Almost half of New Year's resolutions are abandoned in the first month. Make 4 adjustments to keep your money goals going strong in February. (2024)

With holiday spending in the rearview, it's easy to fall back into familiar habits. But the great thing about money goals is that you can see the impact pretty quickly, whether you're focused on cutting spending, increasing your savings, or paying down debt.

Here are 4 ways to keep those money resolutions in effect, even if you've already fallen off the bandwagon a bit:

1. Pay off your credit card in full every month

This is the no. 1 way to avoid debt and the high interest rates that come with it.

Paying off your credit card in full every month has so many benefits. Because credit card interest rates are so high right now, paying off your credit card in full each month means you avoid that charge altogether.

In addition to avoiding debt, paying your credit card in full each month helps control your spending, as you won't spend more than you can comfortably pay off if you stick with it. It can also positively impact your credit score since your credit utilization will be low.

2. Automate your payments and savings

Using autopay lets you set it and forget it, without the task of manually making payments. Put whatever payments and savings you can on autopilot so you don't have to think about each month.

Whatever your goal, automating your finances is a step in the right direction. If you want to prepare for retirement, setting up automatic contributions means you can max out your retirement plan rather than adding contributions whenever it occurs to you.

If you're paying off credit card debt, autopay lets you set up how much you can afford to pay towards that debt every month.

3. Adjust your budget

Your budget is a living, moving document and should be treated as such. This means updating it whenever necessary.

If a new expense comes into your life or goes out of it, your budget should reflect that change. New gym membership? It goes into the budget. New home expense? It goes into the budget.

Go over your budget and make any necessary changes based on your goals and where you are right now. If you're building up your emergency fund, add the line item to your budget so that money is accounted for, just like any other bill you have. If you want to save $100 a month toward your emergency fund, that should be in your budget.

4. Pay yourself first

When I was early in my career and found myself carrying a credit card balance or felt I wasn't saving enough, I would look at my spending over the past 30 to 60 days. Usually, I was spending on things that were not in my financial best interest — even if I was having fun at the time.

Make your financial goals a top priority and pay yourself first. To do this, you may have to miss a dinner out, pass on hanging out over the weekend with friends, or skip that sale at Sephora, but it's much more important to have your financial life in order.

When I started to see my retirement account grow or suddenly had enough money to pay my credit card off in full after making some budget cuts, it was worth it. It felt much better to be in good financial shape than to spend money just because I could.