New Year’s resolutions are hard to keep
What’s your New Year’s resolution? We all make them, but unfortunately, they rarely stick. The second Friday in January is even known as “Quitter’s Day.” According to Drive Research, 23% of adults give up on their New Year’s goals by the end of the first week of January.
If you’re reading this article, you resolve to declutter, get organized, and save money. Here are three ways to start your New Year’s resolution and keep it for the entire year.
Digital Declutter
Subscriptions, streaming services, and recurring payments can sneak up on you if not monitored carefully. Every January, we do a deep dive into our budget and audit monthly subscriptions to ensure we’re using them enough to justify the cost. Create a note in your phone to keep track of them. Check that family members are not unknowingly paying for a subscription that could be shared. Consider experimenting for a few months without certain streaming services to see if you miss them. We add and subtract services throughout the year to save money and be more intentional with the time we spend watching television. Fewer streaming options encourages other activities and creates immediate monthly savings you can realize the entire year.
Create A Designated Home For Important Items
According to The Daily Mail, the average person loses up to 9 items per day. Phones, keys, sunglasses, and paperwork top the list. As you declutter your home, create a designated location to store important items such as paperwork, chargers, office supplies, batteries, tools, medicine, etc. Share these locations with family members and label the spaces. Households waste money because of “I can’t find it so I’ll buy another one” syndrome. This leads to more clutter and unnecessary duplicates that are lost again. When everything has a home and is easy to find, you’re organized and save money.
Shopping Moratorium
I have found that the first step to getting organized is to stop shopping. When you stop the inflow of stuff, you can focus on decluttering and organizing spaces in your home. And an organized home can become your best financial advisor. When your spaces are organized and have margin, you’re aware of what you own and less likely to make impulse purchases.
Adopting a shopping moratorium for three to six months will reduce your spending. It eliminates stress-shopping and overbuying because an item is on sale. Keep track of all the items you considered buying (but did not buy) during these months and add up the savings of not shopping.
Making long-term habit changes isn’t about grand New Year’s resolutions but about taking small, actionable steps that stick. Whether you start by eliminating subscriptions, finding the perfect spot for your keys, or giving your credit cards a break with a shopping pause, you’re on your way to both an organized home and healthier finances. When you reduce the volume of stuff you own, spaces have a way of organizing themselves. This includes your finances.
Start today and act on just one of these tips to kick off your New Year’s resolution that will last well beyond January. Here’s to a more organized and mindful spending year ahead.