Celebrate your financial new year

Sponsored by JPMorganChase

The beginning of a new year is a great time to reflect and consider fresh starts in different areas of your life— including your financial life.

Rocky Fong

While financial resolutions can feel challenging, the new year offers a fresh opportunity to get on track. Starting early, setting clear goals, and building accountability can help you shore up your finances in 2026.

Community managers in the Washington area can help assist in guiding you towards reaching your financial goals. Rocky Fong, located in Seattle, can help strengthen your financial literacy. Find him, and other local experts, by visiting your nearest Chase branch. 

Here are some helpful tips that Fong recommends you can make this the year to ensure your financial resolutions last from start to finish.  

1) Identify your financial goals

Having a specific and measurable goal can make it easier to create your plan and stick to it. 

Goals can include paying down student loans and credit card debt, saving for a vehicle or starting a business. These goals don’t have to be fully achieved in one year, but steady progress can make them a reality in the future while keeping you encouraged along the way.

Photo provided by JPMorgan Chase

If you don’t have a major financial milestone right now, consider saving for a rainy day. Life is unpredictable and having an emergency fund to pay for unplanned expenses should always be a priority. You could also save for longer-term plans like advanced education or even retirement.

2) Track your current spending

A budget will help you stay on track, but it starts with understanding your spending habits first. Consider tools like budgeting apps, online spreadsheets or good old-fashioned pen and paper, and use the beginning of the new year to record almost everything you purchase.

Taking a month to assess and identify your spending patterns may help to establish a baseline as you’re setting your budget, but if the idea of listing every single expenditure for a month seems daunting, create a system that works for you. Starting with a few basic categories can make budgeting more manageable, especially if you’re new to the process. 

3) Create your budget

Once you understand your spending, creating a budget becomes easier. Knowing where your money is going can help you avoid spending too much, while also highlighting areas where you may be able to save more. 

Over time, you can adjust which budgeting categories to cut back spending on. Expenses can fluctuate month to month, so be prepared to shift gears whenever necessary.  

4) Break it down 

Whatever your goal, breaking it into small, achievable steps can help it be more manageable.

Photo provided by JPMorgan Chase

Instead of focusing on a large, vague target, determine how much you’ll need and by when. Then, calculate how much you’ll need to put toward your goal each month or even each week until then. Next, look at your budget and think of concrete ways to set aside that money.

Setting up automatic deposits into a savings account can be a hassle-free way to do this. Over time, consistently saving even small amounts will become a natural part of your routine.

Don’t forget to celebrate your progress along the way—this will help you stay motivated and keep taking steps toward your big goal.

 5) Enlist someone to help keep you accountable

It’s usually easier to stay motivated when you have someone cheering for you and checking in on you.  

Talk about your goal with trusted friends and family, encouraging each other and celebrating progress together, which often helps with accountability.  Talk to each other about your motivations and the small steps you will take to achieve your big goals. Then you can help keep each other accountable.

Photo provided by JPMorgan Chase

The bottom line

Let this be the year you set financial goals and make them stick. Even if you get off track, don’t abandon your goal completely. Instead adjust your approach and keep forging ahead.

Your financial new year starts now. For more financial tips, visit chase.com/financialgoals. To contact Fong, reach out to him via email at: rocky.fong@chase.com. 

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC © 2026 JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Related