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\n Nanci Santos \/ iStock.com <\/p>\n
Commitment to Our Readers<\/p>\n
GOBankingRates’ editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services – our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines<\/a> and our products and services review methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n 20 Years Trusted by Younger adults are more likely to make New Year\u2019s resolutions, according to the Pew Research Center<\/a>, but that doesn\u2019t mean retirees should sit them out. Retirement is one of the best times to revisit long-term money habits, reset priorities and create a plan that supports the retirement lifestyle<\/a> you want.<\/p>\n To help, here are top financial New Year\u2019s resolutions<\/a> money experts say actually work for retirees.\u00a0<\/p>\n Budget Realistically<\/p>\n \u201cThe key with money resolutions is to budget<\/a> and budget realistically,\u201d said Robert R. Johnson, Ph.D., chartered financial analyst (CFA), chartered alternative investment analyst (CAIA) and professor of finance at Creighton University<\/a>. \u201cSpecifically, one should not simply budget and track expenses, but one should budget for savings.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Johnson, if you want to make savings a priority, it shouldn\u2019t be what\u2019s left over. \u201cIt should be a line item on your budget. You don\u2019t successfully build wealth<\/a> by simply taking what you have left after all your expenses,\u201d he said. \u201cWe accomplish what we prioritize. Prioritize savings<\/a> and invest those savings.\u201d<\/p>\n But don\u2019t forget to take your personal preferences and values into account. Johnson noted that you shouldn\u2019t feel guilty about spending money that others might consider frivolous.<\/p>\n \u201cFor example, that daily latte purchase may bring you a great deal of happiness \u2014 what economists refer to as utility,\u201d he added. \u201cThe key is to budget in order to maximize one\u2019s own unique preferences and not those of others. One certainly shouldn\u2019t cut out those things that truly bring us happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n Cut Out One Vice<\/p>\n A financial resolution Echo Wang, founder of bookkeeping services firm EpicBooks<\/a>, likes to encourage retirees to do is to cut out one vice. Not because it\u2019s bad, but because it opens up money.<\/p>\n \u201cI say that because it\u2019s money<\/a> you don\u2019t have to work for, budget or hustle for. You just stop leaking it,\u201d Wang explained.<\/p>\n While these small habits may feel harmless, they can add up. \u201cA pack here,\u2002a drink there, wandering around the shops when bored,\u201d Wang said. \u201cBut when you add it up, it is one of the easiest ways to provide your finances some much-needed breathing room.\u201d<\/p>\n Wang also mentioned that there\u2019s no need to quit everything. \u201cJust pick one vice. The thing that feels easiest to dial down by like 20% to 30%. That little change tends to free up more money than any strict\u2002budgeting rule,\u201d she explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n Once you do that, you can transfer the saved amount to another account when it comes in. \u201cThe quicker the money leaves the pool of daily spending, the faster they see the difference,\u201d Wang said. \u201cAnd retirees like wins they can actually see.\u201d<\/p>\n Get Your Financial Estate in Order<\/p>\n Delaney Haley, head of customer experience at estate settlement platform Alix<\/a>, with over two decades of experience in estate settlement, recommended making 2026 the year you get your documents and financial estate in order and up to date.<\/p>\n \u201cGetting your financial paperwork in order can be a daunting task, which is why many people continue to push it off year after year,\u201d Haley explained. \u201cDon\u2019t let another year go by without taking care of this important to-do.\u201d<\/p>\n Haley suggested starting with a simple inventory. Gather the basics, including your will, bank and retirement account<\/a> statements, mortgage information<\/a>, debts, home deeds and car titles. \u201cIt\u2019s not unusual that we uncover assets that people didn\u2019t know their relatives had \u2014 like an old retirement account from a previous employer,\u201d she said. \u201cIn the hustle and bustle of daily life, it can be easy to forget to roll that account over or actually move your assets into the trust you\u2019ve set up.\u201d<\/p>\n Once everything is collected, review what needs updating and make both physical and digital copies. Store them somewhere secure and be sure a trusted person knows where to find them.<\/p>\n Stop Waiting To Have Important Financial Discussions With Family<\/p>\n Haley also suggested having the important financial discussions with family now and not putting it off until later.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhile virtually every family agrees that talking about estate planning is important, less than half are actually having those conversations,\u201d Haley explained. \u201cNo one wants to think about or discuss the end of their life, but it\u2019s not something that can wait.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Haley, the process of settling even a simple estate can take as much as two years and close to 1,000 hours of work. \u201cThat\u2019s not something you want to leave your family to manage without a plan in place,\u201d she added. \u201cHaving a will or trust in place is a great first step, but it\u2019s also important that your family knows where the will or estate planning documents are, who the estate\u2019s executor will be, who your financial planner is, etcetera.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nanci Santos \/ iStock.com Commitment to Our Readers GOBankingRates’ editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":172535,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[138,246,3319,111,139,69,244,245,660,294],"class_list":{"0":"post-172534","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-finance","10":"tag-gobankingrates","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz","14":"tag-personal-finance","15":"tag-personalfinance","16":"tag-planning","17":"tag-retirement"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172534\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.gobankingrates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/icon-20.svg?webp=1&quality=75\"){kind=icon}
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