New Year’s Resolutions That Can Save You Money

Your big goal for this year is to put more money in the bank. You can really boost your savings in the next twelve months when you commit to one of these three New Year’s resolutions. 

1. Make an Emergency Fund

Setting up an emergency fund doesn’t sound like an exciting or bold decision, but you should definitely make it one of your resolutions for the year. It’s one of those decisions that you won’t be thankful that you made until something goes wrong. Then you’ll be relieved that you went through with it. 

How do you build an emergency fund? Start by looking at your monthly budget to see what you can afford to set aside every month for the fund. Put that money into a separate savings account. Repeat this step every month. Whatever you do, don’t take money out of the fund. Leave it for emergencies. 

What if there’s an emergency and you’ve just started the fund? If you don’t have enough savings to handle a small emergency, you can apply for online loans in Michigan in an effort to cover the costs in a short amount of time. Applying for a line of credit loan could come in handy. If your application is approved and your account is in good standing, you can request a withdrawal and have the amount deposited in your bank account. Then, you can use those funds to manage the problem and move on. 

2. Quit Smoking

Quitting smoking is often touted as a New Year’s resolution for anyone who wants to improve their health — not for anyone who wants to improve their savings account. The truth is that the resolution can do both! 

Think of how much you spend on a pack of cigarettes every week. If you quit, all of that money is going right back in your pocket. See this story of a man who saved almost $2000 after breaking his pack-a-day smoking habit in only ten months. That’s a ton of money. 

Just don’t throw out the pack sitting in your pocket and go cold turkey. You’re more likely to succeed when you read tips for quitting smoking and make a realistic action plan. 

3. Quitting Drinking

Every year, people take up Dry January to put off drinking for the month and get a healthy start to the New Year. But what if you extended your dry month into a year? That could do wonders for your health and your bank account. You could save money on drinks, tips, food, taxi/rideshare trips and other expenses that often come with binge drinking.

How can you quit? It depends on your drinking habits. If you’re heavily dependent on alcohol, you should talk to a professional counselor about how to quit safely. If you’re not heavily dependent, then here are some simple tips that you can follow:

• Look up great mocktail recipes that you can make at home. Finding replacements that you’re excited to drink will make it less tempting to stray from your goals.
• Use sobriety apps to track the days that you’ve gone without drinking. Or you could count the days on your wall calendar.
• Tell your friends about your resolution. They can be your support system. This will also stop them from accidentally peer pressuring you to drink. 

You could finish this year with a lot more money in the bank than you started with. All you have to do is follow one of these resolutions. Or why not all three of them?