Get a free, no obligation personal loan quote with rates as low as 6.99%
Get Started You can apply with no effect to your credit score

New Year’s Resolutions, we love to make them, but when that clock strikes midnight on the 31st, we love to hate them even more. There’s almost nothing more satisfying than accomplishing a goal, especially when it comes to your finances. But, there’s also almost nothing more difficult than getting it together when it comes to your finances. So this year when you start to think about what financial resolutions you’re going to set, here’s what we suggest you do: Instead of cutting something out completely or at all, resolve to instead add new and better habits into your life.

Want to Spend Less Money? Decide to Save More Instead.

Instead of setting the goal to never spend any money ever again, decide to save more. Cutting back is hard and no fun, which can often lead you to simply give up. But on the other hand, increasing your savings is a slightly less restrictive goal and therefore you may be more likely to stick with it.

How to Save More

People often deal with expenses and bills at the beginning of each month and then at the end of the month, save whatever money they have left over. The problem with this method is that, more often than not, there is little to no money left over at the end of the month to save. So instead, make saving your number one priority. Set up an automatic transfer from your chequing account to your saving account. Depending on how you’re paid, transfers a set amount weekly, semi-weekly, or monthly. This way you’ll be able to save a significant amount of each paycheque without even needing to think about it.

Bonus

Transferring your money into a savings account before you have the chance to spend it means you’ll not only be saving more you’ll actually be spending less too.

Check out our Essential Guide for Saving, here.

Think Creating a Budget is a Good Idea? Try Tracking Your Spending Instead.

If you’re looking to put yourself on a budget, but don’t actually want to take the time to create a budget or know that you’ll never be able to stick to the strict guidelines that come with budgets, try tracking your spending instead.

How to Track Your Spending

There is no right or wrong way to track your spending, just keep in mind that the number one thing you need to make sure you’re doing is keeping track of every dollar you spend, within a specific period of time. We suggest that you track your expenses on a monthly basis.

You’ll need to create a list of all your bills, for example, rent or mortgage payments, utilities, cable or satellite etc. You should also get in the habit of saving all your receipts and storing them all together. Finally, at the end of the month, you should create a list or spreadsheet to compile all of your transactions for that month. You can organize this however you like, create categories or simply list everything out.

Bonus

By tracking your spending for a couple months or even the whole year, you’ll be one step closer to having a budget. This means if you ever do decide to create a budget you won’t have as much work to do.

Want to be Debt Free? Create a Plan to Consistently Pay Down Your Balances.

Being debt free is probably one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions out there. Carrying around debt is no fun, therefore it’s no wonder why being debt free is such a popular goal. Here’s the thing, we definitely don’t think that you should look at being debt free as an unattainable resolution, we think it’s one of the best resolutions you can set for yourself. But, we do think you need to look at this resolution from a very specific angle.

Looking for debt repayment motivation? Check this out.

How to be Debt Free

It’s really easy to tell yourself you’re going to change your financial habits (or any habit you might consider to be a bad one) in the future. The real problem is when the future becomes the present and you haven’t figured out how to be debt free yet. First things first, you need to look at becoming debt free as a journey, it’s not going to happen overnight and it’s not going to happen without a plan and some hard work. For example, let’s say you have a couple of credit cards that all have balances on them. You always make the minimum payments on time and sometimes you’re even able to contribute a bit more. But you still use those credit cards and the interest is accumulating fast. First, stop using all of your credit cards. Figure out the interest rates for all of them, you’ll want to pay off the balance of the card that’s costing you the most first. Now you need to determine how to make large and consistent payments every single month. This is your key to paying down debt, consistency.

Bonus

Besides actually being on the right track toward a debt free future, you’re getting a firsthand look at just how difficult it is to pay down debt. We’re hoping this will be a very valuable lesson for you and prevent you from racking up too much unnecessary debt in the future.

Caitlin Wood, BA avatar on Loans Canada
Caitlin Wood, BA

Caitlin Wood is the Editor-in-Chief at Loans Canada and specializes in personal finance. She is a graduate of Dawson College and Concordia University and has been working in the personal finance industry for over eight years. Caitlin has covered various subjects such as debt, credit, and loans. Her work has been published on Zoocasa, GoDaddy, and deBanked. She believes that education and knowledge are the two most important factors in the creation of healthy financial habits. She also believes that openly discussing money and credit, and the responsibilities that come with them can lead to better decisions and a greater sense of financial security.

More From This Author

Special Offers

More From Our Experts

https://loanscanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GlobeMailTopCompanies2023-1.png
Loans Canada places No. 228 on The Globe and Mail’s fifth-annual ranking of Canada’s Top Growing Companies.

By Caitlin Wood, BA
Published on September 29, 2023

Loans Canada is excited to announce it has made it onto the Globe and Mail’s Top Growing Companies list for the second year in a row.

https://loanscanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Finder-Awards.png
Finder Awards Finalists: Personal Loans Customer Satisfaction Awards 2023

By Priyanka Correia, BComm

Loans Canada is happy to announce it received the finalist award in the Best Personal Loan Search Platform category.

https://loanscanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/caution-1.jpg
Beware of Fraudulent Lenders Impersonating Loans Canada

By Caitlin Wood, BA

A note to our clients about fraudulent lending practices and illegal upfront fees.

https://loanscanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/How-To-Pay-Your-Taxes-With-A-Credit-Card-Through.png
How To Pay Your Income Taxes With A Credit Card

By Lisa Rennie

If you’d like to pay your taxes using a credit card, you’ll need to use a third-party service provider like Plastiq or PaySimply.

https://loanscanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Climate-Action-Incentive-CAI-1.png
What Is The Canada Carbon Rebate (CCR)?

By Bryan Daly

The Climate Action Incentive Payment (CAIP), or Carbon Tax Rebate, is quarterly benefit paid to eligible Canadians in

https://loanscanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Canada-Workers-Benefit-CWB.png
Can You Claim The Canada Workers Benefit (CWB) In 2024?

By Bryan Daly

The Canada Workers Benefit is a refundable tax credit for individuals earning a low taxable income of $3,000 - $24,112.

https://loanscanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Student-Tax-Credits-and-Deductions.png
Student Tax Credits In Canada

By Chrissy Kapralos

Similar to how there are specific tax credits and deductions for businesses, seniors, and parents, there are student tax credits in Canada.

https://loanscanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Pay-Less-Taxes-Canada.png
How To Pay Fewer Taxes In Canada

By Bryan Daly

People are always trying to figure out how to save money on taxes in Canada. We present the best ways to legally pay less tax in Canada.

Recognized As One Of Canada's Top Growing Companies

Loans Canada, the country's original loan comparison platform, is proud to be recognized as one of Canada's fastest growing companies by The Globe and Mail!

Read More

Why choose Loans Canada?

Apply Once &
Get Multiple Offers
Save Time
And Money
Get Your Free
Credit Score
Free
Service
Expert Tips
And Advice
Exclusive
Offers

Build Credit For Just $10/Month

With KOHO's prepaid card you can build a better credit score for just $10/month.

Koho Prepaid Credit Card