Oh, hi there, 2025! 

Did you set New Year’s resolutions this year? If so, you’re likely either making progress on it, or have forgotten about it entirely. 

According to the most recent YouGov survey on the matter, most U.S. adults, 55%, said they did not plan to set New Year’s resolutions, 31% said they did, and 14% weren’t sure. The general trend is that the older you are, the less likely you are to set resolutions. Apparently, we become jaded with the idea of making promises to ourselves as we age.

If you set resolutions this year, figure out how you can develop a habit that will help you achieve your goals.

Historically, I’ve thought that if you want to set a goal, why wait for the new year to do it? However, milestones, including new year’s, are convenient opportunities to reflect on the past and make plans for the future. So maybe I am a “New Year Resolutioner” after all.

I do a bit of financial goal setting at the beginning of the new year. Apparently I’m not alone. In 2025, the most popular resolution was to save more money (26%) and another popular resolution was to pay off debt (13%). 

Habits Matter

But whether you’ve set resolutions or not, if you want to make progress with something, developing a habit is important. In The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg states that much of what we do is out of habit, not choice. 

MoneySwell, and particularly our Budget Planner tool, was designed with habits in mind. Specifically, we put a lot of thought into designing a tool that would help people create sustainable and healthy financial routines. (Learn about how to build a good financial habit here.) With Budget Planner, we addressed the most common complaints we heard about budgeting. Specifically, that it takes too much time, is too hard to get back on track when you fall behind, or that it doesn’t help with achieving financial goals. 

Leverage Your Perks & Take Action!

So, whether you set New Year’s resolutions or not, if you want to make a financial plan for the year, check out MoneySwell! And if you work for an employer who provides you with some form of “wellness dollars”, don’t forget that you can usually use those for personal finance applications like MoneySwell!

Here’s to making 2025 a great year for financial wellness!