12 New Year’s resolution ideas for 2026: Money edition
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While we don’t always follow through with them, picking the right resolutions that are realistic, doable and are simple enough to action could set you up for success in 2026.
How’d your 2025 resolutions go?
Did you make resolutions to save thousands of dollars in 2025? Or did you promise yourself to go to the gym every single day? Those can be hard to follow through on, since many resolutions are designed around existing bad habits — and any habit is hard to break.
According to an October 2025 Vanguard survey, 75% of Americans fell short of their saving and spending resolutions in 2025. However, most people also reported they were optimistic for 2026.
Instead of aiming for perfection, Finder.com offers 12 money management ideas to help you set realistic goals you can achieve in a year.
12 realistic New Year’s resolutions for 2026
1. Review your budget (or make a budget)
If you don’t have a solid budget, you may not know how much you’re spending on everyday items or paying for living expenses — let alone how much you could actually be saving.
A budget doesn’t have to be a complicated, long spreadsheet. There are plenty of budgeting apps, or you could also try the classic 50/30/20 method. The 50/30/20 budget stipulates that you allocate 50% of your cash toward expenses, 30% toward wants and 20% toward savings and debt repayment. You don’t have to stick to those percentages exactly, but it’s a simple method to start with.
2. Set up automatic savings
Want to save more money in 2026? Automatic savings contributions can make it simple and easy.
If you have direct deposit, most employers let you decide how much of your paycheck is deposited into which accounts, such as 90% into your checking and 10% into your savings. Alternatively, you can simply ask your bank to set up automatic transfers to a savings account on specific days.
3. Set fast-food spending caps
Saying you won’t spend any money on fast food probably isn’t realistic and just sets you up for failure. Instead of making the resolution to cut it out completely, just set a spending cap.
The average cost of a fast-food meal is $11.56. Knowing that, you could set a spending cap of around $35 per month, which would be about three trips per month. For a family of four, it could be around $150 for the whole month.
4. Pay down credit card debt
Not a very fun one, but a great financial resolution is to work on paying off expensive credit card debt.
There are debt consolidation options, balance transfer cards or you can simply make extra payments on your cards each month.
To help you pay off your credit card debt, you could also make the resolution to stop using them. This includes automatic bill payments tied to them. No more charges means you’re not growing your balance and adding to the problem.
5. Do the “no-spend” month
You don’t have to make your no-spend month in January 2026, but you can pick the month as your resolution!
A no-spend month challenge is just what it sounds like — for one month, you don’t spend any extra money on nonessentials. This means no going out to eat, no home decor, no hobby supplies and so on. You can use a no-spend month as a budget reset or a way to fast-track your savings goals.
6. Increase retirement contributions
You might be 40 years away from retirement, or just a few, but regardless, saving for retirement is important. How much did you contribute last year? Are you making the most of an employer match program? Consider a resolution to review your retirement plans and boost those contributions.
In 2025, the standard 401(k) contribution limit was $23,500, and for 2026, it has been increased to $24,500. You could make a bonus goal to meet your 401(k) contribution limit, too!
7. Check on your emergency fund
You can make a New Year’s resolution to grow your emergency fund or start one.
An emergency fund should be large enough to cover three to six months of expenses — do you have enough for that? Make a plan to boost that fund for the unexpected.
8. Plan a vacation
A little more on the fun side of things, you can make a resolution to plan and save for a vacation months ahead of time. For many people, booking the vacation first can be the best way to motivate themselves to save for it.
The further out you plan the vacay, the lower your monthly contributions have to be. Let’s say you wanted to save $2,000 for a vacation. By saving around $167 per month, or around $84 biweekly, you’ll have saved a little over $2,000 for the vacation.
9. Compare your insurance providers
Have you had the same insurance providers for a few years? They might offer you “loyalty” discounts after a while, but until you compare other providers, you won’t know if you’re paying too much. Rates fluctuate constantly, and it’s common to see your rates increase around your policy renewal time.
Since insurance policies generally renew after one year, make it a 2026 resolution to compare new insurance providers, such as auto, home and health insurance.
10. Increase your charitable donations
If you can, resolving to donate items or money is a great idea, and you have plenty of options.
To compare charities, we checked out CharityWatch.org, which is an independent site that ranks charity organizations based on how they spend their funds and don’t have excessive assets just sitting in reserve. Charities with A ratings include Friends of Animals, PetSmart Charities, Wildlife Conservation Society, National Urban League, CancerCare and Toys for Tots.
Additionally, you can check if your donated cash or property can be deducted from your adjusted gross income.
11. Open a certificate of deposit to lock in rates
Certificates of deposit (CDs) are savings accounts that earn a fixed interest rate over a set period, usually between three months and 10 years. There are plenty of CD terms of 12 months, so you can make a resolution to open a CD, deposit the cash for a year and collect your earnings in 2027!
With the Fed cutting rates recently, savings rates are expected to follow suit. But with a CD, your rate is fixed for the term, so you can lock in a high rate now.
12. Start saving for next Christmas now
And lastly, consider making a New Year’s resolution to set aside holiday spending money for 2026.
It’s easy to run up credit card debt to buy gifts, decor or cover holiday meals, but it can cost you. Having a high-interest credit card can mean paying way more than the holidays you bargained for if you don’t pay it off quickly. Save yourself the headache of borrowing money for the next holiday season and start saving now!
Good luck in 2026!
It’s common to let a New Year’s resolution fall by the wayside. But as the old saying goes, you only really fail when you stop trying. So keep making those resolutions to save more money, go to the gym, book the vacation, check on your retirement — one of these years, they’re bound to stick!
This story was produced by Finder.com and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
