As we enter the new year, personal finances become top of mind for many families.
According to a recent Allianz Life survey, approximately 38% of Americans cite financial stability as their top area of focus heading into 2025.
CNBC reached out to certified financial planners at the Financial Advisors Council to list the biggest household resolutions they can make as they look ahead to next year.
Here’s the financial advice they offered:
Camilla Elliott, Co-Founder and CEO, Collective Wealth Partners
Camila Elliott, CFP, is co-founder and CEO of Collective Wealth Partners in Atlanta.
Camilla Elliott
Create a budget and stick to it. Maximize your retirement savings and set one personal financial goal, such as paying off your credit cards or investing an extra $100 each month in an investment account.
Barry Glassman, Founder and President of Glassman Wealth Services
It starts and ends with knowing where your money goes. I encourage people to go back three months of their credit card and Apple Pay payments to track their spending over a period of time. It’s amazing how people’s behavior changes once they know the truth.
Margherita Chen, CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth
Provided by: Margherita Chen
It’s called estate planning. This is important for everyone to address, even for 18-year-olds who will be heading off to college in the fall of 2025. I had my daughter fill out a health care and financial power of attorney before sending her off to college.
When people feel overwhelmed by the estate planning process, I remind them that it is a process. Start with financial and health care powers of attorney.
You can then focus on designating your beneficiaries. Next, wills and trusts (if trusts are appropriate for your situation). This process also helps individuals track their former employers’ retirement plans. Estate planning is also a great time to review your life insurance.
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Lee Baker, Founder, Owner, and President of Claris Financial Advisors
1. This may not be a very popular topic, but take the time to review all of your insurance coverage.
Cars and homes in particular have gone up significantly for many people. Don’t forget disability insurance and life insurance. If you can get up and earn a living, you can buy a new car or rebuild a house. What happens if you no longer have income?
2. Take time to review your tax strategy and retirement planning.
Required Minimum Distribution: Is it a “need”? Will making a qualified charitable distribution improve the overall picture? Tax Loss Recovery: An opportunity to improve overall portfolio performance. Employee Benefits: Are you taking full advantage of your health savings account (if available) and retirement plan contributions?
3. Check your cash flow.
If you ended up spending more money than you should have over the holidays, now is a good time to make a plan to get rid of your financial hangover and to make a plan to avoid it next year. Let’s take a look at your own interest rate environment. So far, we’ve gotten several rate cuts from the Fed. There may be others, but in any case, research your situation carefully.
Kathy Curtis, Founder and CEO of Curtis Financial Planning
1. Automate your savings:
One of the best features of corporate retirement plans, such as 401(k) and 403(b) plans, is that contributions are automatically deducted from your monthly paycheck and the funds are invested in pre-selected assets. It is automatically invested. Fund selection.
Since it’s important to save for other goals besides retirement, setting up automatic withdrawals from your checking account to a savings or investment account is a smart choice. The first step is to decide how much of each money you want to save based on your cash flow and set up monthly or quarterly transfers. Once you set it up, it’s out of sight, out of mind, and your savings increase.
It starts and ends with knowing where your money goes. It’s incredible how people’s behavior changes once they know the truth.
barry glassman
Founder and President of Glassman Wealth Services
2. Control overspending:
The first step to managing excessive spending is to identify your spending weaknesses. These include home furnishings, electronics, clothing, travel, jewelry, and more. Then write down how much you spent on the category in question. A good way to find this number is to look at your year-end credit card statement. Then write down a number that is 20-30% less than what you spent in 2024 and make that your new budget and goal for 2025. Track your monthly expenses in a spreadsheet or app and keep your spending goals in mind.
3. Stay invested regardless of the news in the headlines.
If the end of 2024 is any indication, 2025 is likely to be a tumultuous year for the stock market. There’s a lot to worry about, including a new presidential administration, a global war, inflation, and uncertainty surrounding interest rate forecasts. But decades of history have shown us that markets rise over long periods of time, and the wisest thing a long-term investor can do is stay invested.
