It’s the time of year where optimism is running high. We don’t need to be the person we were last year, we can be a shiny new version of ourselves, who is good with money and on track in every corner of our finances. Sadly, our positive outlook doesn’t always last, but with 63% of people making financial resolutions this year, it’s a chance to turn things around.
The key is to make the right resolutions, so here are a few tips to help you make the most of your money in 2026.
The problems that you know about already will spring to mind first.
Research by Hargreaves Lansdown revealed that renters, for example, are the most likely to say they want to spend less – and 23% of them said this was one of their resolutions for 2026. We know rental incomes are more stretched than any others, and on average they have £39 left at the end of the month, so it’s easy to see why they want to cut back.
However, they also struggle in all sorts of areas of their finances. So, for example, fewer than a third are on track with their pension. However, only 11% of them say they want to boost their pension this year.
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It shows that your first resolution should always be to get a better picture of your overall finances – including using a pensions calculator to see whether you’re on track for retirement.
It’s only when you have a full picture that you can see what you need to prioritise.
Drawing up a budget is boring, and it may not feel like you’re achieving anything, but, like digging the foundations of a building, if you want to build something robust you can’t skip this step.
Make a list of everything coming in and everything you’re spending. Your current account app and the apps of the companies you pay bills to will have the details you need, and a budgeting app makes it easy to plug all the details in.
From there, consider where you can cut back to free up a chunk of money every month to fund your resolutions.
Younger people, aged 18-34, are particularly likely to fall into this trap. The research showed that 40% wanted to save more, 22% to get on top of their finances, 21% to spend less, 19% to pay more into investments, 19% to start investing, 15% to pay off debts and 14% to put more into their pension.
Given that at the start of your career, money tends to be tighter anyway, there’s a real risk that by trying to do so much, you might fall short on all fronts.
It helps to set yourself one realistic goal at a time.