Prepare for Financial Success in 2025: A New Year's Planning Guide

Jessica Quindlen: [00:00:00] Welcome back to the Sound Cents podcast. I'm Jessica Quindlen.

Today, we are preparing for financial success in 2025. Somehow this year has completely flown by, and we are starting the new year here soon. I have with us, two wonderful guests. I have Bree Shellito, our Senior Manager of Community Wellbeing. Hello, Bree.

Bree Shellito: Hey, Jess.

Jessica Quindlen: And Laura Straub, our Community Educator Lead. Hello, Laura.

Laura Straub: Hey.

Jessica Quindlen: Alright, let's just dive right in. What makes this time of year ideal for setting financial resolutions?

Laura Straub: It gives us a fresh start, a time for reflection and evaluation, and motivation. With that fresh start, we can have that new sense of beginning, a clean slate. And it's a perfect time to just reassess our financial habits and set those new goals. And it’s also a time for us to look back at what we've done, identify areas where we can improve those habits, maybe make some more positive changes to what we're doing financially.

And then motivation, right? The new year always gives that “Ooh, new year's resolution, new goals,” so it can spur you into that [00:01:00] motivation to tackle the things you might have been pushing off or just new motivation to really get stuff done. Also, maybe you'll stick to your financial goals here, and make financial goals part of your new year's resolution.

Jessica Quindlen: Yes. I love that. How can we assess our financial progress from the past year?

Bree Shellito: So as Laura said, reflection is so key there as we look back, either taking a look at our bank statements or even more ideally if we use some sort of financial app like Ent’s Money Insight or another app that you use, you can really see where your spending went.

If you made financial goals last year, just take a look. Did you meet them? Did you exceed them? What did that look like? Are they similar to your goals this year? So really just taking a look back at how you spent your money. Was that in line with the values that you have or the values that you're bringing into 2025?

Compare that to what you're doing this year. Taking that time to assess is absolutely key to making those new goals.

Jessica Quindlen: I love it. What are some [00:02:00] realistic financial goals to consider for the new year?

Laura Straub: Yeah, we have a couple. So first and foremost, if you don't already budget, start budgeting.

Bree Shellito: Step one. Absolutely.

Laura Straub: And it doesn't have to be a complicated budget, just some way that you are tracking your income and your expenses because a budget is just a plan for our money.

That way we can stay on track of those goals that we do have. So, whether it's saving for an emergency, so maybe putting a goal of $1,000 in an emergency account by the end of the year so we can start tracking that with that budget.

And then if we have some debt that we want to tackle, that would be a great financial goal that we have for the year. How do we want to pay it off? How much each month are we going to put away for that debt? And just really tackling that and seeing what's feasible for us.

And then, if we want to start investing, now might be a great time to look into that, research ways that we can invest, how much we're going to set aside for it.

And then, another financial [00:03:00] goal that we might have is improving our credit score. What does that look like for us? Does that mean we need to start utilizing different avenues to see what our credit score is, how it's being made up, maybe going to some webinars.

Bree Shellito: We have those.

Laura Straub: Yes, a little plug there. But those are some really great just starting points for us for our goals, whether it's creating that budget, emergency fund, paying off debt, improving our credit score, or maybe it's starting investing.

Bree Shellito: And some of those can go hand in hand. So having a couple goals at once and just knowing yourself, knowing where you stand today, makes a huge difference in what you want to improve for the next year.

Jessica Quindlen: That's great. What are some tools or methods that can help track this spending and progress towards these goals?

Bree Shellito: Yeah, so I mentioned using those apps that are out there, like Ent’s Money Insight, but there's many that are out there as well. We have a lot of different tools at our fingertips that we can use to track our budgeting, but the best thing is in the new year, it's fun to start brand new things. But if we can actually combine that with [00:04:00] things we already do and are good at, let's do that.

