Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - Master Your Financial New Year’s Resolutions

Episode Date: January 3, 2022

Happy 2022, Money Rehabbers! In this episode, Nicole shares tips for making your New Year’s Resolutions count. Here’s to a new year, new me (and you!), and a new (and improved!) financial life! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Well, it doesn't. Charge for wasting our time. I will take a check. Like an old school check. You recognize her from anchoring on CNN, CNBC, and Bloomberg. The only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand. Nicole Lappin. Happy, happy, happy, happy, happy New Year, money rehabbers.

I don't want to sound like a broken record here, but it bears repeating. I do love the beginning of a new year. With so many of us motivated by the idea of a fresh start, it's a perfect opportunity to revisit and reset financial goals. So let's make the most of this motivation, shall we? Here are the three things you should do to get yourself set up for success in 2022. Number one, set realistic resolutions. If you're one of those people who get super excited by New Year's resolutions, that is freaking awesome. I commend you. But one of the most common issues with setting resolutions is making a promise to yourself that is too hard,

if not impossible, to keep. For example, you may say you want to contribute $24,000 to your retirement fund in 2022. That sounds like a great plan, but do you have $24,000 to spare? Is that realistic with your spending plan? Experts say that a common issue with New Year's resolutions is that folks make big goals that are a tad too big, out of reach, and become disheartened as soon as that goal seems to be, well, unreachable, and may give up on the resolution and even the goal altogether. Don't be that statistic. It is not cute. But at the same time, don't set a resolution that's too vague. Something like, get serious about saving for retirement doesn't work either. Instead, come up with a set number that's reasonable for your spending plan. Or if your

spending plan is a bit up in the air because of some questions around how much you'll be making in the new year, try to set goals that are concrete but not based on money, like making a will, starting a Roth IRA, or opening a brokerage account. Number two, go through your bank statements. I know that you want your new year's vibes to be glamorous and glitter covered and champagneaked. And sitting down and going through your bank statements doesn't really fit that glitzy vision. But hey, we check our bank statements so that we can enjoy the celebratory moments. So we cannot feel guilty when we buy the champagne, right? So go through your bank statements, and when you do, pay special attention

to subscriptions. Maybe you subscribed to something that started as a free trial and then you forgot to cancel, so now you're spending $9.99 a month on something you don't need. Maybe you have a subscription for a service that you're not going to use in the new year. Maybe you have an annual subscription that's about to renew that you can catch before the deadline. These are the sneaky costs that are playing hide and go seek in your bank statements. So find them and don't let them ride on your coattails in 2022. Number three, automate your year. Here's the great news about our time. If

you want to set yourself up for the year, you don't need to work at it every single day. You can set up an automated deposit today that will last throughout the year and beyond. You could set up an automated sub-savings account to fund a financial project or goal. You could automate a deposit from your paycheck to go directly to your retirement account or an index fund investment. retirement account or an index fund investment. Isn't that great news? You can take one afternoon and set yourself on financial track for the whole year. Set it and forget it, as we say in the biz. So why wouldn't you do it? For today's tip, you can take straight to the bank. When you look to the future and your new year, new you self, don't lose track of who you are and where you're at now. I do see it happen. People make financial goals for themselves with

blinders on. If you're rehabbing a particular financial issue, you should make that a part of your 2022 goals. If you have $30,000 in debt, but you make your resolution to buy a $30,000 boat, that doesn't really add up, does it? And listen, that doesn't mean you can't dream big or make fun financial goals for yourself. You can and you should. In fact, I believe that you can and will meet your goals so long as you're real with yourself. So let's make 2022 the year we get it together and get it all, shall we? Money Rehab is a production of iHeartRadio. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin.

Our producers are Morgan Lavoie and Mike Coscarelli. Executive producers are Nikki Etor and Will Pearson. Our mascots are Penny and Mimsy. Huge thanks to OG Money Rehab team, Michelle Lanz for her development work, Catherine Law for her production and writing magic, and Brandon Dickert for his editing, engineering, and sound design.

And as always, thanks to you for finally investing in yourself so that you can get it together and get it all.