps you in a cycle of debt where you’re essentially throwing money away.

Your financial future depends on making better choices now. Credit cards are great when used responsibly but try not to wrack up a huge amount of debt and keep your bill manageable each month to save money on expenses but also interest. 

3. Improve Your Credit Score 

Improving your credit score may seem like an obvious goal, but the long-term effects of better credit can save your finances from a lot of hard hits. For example, a better credit score means you can potentially get better rates on loans which means you pay less interest over time. This means you’ll have lower monthly payments as well as pay less in total overall. 

One of the best ways to improve your credit score is to pay your monthly credit card bill on time each month in full. If you’re just starting out building your credit you could try one of these to boost your score: 

• Become an authorized user on someone’s credit card who you trust.
• Consolidate your debt to pay lower interest overall.
• Don’t close your old accounts.
• Monitor your credit to track your progress.
• Dispute credit card errors or ask for higher limits.

4. Pay Off Student Loans and Other Debt 

Achieving your financial goals is easier when you aren’t working from a deficit so try to prioritize paying off debts such as student loans or credit cards. Once you get out of the negative you work on positively building your other bank accounts. Here are some ways to pay down your debt more efficiently in 2024:

• Assess your finances and build a more realistic budget.
• Focus on your most expensive debt and pay that off first. 
• Pay more than the minimum balance on your student loans each month.
• Try a balance transfer.
• Only use your credit cards when necessary and delete your saved information from online vendors. 

5. Make Sure To Take Advantage of Your 401(k) Match 

If you aren’t taking advantage of your employer-matched 401(k) contributions you are essentially leaving money on the table. If you are getting the full employer match you can still make it a New Year’s resolution to put an extra 1% into your contributions which can really add up annually. This simple step can reduce your taxable income as well as add more of a financial cushion for you in retirement. 

6. Save More Money 

Saving money where you can is paramount to any financial goal. Whether it is a high-yield savings account, CD or money market account try and find the best rates possible. 

Once you do, a good trick to make sure you are saving enough is to split your paycheck into percentages such as with the 50/30/20 rule. This rule breaks down your funds in the following ways: 

• 50% is allocated to needs such as groceries, insurance, utilities, rent or mortgage payments. 
• 30% is allocated for wants such as streaming services, clothing or gym memberships.
• 20% is allocated to savings.

7. Start an Emergency Fund 

One version of a positive savings goal would be to start an emergency fund. This would be a separate savings account, preferably one that has a high-yield, and is designated specifically for unexpected expenses. You should try to have three to six months’ worth of expenses covered in this account in case of such financial shocks as job loss, medical procedures, home appliance repair or car maintenance. 

8. Change Your Passwords 

An easy step to take toward a more monetarily successful 2024 would be to change all of your passwords for your accounts. This better protects all of your personal information and bank accounts from potential hacking or cyber-attacks. A step like this can save you lots of money and heartache in the long run. 

9. Consistently Check Your Credit Report

Knowing where you are in your finances is the only way to address any issues and improve the ways you can grow your wealth. Checking your credit report regularly means you are keeping track of what’s important to achieving your goals. You can assess your current credit position as well as determine what current lenders are seeing such as incorrect or incomplete information you need to fix. 

10. Start Investing and Diversify Your Portfolio 

The best way to grow your money quickly in the new year is to invest it in a variety of options. First, take stock of your risk tolerance to see whether you want to start simply or dive into higher-risk and more complex investments. The following are ways you can start investing that range both returns and risk levels.

• Stocks
• Bonds
• Cryptocurrency
• Treasury securities
• Mutual funds 
• ETFs
• IRA or Roth IRA
• Real estate
• Employee-sponsored 401(k)
• Savings accounts and CDs

Final Take To GO 

When it comes to your actual bottom line, setting your financial goals is the first step to achieving them. A new year is a great time to take a fresh approach to what money moves you need to make. Whether you are taking stock of your finances or investing your finances in stock, make sure you are aiming for monetary success in 2024.

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