By Geoff Williams, U.S. News & World Report featuring Taylor H. Sutherland, CFP®, CIMA® AIF®, Senior Wealth Advisor at Halbert Hargrove
Embrace the allure of a fresh start. The beginning of a new year is a great time to commit to your money goals, budget better, pay down debt, ditch bad habits and improve your financial picture to reach your goals.
If you want 2023 to be a better year for your money, consider making these 12 financial New Year’s resolutions.
Your entire year’s financial success likely rests on having a decent budget. Putting together a financial plan is a must, says Cynthia Pruemm, an investment advisor and the founder and CEO of SIS Financial Group in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. “Part of this process is doing a financial analysis of your income, expenses and investments,” she says.
If you’re discouraged by the idea of being buried in data and can’t afford an accountant, Pruemm suggests using a software program like Quicken. There are also plenty of personal finance websites and apps that can help with budgeting, including Mint.com, PocketGuard and You Need a Budget. There are also plenty of free budgeting templates, or you could opt for a simple pad of paper and pen. But you can’t argue with a resolution like budgeting.
One thing that should definitely go in your budget is how much you plan to put in an emergency fund or savings account – or both.
“Another resolution should be saving every month regardless of the amount,” Pruemm says.
If you’re struggling with how to save money, Pruemm suggests the investment app, Acorns.com, “where your spare change on each debit card or credit card transaction gets set aside into a separate savings account. You will be surprised how quickly all that spare change can add up.”
And while saving is important every year, 2023 should be a wonderful year to do it, according to Taylor Sutherland, a San Diego-based senior wealth advisor at Halbert Hargrove.
“One benefit of the increase in interest rates is that savers are finally getting paid again,” Sutherland says, referring to the trend of rising interest rates in 2022. “Cash is no longer ‘trash,’ so those emergency savings accounts should be earning something material.”
Sutherland says that if your bank isn’t offering competitive interest rates, such as 3.5% or better, on cash, you should consider finding a reputable online savings platform.
