With the new year upon us, it is time to set new savings goals for 2023. You may have been setting many new year's resolutions, but have you incorporated finances into your resolutions and goals? Setting goals and evaluating your finances is crucial for financial success. Continue reading to find out a few financial goals that you could include in your resolutions this year!

Savings Goal #1: Create a Budget for 2023

  • Evaluate your finances and create a budgeting plan for 2023. Assess your spending, your essentials, and your non-essentials to determine a budget for the new year. Many individuals find it helpful to utilize a budgeting worksheet or spreadsheet to help visualize their goals and where they need to budget or make changes. There are many apps or online budgeting tools that are available that could be helpful when creating a budget for 2023. If this is your first-time budgeting and you aren’t sure where to start, check out our blog all about budgeting for more information. 

Savings Goal #2: Plan Savings for Each Month

  • When it comes to creating goals for saving and financial success for the entire year, it may be easier to break it down by each month. When you plan out what you are going to save each month you will be able to stay on track easier and it will help you grow your savings immensely. When you save more money, you will have more to spend later on for some of your other life goals like buying a house or purchasing a new car. 

Savings Goal #3: Prepare for Unexpected Events 

  • When creating new financial and savings goals, it is important to keep in mind and plan for the unexpected. Things like illnesses, disabilities, accidents, death, and natural disasters are all things that ultimately you can’t control but you can start preparing. It is important to prioritize preparing ahead of time to prevent you from having to dip into your checking or savings account when an unexpected event occurs. Consider options like an emergency fund, life insurance, and long-term care insurance to help you prepare for the unexpected. 

Savings Goal #4: Evaluate Spending Habits 

  • One way to increase your savings in 2023 is to evaluate your spending habits and ultimately spend less overall. It is easy to spend money each day and not even realize the number of unnecessary purchases that are consistently being made. When you evaluate your spending habits you can see how much and how often money is being spent and where you can eliminate spending throughout the year. Evaluate things like your monthly subscriptions, how often you are going out to eat, or even your daily coffee runs. Small purchases like these can add up quickly and setting goals for your spending habits will help set you up for financial success in 2023! 

Savings Goal #5 Start Financial Planning for the Future 

  • If you haven’t thought a lot about your financial success for the future, this is a great goal to add to your new year's resolutions. Reviewing your retirement plans and accounts will ensure that you are set up for success! A few things you can look into are reviewing and estimating your retirement needs and increasing your retirement savings. 

Overall, prioritizing your savings goals going into the new year will help set you up for success throughout all of 2023! American State Bank is ready to help you with all of your 2023 financial goals, contact us today for more information about our personal banking services!