7 Ways To Set Yourself Up for Financial Success in 2026, According to Dasha Kennedy
Written by
Crystal Mayer
Edited by
Jenna Klaverweiden
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It may be hard to believe, but 2026 is just around the corner. In the blink of an eye, 2025 has flown by, and the final stretch of the year is settling in. For people hoping to make the new year their best one yet, money expert Dasha Kennedy offers realistic advice that anyone can follow.
She recently told her Instagram followers how to get locked in for the last part of the year to ensure finances are in check by New Year’s.
Know Your Numbers
As Kennedy explained, the new year should be filled with receipts instead of regrets. One way to do this is to focus on expenses in the final months of 2025. She advocated writing out every expense to understand where money is going and what can be cut, if necessary. She said avoiding the realities is costly, so writing it out can help to fix the problem.
Financial literacy or having a basic understanding of saving, budgeting and managing debt has long been seen as critical to financial success. According to a survey conducted by Pew Research Center, 54% of people said they knew at least a “fair amount” about personal finances. Upper-income individuals were substantially more likely to be familiar with these concepts compared with individuals with lower incomes.
Make Lanes
Kennedy, a financial activist, also suggested separating money into separate lanes. She encouraged followers to have an emergency fund separate from their bills and independent from any nonessential spending.
Choose Pay Dates
Next, she advocated for people to make their money match their life by choosing billing dates that work with their schedule and separating expenses to come out in separate paychecks.
Scheduling billing cycles around pay dates can help ensure that all bills are paid on time.
Review Your Grocery Spending
According to USA Today, beef and cattle prices remain at all-time highs. It’s not only steak that costs more; coffee and other groceries are also pricier today than they were before.
Kennedy knows the high cost of going to the market. She encouraged her followers to establish good habits to save money on groceries, including making meals with what they already have in their pantries and freezers before going shopping.
Set Holiday Boundaries
The holidays are rapidly approaching, and for some, this is when all of the careful planning and budgeting get derailed. She advocated setting boundaries during the holidays and not feeling the pressure to buy gifts for everyone.
Overspending during the holidays is common, but it doesn’t have to be. Writing a list and sticking to it can help avoid starting off the year in debt. CNBC also advised setting gift expectations with friends and family ahead of time, utilizing free rewards and focusing on your long-term financial goals.
Be OK With Canceling
The financial influencer also suggested reviewing subscription services to see if any of them are duplicates. Take, for example, having more than one streaming service.
As Forbes reported last year, Americans pay for 2.9 streaming services per month on average. Cutting just one could save hundreds of dollars a year.
Set Fun Money
Finally, Kennedy said that it was OK to still spend some money just on fun. She advocated auditing nonessential spending and cutting back, but she also encouraged followers to keep their joy.
Capping excess spending can help save significant amounts of money, but it doesn’t mean having to cut out every little perk in life.
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