By the end of January, half of Brits will already have broken their new year resolutions. If this is you, you might feel disappointed or disheartened. But should you?

When it comes to your financial plans and money-based resolutions, the answer is likely “no”.

That’s because if you have a robust strategy in place, aligned to your long-term goals, you don’t need to set short-term financial resolutions. Instead, stick to your current plan and stay focused on the future.

Keep reading to find out why the new year means the same financial plan, and how to stay focused on sticking to it.

The key to keeping a new year resolution might be not making one

In January 2022, Psychology Today reported that the more you want to achieve a goal, the less likely you are to do so. The pressure you put on yourself to succeed could be the reason you fail.

Rather than setting unattainable short-term goals, you might be better off looking to the longer term.

Just last year, the mental health charity Mind reported that the most popular new year resolutions involved:

• Health (28%)
• Money (27%)
• Family (24%)

Happiness in each of these aspects of your life is linked to your financial wellbeing. And that’s where a long-term financial plan can help.

Take the time to think about what makes you happy and build your plans around that

In September 2023, we asked How much money do you really need to be happy? and found that financial wellbeing was key to balancing money and happiness.

That means thinking about:

• What makes you happy now?
• What is likely to make you happy in the future?
• How can a long-term plan provide that happiness?

Thinking about the answers to these questions gives you a definite goal to work towards. We can then provide the path to get you there.

The robust plan we put in place will combine paying your future self through long-term savings and investments with maintaining your desired standard of living now. We’ll also help you build a safety net against financial shocks.

For further peace of mind, we’ll monitor your wealth to ensure you remain on track to meet your goals and keep you up to date through regular annual reviews.

This approach means that if your long-term goals don’t change, your plans don’t need to either.

Relax, ignore the noise, and concentrate on the long term

Once you’ve committed to a long-term approach, you’ll need to resist the temptation to worry daily about your wealth.

Relaxing might not come easy, but checking fund values daily or heading to social media for the latest investment news could be disastrous in the longer term.

At Expert Wealth, we have decades of experience dealing in financial markets. We understand that short-term volatility will occur but that the general trend is upward.

That means avoiding emotional knee-jerk reactions and staying invested. The oft-repeated adage about “time in the markets, not timing the markets” holds true so stay calm.

Just this month we’ve looked at Why “doomscrolling” could harm your investments and what to do about it, but trend chasing can be hugely detrimental too.

When making new year resolutions you might find yourself following the latest trends – the newest fad diet, say, or a celebrity exercise regime – but doing so in your investments is generally a bad idea.

Remember, that your long-term plan is individual to you. That means what’s right for one person, or one group, might not be right for you.

A successful investment isn’t one that gets you to your goals as soon as possible, but one that gets you to your goal within your agreed time frame and while taking a level of risk that aligns with your profile.

Whatever happens in the wider economic world or whatever social media advice begins trending, make yourself your focus this year and your plans are likely to stay on track.

Get in touch

Our Chartered Financial Planners have the expertise to help you manage your long-term investments and avoid the disappointment of failed short-term resolutions. If you have any questions about your financial plans or you’d reassurance that you remain on track, please get in touch and speak to us today.

Please note

The value of your investment can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Levels, bases of and reliefs from taxation may be subject to change and their value depends on the individual circumstances of the investor.