3 Reasons Americans Couldn’t Stick to Their New Year’s Resolutions in 2023

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It’s important to set financial goals that are attainable. Read on to make sure you don’t set yourself up for failure. 

Many people aim to better their personal finances when a new year rolls around. Recent research from The Ascent found that 67% of Americans were looking at making financial resolutions for 2024.

You might have a running list of money-related goals you’re looking to tackle over the next 12 months. Or maybe some of your goals are health-related.

Either way, it’s important to understand the factors that cause people to give up on their resolutions. That way, you’ll know which goals of yours are attainable and which ones are likely to make you miserable more so than anything else.

Here are the top reasons Americans failed at a New Year’s resolution in 2023.

1. It became too expensive

For 27% of respondents in the aforementioned survey, the cost of fulfilling a goal made it unattainable. When setting your objectives, make sure money won’t get in the way.

Let’s say your goal is to get into good enough shape to run a big race by the end of the year. You might assume you’ll need to hire a personal trainer and spend money on a gym membership to meet that goal. In reality, all you might really need is a new pair of sneakers. So before you start dipping into your savings account to meet your goal, see if there’s a lower-cost alternative.

2. The habits were too hard to maintain

For 22% of people, the habits associated with meeting their 2023 goals were too difficult to keep up with. The purpose of making New Year’s resolutions is to improve your life, not make it worse. If meeting your 2024 goal is likely to make you miserable, you may want to make some changes.

Let’s say your objective is to reduce your restaurant spending in 2024 and do more cooking. There’s nothing wrong with carving out time each week to hit the supermarket and buy groceries. But putting the pressure on yourself to whip up elaborate meals seven nights a week may be overkill. Instead, embrace the idea of leftovers and celebrate the fact that you’re working toward your goal — even if it means having to still order takeout once a week.

3. The resolution was too time-consuming to tackle

A good 19% of Americans didn’t meet their goal last year because it was too time-consuming. If you’re worried about falling into a similar trap, simplify things where you can.

Let’s say your goal is to invest more in 2024. That doesn’t mean you have to spend hours each week analyzing companies to build up a portfolio of stocks. If you don’t have the time for that, buy broad market ETF shares instead. That’s an easy way to assemble a diversified portfolio without having to put in a ton of legwork.

New Year’s resolutions aren’t always so easy to uphold. So rather than set yourself up for failure, aim to set goals that are reasonable and attainable given your finances, abilities, and free time. You’ll likely be better off achieving an easier goal than failing at a more difficult goal.

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The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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