3 Financial New Year’s Resolutions to Set and Achieve in the New Year
- Brian Page
- Dec 21, 2025
- 6 min read
Every January, couples sit down with good intentions.
This is the year we’ll get our finances under control.
This is the year we’ll stop stressing about money.
This is the year we’ll finally feel like we’re on the same team.
And yet, by February, most resolutions quietly fade.
That failure is not about discipline or motivation. It is about setting resolutions that do not match real life.
According to Fidelity’s 2026 Financial Resolutions Study, nearly two-thirds of Americans are considering a financial resolution this year, the highest level in recent years
But the research also shows something important. The people who succeed do not aim for perfection. They focus on realistic, clear, and emotionally meaningful goals.
Such goals between married couples are healthy for marriages. Research has found that establishing a financial resolution with your spouse, that is joint financial goals, will likely increase your relationship satisfaction and create a stronger sense of unity between you.
More broadly speaking, money is a leading cause of divorce and stress in a marriage. It's clear. Reaching financial goals that lead to financial health is imperative for your marriage.
This post has everything you need to crush all three financial goals
Resolution 1: Build Short-Term Financial Security Together
Saving more money remains the most common financial resolution year after year. In 2026, 44 percent of Americans say saving is their top goal
What has changed is how people want to save.
For the second year in a row, Fidelity found that Americans are prioritizing short-term savings over long-term goals. Fifty-two percent are focused on near-term stability rather than distant milestones like retirement.
This shift makes sense. Rising everyday prices, unexpected expenses, and healthcare costs are the top financial concerns heading into 2026.
My wife and I use Raisin to find high yield savings accounts and CDs that pay the highest interest rates. As a matter of fact, the Raisin tool provided options that crushed all of the other options I could find without using it.
Learn more about how Raisin will help you reach your savings goals.
Employ the psychology of saving
Equally significant are using these five evidence-based tips to save together:
Tip 3 Change your environment
Tip 4 Make it automatic
Tip 5 Give yourself some grace
Resolution 2: Create a Shared Plan for Spending and Debt
Paying down debt and spending less remain the second and third most common financial resolutions, with 36 percent focused on debt reduction and 30 percent focused on spending less.
For couples, these goals often fail when they turn into blame.
One partner feels restricted.
The other feels anxious.
Neither feels heard.
JL Collins once told me while recording the Marriage Toolkit:
"Debt is like leeches stuck to your body, sucking the blood and life out of you."
Reasonable people can disagree about whether or not a mortgage makes sense. We have a mortgage with an APR around 3%, so we don't want to pay it off early, at least not now. However, any high interest debt is like a leech on your body, as described by JL Collins.
Debt Reduction Strategies for Couples
Snowball Method
How It Works: Pay off your smallest debt first while making minimum payments on others, then roll that payment into the next smallest debt to build momentum.
Example: If you owe $500 on a credit card, $2,000 on a personal loan, and $5,000 on a car loan, you’d pay off the $500 credit card first—then apply that payment amount to the $2,000 loan next.
Avalanche Method
How It Works: Focus on paying off the debt with the highest interest rate first while making minimum payments on the rest, saving the most money on interest over time.
Example: If you owe $1,000 at 18% interest, $3,000 at 10%, and $5,000 at 6%, you’d pay off the $1,000 debt first—even though it’s the smallest—because it has the highest interest rate.
Hybrid Method
How It Works: Start with the smallest debt for a motivational boost, then switch to paying off the highest-interest debt to save more on interest.
Example: If you owe $600 at 12%, $2,000 at 18%, and $4,000 at 7%, you’d first pay off the $600 debt for quick progress (snowball), then shift focus to the $2,000 high-interest debt (avalanche).
Debt Creating Marital Problems
How It Works: Pay off the debt that causes the most stress or conflict in the relationship first, regardless of balance or interest rate, to improve marital harmony.
Example: If a couple owes $1,000 to a family member, $3,000 on a credit card, and $6,000 on a car loan—but the family debt causes the most tension—they pay off the $1,000 first to reduce emotional strain.
Seven Hacks to Cut Spending Right Now
1. Set a Spending Limit
Establish a spending limit that is a promise to speak with your spouse before purchasing.
As an example, agree not to spend more than $19 without asking the other spouse. Promise each other to play the devil's advocate before each purchase, to gently share why that purchase might not be needed.
This should not be an argument or be used as a tool for control! It's simply a strategy to pause, discuss, and move forward together.
2. Make Spending Hard
Make spending money inconvenient and frustrating.
Remove spending apps from your phone.
Remove autofill financial information from websites and social media.
3. Review and Eliminate Subscriptions
An easy way to review and eliminate subscriptions is after establishing your connections and budget on Tiller. It's easy to use a single spreadsheet to identify (and eliminate) subscriptions you no longer want to prioritize spending money on.
4. Contact Insurance Providers
Shop around for your insurance: auto, disability, life, etc. Don't assume that the contract you signed years ago is still the right contract for you and your partner.
5. Gather Estimates for Regular Services
Do you have someone care for your lawn? What about spraying for bugs? Even banking services can come at a cost. All of these services offer discounts or cash incentives to attract new customers. Shop around.
6. Spending Freeze
A spending freeze in a household budget involves temporarily halting all discretionary expenses, focusing only on essential and fixed costs such as bills and necessities. A spending freeze helps individuals regain control of their finances, curb unnecessary spending habits, and redirect funds to savings and debt repayment. It fosters disciplined financial habits, reduces frivolous expenses, and creates a clearer path to financial success.
7. Only Use Cash
When you spend money only in cash, you create a tangible limit to your expenses, allowing you to stay within your means and avoid overspending. There is even research indicating that people spend, on average, 19% more when they don't use cash.
Resolution 3: Commit to Ongoing Money Conversations
The most overlooked resolution is also the most powerful.
Have regular, structured conversations about money.
Seventy-one percent of people who say they have a financial plan report feeling better equipped to reach their goals, and 80 percent believe planning helps them handle unexpected events.
For couples, planning is not just numbers. It is communication.
What this looks like for couples
Instead of a once-a-year conversation fueled by stress, set a rhythm.
Schedule regular Money Dates and use budgeting systems like Tiller for easier conversations.
These are not crisis meetings. They are check-ins.
How to make it stick
Keep meetings short and predictable
Focus on progress, not perfection
Revisit goals as life changes
Fidelity’s study found that people who succeeded with financial resolutions often felt encouraged by visible progress and positive past experiences.
Consistent conversations create those moments. They also prevent resentment from building silently.
Why These Resolutions Work Better Than Most
The biggest lesson from the 2026 research is not about tactics. It is about mindset.
People succeed when financial goals are realistic, emotionally meaningful, and supported by a plan.
For couples, success depends on something else too. Teamwork.
Money resolutions are not individual self-improvement projects inside a marriage. They are shared systems. When couples focus on short-term stability, shared planning, and ongoing communication, money becomes less of a threat and more of a tool.
2026 does not need to be the year you try harder. It can be the year you work better together.
Professional Support
I support couples who want to better manage money or the home as a team in their relationship.
I'm the only Accredited Financial Counselor® and Fair Play Facilitator®, empowering high-achieving couples with systems to manage money and the home as a team — drawn from decades of national leadership and lived experience.
Click here to learn more about me and how I can help.
