New fiscal year 2022 resolutions Americans are trying to achieve

If you’re looking to ramp up your savings in the New Year, it pays to start small — even if you’re only transferring $10 a week into your savings account. Starting small helps you build muscle in order to save. This way, when you receive salary increases, bonuses, and gift money, you’re already in the habit of saving, and you’re more likely to transfer that money to your savings account.

You may also want to consider automating this process rather than simply transferring money manually into your savings. Relying on manual transfers leaves plenty of room for procrastination — and before we know it, we’ve spent the money we intended to save. But when you set up automatic transfers to your savings account, you eliminate the need to make that decision entirely. You can usually schedule automatic transfers through your bank’s mobile app.

Finally, if you want to see your savings grow a little faster, you can choose a high-yield savings account instead of a traditional savings account. High-yield savings accounts – like Marcus by Goldman Sachs or Ally Online – pay you more interest each month than traditional savings accounts. You certainly won’t be earning hundreds of dollars in interest every month (unless you have a file Many of cash savings), but the extra money you earn can help you reach your goals a little faster.

While there are many ways to strategically use credit cards, personal loans, and other forms of debt to earn rewards, fund a major purchase and ultimately build your wealth, debt is still a financial and emotional burden for many borrowers. For example, those with student loan debt often cite that their high monthly payments make it difficult for them to save for other goals, such as owning a home.

One popular strategy for paying off debt is called the snowball method. It entails paying more for your debt with less balance while paying only the minimum on all your other debts. Once that debt is paid off, you can move to the second lowest balance and repeat the process until you are debt-free. This allows you to pay off one debt faster, which can leave you feeling accomplished and more motivated to continue tackling other debts.

You can also consider using a balance transfer card to transfer high-interest credit card debt to a card that offers an interest-free period. Thanks to the 0% APR period, 100% of your payments will go to your balance instead of an interest fee increase, which can help you get out of debt a little faster. The 0% annual percentage period will vary depending on the credit card, but a good option is the Citi Simplicity® card, which offers an upfront 0% annual percentage rate on balance transfers for 21 months from the first transfer date (afterwards, a variable annual percentage rate 15.49% to 25.49%; all transfers must be completed in the first 4 months after account opening).

Another good option is Chase Freedom Flex℠, which offers 0% Advance APR for balance transfers for the first 15 months of account opening, then a variable APR of 15.74% to 24.49% thereafter. One thing to note is that there is an introductory fee of $5 or 3% of each transfer amount on transfers made within 60 days of account opening. After that, either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.

Make sure you have a plan to pay off the balance before the interest-free period expires, so you can avoid being exposed to high interest fees.

Reducing your monthly expenses can save you some cash that you can redirect toward goals or other financial items you already love.

If you want to spend less next year, an important first step is to look at where your money is currently going. You can do this by reviewing your bank statements and making a note of your various expenses over the past few months. Or you can use a budgeting app like Mint or Personal Capital, which connects to your bank accounts and credit cards and automatically sorts your transactions for you. Doing so helps you get a better understanding of where you’re spending the most money. You can use this as a starting point for deciding whether or not you want to conserve your spending or spend less in those areas.

One area where people tend to cut back on spending first is subscriptions. This could mean an unused gym membership, streaming platforms that aren’t used often, subscription boxes that aren’t sexy anymore and more. You might be surprised how much money you spend on subscriptions that are not used enough.

In some circumstances, you may decide to take tougher measures to spend less money. This could mean moving to a city with a lower cost of living or getting a roommate to save on rent. Of course, these decisions will depend on your circumstances and what makes the most sense for you and your goals.

As we head into the new year, saving more money, spending less, and paying down debt are all at the top of many Americans’ concerns. There are many ways to achieve these goals, but the most important step is to think about what is right for your personal circumstances. This will help set you up for success when working towards these goals.