New Year's financial resolutions to make now

A new year comes with many Americans setting new financial goals. For 2023, you might be looking to accomplish things like saving money, building wealth, and living more comfortably.

To get there, you can make New Year's financial resolutions that can free up your budget, reduce risk, and strengthen your overall financial well-being.

4 New Year's financial resolutions to make now

What do these financial resolutions look like? Some of the top ones to make often include the following:

Reduce debt

A good place to start with New Year's financial resolutions is seeing how you can reduce any debts you may have. Whether you accumulated credit card debt during the holidays, took out a personal loan, have high student loan balances, etc., you could potentially be better off by paying these debts back faster and/or reducing interest payments.

For example, if you have balances on several credit cards with high annual percentage rates (APRs), you might benefit from opening a balance transfer credit card. These are generally still regular credit cards, they just have attractive balance transfer offers, such as having no interest for a year.

In that case, if you transfer your credit card debt from the high APR cards to the no-interest balance transfer one, you could lower your payments and clear your debt faster.

Similarly, you might find that a debt consolidation loan helps you combine other existing debts into a more favorable loan. Doing so can help you reduce debt while ultimately saving money that otherwise would have gone toward interest payments.

See how much you can save with a debt consolidation loan now by answering a few simple questions. 

Improve your credit score

Another New Year's financial resolution you might make is to improve your credit score. Doing so can open up more opportunities for you, such as getting approved for mortgages, car loans, or credit cards.

Generally, the higher your credit score, the lower your interest rates will be on loans you qualify for, and you might be able to obtain more exclusive credit cards.

Credit monitoring services can help you stay on top of your credit score and figure out ways to raise that number, such as by lowering your credit utilization rate.

That could then involve opening up a new credit card with a high credit limit. If you can do so without increasing your spending, you can then utilize a lower proportion of your available credit to perhaps improve your credit score.

Start by getting a free credit report now so you know exactly what you need to repair.

Review insurance coverage

If you want to save money in 2023, you might set a New Year's resolution to closely review your insurance policies and assess areas where you lack coverage.

Doing so might help you save money in the short term, like if you find discounts for bundling different policies with the same insurance provider or if you qualify for lower premiums if you have things like a security system in place.

Reviewing insurance can also help you save money in the long term, even if it means increasing your upfront costs. For example, pet insurance could help you avoid costly vet bills down the road, though you'll have to budget for monthly or annual premiums meanwhile.

Also, looking into policies for life insurance could be a good financial move, not necessarily for saving money upfront, but for passing money on to heirs down the road.

There are many areas of insurance to consider, and coverage can be important for your financial security. So, it can help to make reviewing insurance a full New Year's resolution, rather than thinking of it as a quick chore.

Start by getting a free life insurance quote online now. 

Make home repairs/improvements

Lastly, a good New Year's financial resolution can be to make home repairs/improvements. While this can mean putting money into your home now, it can save you money down the road and/or increase your home's resale value, which could help your long-term finances.

For example, taking care of things like pest control can help you avoid bigger problems down the road, like infestations growing to the point where pests end up chewing through electrical wiring.

Other options, like adding a home warranty plan, also might not seem like much of an improvement, but it can help you maintain your home and avoid costlier issues down the road.

For example, a home warranty plan might include services like seasonal HVAC checkups. If you can spot an issue before it gets worse, you might be able to avoid hassles like your AC breaking in the middle of summer. And even if a system does break, you might be able to limit what you pay out of pocket for repairs or replacements.

Enter your ZIP code here to easily see what kind of home warranties you qualify for.

The bottom line

Making these types of financial resolutions can help you position yourself for a more enjoyable 2023 and beyond. Whether you want to save money now or reduce the risk of large expenses in the future, you can build financial security by setting these types of goals.