6 Financial Goals You Can Actually Stick To

Let's face it: you've probably already fallen off track with your New Year's resolutions. Whether you wanted to practice for a marathon, find ways to be more productive, or eat healthier, you may have found that some goals are easier to keep than others.

If any of your goals involve finances, you're in the right place (and even if they weren't, we're glad you're here). Even though it's already February, it's not too late to set realistic financial goals and build money habits to create a more stable financial future.

Below is a handy list of simple, achievable steps to help you work toward a healthier wallet by the end of the year.

• Build an emergency fund – One of the first keys to financial comfort is to have a cash cushion built for unexpected expenses. Aim to save three to six months of monthly expenses to ease the budget burden in the event of car troubles, job loss, medical bills, or last-minute money needs. Even $10 per paycheck will add up over time.
• Double-check retirement contributions – Make sure you are taking advantage of your employer-sponsored plans and meeting the minimum contribution required to earn a match. Small changes now will pay huge dividends later.
• Automate your savings – This one goes hand-in-hand with each of the last two bullet points. Make saving money easier to remember by turning on recurring/automatic transfers so you don't have to remember to do it at all. 
• Track your spending for just one month – No matter how hard we try, it's tough to stick to a resolution for a whole year. Instead, try and commit to just one month of tracking your spending. You can easily discover opportunities to save (that's how this can turn into a year-long resolution). Our financial management tools in our App and budget calculator can do this work for you.
• Tackle high-interest debt strategically – Do a check of where you owe money. Make sure you know which balances cost you the most and plan to pay them more efficiently.
• Pick one money goal and start there – If it feels burdensome to consider all of these, that's OK. Just picking one and focusing on it for a full year will go a long way toward financial prosperity.