New Year’s Resolutions Don’t Have To Break The Bank. These 5 Tips Will Keep You On Budget

This New Year, you may be one of the many Americans who will set resolutions to work out more, pick up a new wellness routine or embrace other kinds of self-care. Unfortunately, with those resolutions comes the temptation to rush out and spend hundreds of dollars on new gym or spa memberships, workout clothes, fitness equipment and other goods. Self-care resolutions are beneficial, but when left unchecked, they can easily break the bank.

Controlling your spending is important for any new expense. However, it’s especially important to keep a budget in mind this year, if you are one of the many Americans entering 2025 struggling with high amounts of debt, low savings and the inflated cost of everyday goods.

If you set New Year’s resolutions this year, chances are you also set money-related resolutions to tackle high debt or low savings. The majority of people (89 percent) have at least one financial goal for 2025, according to Bankrate’s Personal Finances Outlook Survey. Most commonly, these include paying down debt (21 percent said so) or saving more money for emergencies (12 percent said so).

By slowing down and planning ahead of time, you can not only embrace self-care, but also save money along the way. These tips will help you crush your New Year’s resolutions — all while staying on the right financial foot.

1. Keep your resolutions realistic

As you make your New Year’s resolutions, remember to keep your expectations realistic so that you can avoid overspending. There are always swaps you can make to spend less:

One person’s realistic New Year’s resolution might be wildly out of budget for someone else, so consider your own financial situation before sitting down and making your resolutions. If you have a lot of other financial priorities in 2025 (like paying down debt, increasing savings or investing more), it may make more sense to focus on lower-cost or free resolutions. On the other hand, if you have the room in your budget and the resolutions don’t interfere with your long-term financial goals, you may have the flexibility to spend a little more.

“Remember, self-care doesn’t need to be grand or expensive,” Bankrate Lead Data Reporter Alex Gailey says. “There are ways to practice self-care and stay within your budget — a lot of that comes down to setting boundaries and taking stock of what you actually need versus want.”

2. Check your budget

When adding on any significant expense, it’s important to check your finances first. Make sure your new expense fits into your budget by looking at your discretionary spending from the last month (or two months, if possible). Based on your spending, do you have extra funds to devote to your resolution without sacrificing savings or necessary expenses? If not, is there another category, such as dining out, subscriptions or entertainment, that you can cut?

Bankrate Senior Credit Cards Writer Katie Kelton knows this experience firsthand. She recently joined a gym that offers weight-training classes to achieve her goal of being physically stronger — but she was already a member of a cycling gym. To make both memberships work within her budget, she cut the number of cycling classes she attends per month and used her budgeting app to see where else she could cut expenses. Kelton ended up cutting out a magazine subscription, streaming service and a few meals out per month.

“Truthfully, I don’t miss those things I cut out. Investing in fitness right now benefits my mental and physical health more than the other expenses did. But wellness and self-care looks different for everyone,” Kelton says.

Don’t have a budget? To create one, Kelton advises using a budgeting app to plan your monthly spending, including fixed expenses like rent or groceries, discretionary expenses like self-care and savings and debt repayment. Choose a self-care item that’s a top priority, then plan your other discretionary costs around that.

For example, maybe your New Year’s resolution for 2025 is to work out more. If your post-tax income is $4,000 a month and your fixed expenses are $3,000 a month, you might split up your remaining income by prioritizing your savings and a gym membership, then divvying up your remaining funds among other categories:

Example of a $4,000 monthly budget

3. Look for affordable alternatives

If you’re having difficulty making your new resolutions fit into your budget, consider more affordable alternatives.

Cassandra Orakpo, a 31-year-old Houstonian, considers herself a pro at self-care on a budget. Orakpo loves makeup, books and spa days, but she also made a resolution to save more money in the new year. To continue treating herself while being mindful of her budget, she plans to use up some of the makeup and skincare she already has and be more creative with the clothes she already owns.

“Self-care (is) something I always take seriously,” Orakpo says. “I feel like, because I’ve been in self-care practice for so long, I know how to complete a self-care task without a lot of money.”

These other options can also offer self-care at a fraction of the cost:

Social media can be a great source to recommend your next read or give you new ideas for self-care. But apps like TikTok and Instagram are also full of influencers hawking products you probably don’t need.

“You don’t have to have the latest workout outfit or skincare product to practice self-care,” Kelton says. “The deinfluencing movement has been helpful in encouraging people to take stock of what they actually need, not to just buy something because an influencer looks good while using it.”

Before buying a product just because you see it online, stop for a moment and consider:

• Do you already have similar products? Are you at risk of running out any time soon?
• Do you need the product now, or are you just considering it because it’s new, seasonal or limited edition?
• Do you have alternatives you could use instead, even if they’re old or out of style?
• What’s your monthly budget for this category? Do you have room to spend this month?

If you still think you need the item, consider the 24-hour rule. Put it in your cart, but wait 24 hours before hitting “buy.” Giving yourself a little space lets you approach purchases more mindfully instead of being swept away by an influencer urging you to buy something right now.

5. Reassess your spending on resolutions throughout the year

New Year’s resolutions are easy to make, but just as easy to fall through. While there’s no shame in abandoning a New Year’s resolution in February, it’s important that you periodically re-evaluate your spending to make sure you aren’t still paying for services or subscriptions that you no longer use.

Check in on your spending throughout the year. Are you still using that gym or spa membership you signed up for in January? What about those beauty or hobby subscriptions? If you haven’t touched your resolution-related purchases in at least a month, it may be time to make some cuts to make room for other expenses.

If you need a little help keeping track, check your bank statements to see when your subscriptions are charged, then set a calendar reminder for the week before. Set that reminder every one to three months, and every time you get the alert, consider whether you want to keep or cancel the service.

The bottom line

Whether your 2025 resolution is to hit the gym, pick up a meditation practice or read more, you’ve probably been bombarded with ads online for swanky new products to buy. But before you put those products in your cart, remember these tips on how to spend mindfully. With planning, you’ll meet all your goals in 2025. Good luck!