So, starting something brand new in addition to a financial goal, like starting to track on spreadsheets, that might be a lot. So, what are you doing today? What is feasible to squeeze into your already existing situation? Then another great method is called habit stacking. If we can stack habits on top of each other that we already enjoy with maybe something we don't enjoy, especially if this is brand new and it's not that exciting, but you know that you need to do it, stack it in with something you already do.

Maybe it's while you're making your evening tea for bed, then you can take a look at your app for the day and see how you've done. Really just stack it on with something you already do, something that's already a habit. Combine this with it, especially if it's fun, and you'll be that much more successful.

Jessica Quindlen: That's great. It's funny, we don't have Emma Protsik, who we have on very often, but I'm bringing up emergency funds, which is her favorite. Why is having an emergency fund so essential, especially in the new year?

Laura Straub: Yeah, just with unexpected expenses. Life is [00:05:00] just full of those random things that happen. New tires, or maybe a medical bill that you just weren't expecting, maybe a job loss. But it could also be anything around your house or car that just comes up unfortunately. And usually it always comes in threes.

I don't know what it is, but at least for me, one thing breaks and then a month later, another thing and another thing. So, it's great. So having emergency fund set aside can just help relieve some of that stress of unexpected expenses. Also, it just can be that financial security where we have some peace of mind where we at least know we have some money tucked away for whatever it may be, whether it's that job loss or car repair, et cetera.

Bree Shellito: Financial health is only one piece of the overall health plan. Puzzle. Mental health being a big part as well. A lot of them go hand-in-hand and tie together, so what Laura's talking about with that financial security, it isn't just for your financial health, that's for your mental health and your overall wellbeing to feel [00:06:00] secure and have those things to cover in the event of an emergency.

Laura Straub: Yeah. And like we talked about earlier, having an emergency fund, it doesn't need to be that three to six months of expenses that a lot of financial experts will say. That's a really daunting number to think about. It could be as little as $1,000 or whatever your deductibles are, is a really great starting point to just having that emergency fund, having that little peace of mind that you have some money for these things.

Bree Shellito: And starting small, like you said, even starting at $100, and then getting that to $400, $500. Just meeting those milestones and goals can be really rewarding.

Jessica Quindlen: What are the best strategies for tackling debt in the new year?

Bree Shellito: It's a great goal to have, tackling debt. And sometimes it can really start to feel crushing, so we want to create a plan. We want to look at our debt and see what that looks like. There are several debt strategies. I'll go over a couple. One that's very well-known is the snowball strategy. So if we actually put our debts into the snowball, in order, and we think about in order of interest rate, in order of how much we owe. [00:07:00] Those are great places to get started if we either write them down or put them on a spreadsheet, because then if we're organizing them, if we're doing the snowball method, that's where we're starting with our lowest balance. So, we're taking on the lowest balance, and we're getting that paid off, and then we're taking what we were putting towards that towards the next debt, so we can really snowball that up.

A better method at times for people to save more money is the avalanche method. The avalanche method tackles our most expensive debt first. So, if we have those written down and we tackle the most expensive debt, meaning the one with the highest interest rate, that in the end is going to save us the most money.

Creating that debt repayment plan depends on your debts and everybody is different, but getting them written out and figuring out which plan is going to work for you is important.

There are also great ways to consolidate debt and even sometimes negotiate with creditors as well. So, getting those listed out is a great start to seeing what those look like and seeing what you may be able to do. In addition to tackling the debt, if we can actually cut back our expenses to put more money towards that debt [00:08:00] repayment, that really helps and gets us moving along with that.

And then absolutely, seeking out that help using one of our financial coaches, which are completely free to members and nonmembers. They're here to help really put those things in order, because sometimes even that task can feel daunting. But having someone like a financial coach or even a trusted loved one to go over that with you.

