GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) -After a financially difficult 2025 marked by frozen SNAP benefits, growing grocery prices, and tariffs that raised the cost of most goods, many families are looking for ways to improve their financial situation heading into the new year.
Financial experts say creating a budget plan is the most important first step for families who may find themselves short on cash going into 2026.
“The most important thing, I think, is to make a plan. If you’re going out and you’re making purchases for holidays right now, it’s good to have an idea of what your budget looks like,” said Michele Raneri, Vice President and head of U.S. research and consulting at TransUnion. “I know that can be daunting, but everybody’s got in their mind what their normal payments are for a month. So you can start with that and think about how much more you’re spending on your credit card, and then think about if you are comfortable with that or if you want to pay it off in, say, three or six months, and then you might need to make some adjustments to be able to achieve that.”
Interest rates remain a concern for major purchases
For families planning major purchases in 2026, such as a house or new vehicle, financial consultants warn about interest rate costs that may not be included in initial budgets.
Credit scores directly impact interest rates, with better credit resulting in lower rates and better loan options.
Financial consultants say the credit forecast is projected to look good in 2026, with delinquency rates expected to remain stable.
“You have to look at the COVID credit cycle. And at the beginning, consumers got stimulus money, and a lot of them used it to pay down a lot of their credit. So delinquencies went down,” Raneri said. “But then, as they started to run out of that stimulus money, we saw delinquencies go the other way and an increase in those delinquencies. And now in 2025, we saw that kind of stabilization, but we didn’t know if it was a one-point in time or if it was going to be a trend. But now in 2026, we’re seeing it again, and we’re anticipating that it’s going to stay stable. So we think this is showing the end of the COVID credit cycle.”
Financial consultants recommend checking credit scores now for a baseline and spending six months improving credit before making major purchases to secure lower interest rates and better loan options.
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