20 New Year’s Resolutions to Fatten Your Wallet in 2023

It’s almost that time of year again, and apparently, finances are one of the top five areas that Americans focus on when setting New Year’s Resolutions. “Get richer” or “improve finances” may be perfectly reasonable resolutions to make, but aren’t that specific. If you really want to focus on better finances in 2023, consider resolving to do one or more of the following.

1. Spend Less

Perhaps the simplest resolution, but not necessarily the easiest. If this is your aim, you might want to start with an annual spending review so you can see where you’re overspending and where you could most easily cut back.

2. Earn More

You’re probably thinking, “if only it were that easy,” but sometimes earning more is actually an easier option than spending less. If you’ve already cut spending, and don’t have much else to do in that area, then it might be better to resolve to earn more, whether that involves going for a pay raise or promotion at your regular job or adding some extra income streams.

3. Upgrade Your Career

Whether you want to retrain for a whole new (better-paying) career or simply upskill, so you’re a more valuable worker, now’s a good time to do it. Highly skilled workers can charge more for their services as freelancers or contract workers or feel more confident asking for those raises or chasing those promotions.

4. Try a No-Spend Month

Or a no-spend year if you really want to commit. But for most of us, just one month of cutting out all discretionary spending and buying only essentials and “depletables” is enough. Sometimes, it’s also just what we need to make us rethink our spending priorities for the whole year.

5. Eliminate Debt

Making a plan to deal with debt is a good idea at any time of year, but right now, you’re thinking 12 months ahead. So maybe you could do more than just get a plan in place. Maybe you could implement it as well. Is it realistic to think that you could eliminate all debt this year? Or at least all your consumer debt? Your credit card debt? Or perhaps just one major debt? Set whichever resolution makes sense for you, but if it involves getting rid of debt and you keep it, you’ll feel better this time next year.

6. Consolidate Debt

There are pros and cons to debt consolidation, but for most people, you’ll end up with a lower monthly payment and often paying less overall. Talk to a credit counselor if you can about how to get those payments reduced in 2023.

7. Reduce Expenses

This sounds a little like “spend less,” but is subtly different. Most of us look at discretionary spending when we try to spend less and ignore essential expenses such as rent and bills. Some of those so-called fixed expenses aren’t quite as fixed as they seem though. Take a look at how things like changing utility providers, cell phone carriers, or insurance companies could save you money, and consider if this is the year you want to change your living conditions to save on big payments like your rent or mortgage.

8. Start a Side Hustle

Starting a side hustle isn’t an easy option, but it is a popular one. It can be online or off, simple or complex, and time-consuming or something you just do for a couple of hours a week. Those who love their side hustle tend to all give similar advice: base it around something you enjoy (and that you can make money at, of course). That way, it will feel less like ‘more work’ and more like a calling or hobby.

9. Create Passive Income

If this is your resolution, put aside some time early in the year because, as I’ve mentioned before, passive income tends to start off with an active phase. You’ll need to research the passive investment options, buy the real estate, or create products that will later generate passive income. If you do it right, however, the income should be truly passive by the end of the year.

10. Save Money

Interest rates are high, which is bad if you’re carrying consumer debt, but good if you can stash some money away in a savings account with a decent interest rate. Yes, investing is better than saving, but investments go up and down. Savings at least maintain their value if you need to access them unexpectedly.

11. Improve Your Credit Score

Many of us make this resolution, especially if we’re thinking ahead and hoping to do things like buying a property that requires a decent score. There are many ways to do this, so make sure you’re using as many of them as possible if this is a priority for you.

12. Organize Your Finances

Do you know where all your paperwork is? Do you even know where all your money is? Do you have old pensions or insurance policies floating about? Some of us are incredibly disorganized when it comes to finances, and to be honest, if that’s you, this should probably be your first resolution of the New Year. You can’t improve what you can’t even find. While you’re organizing, try to simplify things as much as possible too.

13. Set Some (Fun) Goals

I’m not talking about financial goal setting here so much as setting some goals you want to achieve this year that require money, so you’ll have an incentive to save for them. With some bank accounts, you can even set up ‘pots’ which allow you to save toward specific things and name them ‘vacation’, ‘theatre trips’, or “new puppy.” Just make sure that they’re fun goals. That’s where the motivation comes in.

14. Start a Financial Journal

Sometimes the first step to better finances is simply being more mindful about how you use money. I’ve written before about the Kakeibo journal, but any old notebook will work if you simply devise a system of recording, and reflecting on, your daily use of money (earning, spending, giving, saving, and investing).

15. Improve Your Financial Education

There are a lot of courses, books, articles, and video tutorials out there on everything from budgeting, to investing, to pretty much everything else personal finance related. Set aside regular time to upgrade your financial literacy and knowledge.

16. Invest More

Starting to invest, investing more, or investing wisely are common resolutions. You may also want to invest more ethically or sustainably. Any investment-based resolutions are great, but remember that this type of goal often starts with research, so start that now, in advance of the new year.

Find a financial advisor who can help you invest:

• Find a Local Financial Advisor
• Is a Specialist Financial Advisor Right for You?
• How Much Does a Financial Advisor Cost?

17. Sell at Least One High Value But Never Used Item

Whether it’s a gold watch or a power tool, if you never use it, it has no sentimental value, and it’s worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars, let it go. Someone else will use it, and you’ll actually feel good about it.

18. Find Some Extra Income Streams

These might be investments, new products you can add to your online store (if that’s your side hustle), or just unconventional ways to make money you haven’t previously dabbled in. Think laterally. Where are the untapped income streams in your business or daily life?

19. Spend Guilt-Free

You may not have expected to see this on the list, but this is a perfectly valid resolution for some people. If you always feel guilty about spending money, you may want to make this the year you set a budget with plenty of fun money in it and start to actually enjoy spending on yourself. Especially if you’re a caregiver of any kind (which is often what triggers guilt when you spend on yourself), you probably deserve it.

20. Find an Amazing Cause to Support

Personal finance is about what we give, as well as what we get and what we keep. It’s been a tough couple of years for many individuals and groups. A great New Year’s resolution is to find a worthy cause that’s close to your heart and support it all year round with financial donations, as well as with your time and skills if practical. That’s almost guaranteed to make 2023 worthwhile.

Karen Banes is a freelance writer specializing in entrepreneurship, parenting and lifestyle. She writes articles, website content, ebooks and the occasional award winning short story. Her work has appeared in a range of publications both online and off, including The Washington Post, Life Info Magazine, Transitions Abroad, Brave New Traveler, Natural Parenting Group, and Copia Magazine. Learn More About Karen