Laura Straub: Yeah. And having that accountability partner is so helpful. If you feel comfortable sharing with a loved one or someone just to keep you accountable to it, can really help, especially with cutting expenses. If you're always hanging out with that friend that always gets you to spend a little bit more, maybe having a conversation too with them about what your goals are can really help.

Bree Shellito: And then they may not suggest as many expensive activities, right?

Laura Straub: Helps us out.

Jessica Quindlen: So how can we stay motivated and accountable to these financial goals?

Laura Straub: Being realistic with our goals first and foremost, right? So, setting realistic examples that we can actually achieve. If we're [00:09:00] not making a whole lot of money and we set a goal of saving a hundred thousand dollars, that's not realistic, right?

So setting up realistic goals that we can track and that we can actually achieve, and making them small and building them up. Starting with $100, and then $200, and then building it up over time throughout the year can help us because then we're hitting those small goals first and giving us that “yes, I did it.”

That check mark, especially for those of us who like checklists. And then finding that support system, again, just talking to friends and family, or maybe it is a financial coach or advisor, someone that we can have conversations that can hold us accountable to these.

And then rewarding ourselves for the progress. So, whatever that looks like, maybe it's just like a nice little treat.

Bree Shellito: Ideally not when we spend money on.

Laura Straub: Exactly. It could also just be that maybe you purge out your closet. That can give you that good feeling of donating.

Bree Shellito: Even selling some of the items to up that income.[00:10:00]

Laura Straub: I love it. So just some way to just get a nice little, “yes, I'm doing it.” And then just don't give up even if you slip. It's okay to start back up again. That's the beauty of finances. We can always restart, we can retry, we can try different methods, we can do so many different things. We don't have to stay with something that's not working for us. Change it up.

Jessica Quindlen: Nice. All right, so final question from me. How can we regularly check in on our progress throughout the year?

Bree Shellito: That's the key, is checking in on it. Making sure we're being consistent. Ideally, we're checking our accounts every single day, but I understand that can be difficult. So maybe it's weekly, maybe it's monthly. It's at an absolute minimum quarterly. We want to make sure that we're checking in on those things, we're tracking our spending, we're knowing where things stand.

There's lots of different budgeting methods that are out there, so find one that works for you. But one that works great for most folks is making things automatic. So automatically having some [00:11:00] things that are coming out where you know that they're coming up, but also automatically transferring some funds into savings. Setting it up so you set it and forget it.

So, we want to be reviewing those goals quarterly, at least. But as Laura said, celebrating those achievements as we go, finding ways to celebrate those. And then certainly finding those accountability buddies, letting your friends know, even if you're not sharing all the information that one of your goals is to cut back on spending just to really secure your financial future. Making that aware to people, even if you don't want to share the entirety of it, that's something you're doing. Hopefully, if the people around you are your loved ones, they'll care about that and want to help you do that.

Jessica Quindlen: Anything else to add?

Laura Straub: Just don't forget your resources. There are so many resources out there, including our financial coaches, but also webinars or templates for budgets. There's so much out there that we can get help on, so just utilize some resources to get started.

Jessica Quindlen: Great. That brings us to the end of our show. Laura, Bree, thanks so much for being here. It was great having you.

Bree Shellito: Thank you.

Laura Straub: [00:12:00] Thank you.

Jessica Quindlen: And now for our new segment brought to you by Dave Logan, the iconic voice of the Denver Broncos.

Dave Logan: Hi, this is Dave Logan, and it's time for your 2 Minute Money Drill. A quick tip to help you make smart money moves fast. Whether you're planning to save or looking for ways to get ahead, here's a financial play you can put into action right now.

Set up automatic transfers into your savings account right after you get paid. This way, saving becomes part of your routine, not something you do if there's money left over. Even $20 a paycheck can really add up.

Jessica Quindlen: Thank you for listening to Sound Cents from Ent Credit Union. Be sure to follow our podcast as well as rate and review us. I'm Jessica Quindlen. I will see you in two weeks. Same time, same place.