We’re approaching that time of year when we’re all looking forward to a clean slate, a new year, and an opportunity to finally get our act together via some serious, can’t-fail New Year’s Resolutions. For a lot of us, that means a suite of resolutions about money designed to set our financial ship right. And while the most obvious financial resolutions—such as make a budget, save more, pay down debt— are all good ideas, there are also a slew of less obvious financial resolutions you might not have considered trying.
These overlooked financial resolutions aren’t the first things you’ll think of, but each one can have a real, measurable impact on your financial health in a variety of ways. So when you’re revising the latest version of your financial resolutions this year, consider adding some of these to your list for maximum impact.
Maintaining your property
If you own a property and you don’t have a comprehensive maintenance plan, you’re setting yourself up for financial struggles in the form of large future expenses. Deferred home maintenance has a measurable cost, and dealing with maintenance and repair issues incrementally is a lot more manageable than dealing with annual emergencies like a roof replacement or replacing rotten siding, both of which have price tags in the tens of thousands of dollars. Resolving to maintain your property properly will have a positive effect on your finances.
Audit your subscriptions
It’s so easy to sign up for services and then just forget all about them—and those zombie subscriptions can cost you a lot of money over time. So make a resolution to audit those subscriptions and be thoughtful about which ones are useful and which ones could be canceled. There are tools that can help you review those expenditures, but the key is to make the resolution in the first place. This resolution could also help other financial resolutions because it frees up money that could go to building an emergency fund, lowering your debt, or increasing your savings.
Reviewing insurance coverage
A lot of us buy insurance when we have to and then forget about it, paying the premiums and not thinking about it until we need to make a claim. But you should resolve to review all of your insurance coverage this year—check to see if you could be paying lower premiums (either by switching insurers or correcting information on your CLUE report), and that you have the correct amount of coverage for every aspect of your life (consulting with an insurance professional can help if you’re not sure how to figure out proper coverage levels). You should also check that your beneficiaries don’t need to be updated, and that you’re not paying for riders or additional insurance you no longer need.
Grapple with inflation
These days, we’re all painfully aware of inflation and its impact on our lives. And yet we tend to regard it as a force beyond our control. This year, resolve to take inflation into consideration—increase your savings and earnings goals by an inflation-adjusted amount. Keeping track of the inflation rate gives you a clue as to how much more expensive stuff will be (or how much less your money will buy) so you can prioritize needs versus wants. This is crucial information that you can incorporate into your decision-making instead of being blindsided when your grocery budget suddenly seems to explode.
Understand the value of your time
Here’s a resolution for you: Value your time. Literally. When you go to work, you’re selling your time, not just your skills or experience. Your skills or experience add value to your time, but time is what you’re ultimately selling. That means your time has an hourly rate attached to it whether you realize it or not. Take a moment to figure out what that rate is (if you’re not paid by the hour, start with your annual salary and divide by 2,080 to get a very rough idea).
Now you can think about every single thing you do in terms of the cost of your time relative to the rest of your life. If you normally get paid $25 an hour to do work, that number will help you figure out whether you‘re using your time wisely, or if someone is taking advantage of you. Feel free to give yourself a raise if you’re pretty sure you’re underpaid at your job—but also resolve to get a new job if that’s the case.
Clean up old assets
This year, resolve to do a thorough check for assets you might have forgotten. Doing a check for unclaimed property doesn’t take long, and might remind you of an old account that you’ve forgotten. And if you have a bunch of old 401(k) accounts left behind at old jobs, this is the year to resolve to get that mess cleaned up.
Even if the amounts in those accounts are small, it’s worth it to claim them and roll them over for a number of reasons: Combined, the money might be more than you realize, and leaving those accounts under the control of an employer you’re no longer with isn’t a recipe for financial success. Plus, you’re leaving money on the table. In a time when 28% of the country has zero saved for retirement, you might need every penny of that money.
