Forget ‘spend less’ or ‘save more.’ Make this your No. 1 financial resolution for 2024

You may think that improving your financial life is simply a matter of taking unpleasant but necessary steps: Curb spending. Cut debt. Make more. Boost savings.

You may think that improving your financial life is simply a matter of taking unpleasant but necessary steps: Curb spending. Cut debt. Make more. Boost savings. But, in real life, if your money resolutions for 2024 are just a long list of financial chores that you know you “should” have been doing but haven’t, you’re likely to ditch the plan by your third pot of coffee in January. Here’s why: When it comes to managing our money, regardless of our net worth, there is usually a persistent gap for most of us: We know what we should do, but we struggle to actually do it. “If you have the key fob to the gym, it doesn’t make you fit,” said Ashley Agnew, president of the Financial Therapy Association and director of relationship development at Centerpoint Advisors. It’s hard to get motivated to do anything when you’re just doing it because you think you “should.” When it comes to improving your finances, staying motivated is much easier when you’ve honestly assessed what makes you feel content and secure in life and then figured out how to use your money to foster those feelings. So make just one financial new year’s resolution for 2024: Figure out what financial well-being means for you. It will be a highly personal endeavor. Then pick one or two steps to improve it.