SAN ANTONIO – After the holidays, many people are entering the new year with a familiar sense of financial stress — credit card balances to pay down, “buy now, pay later” installments to manage and budgets that may feel stretched thin.
Financial experts at NerdWallet said the start of the year is a good time for a “financial reset,” or a chance to organize and plan for the rest of the year.
Kimberly Palmer, a personal finance expert at NerdWallet, said you can start by cutting what you don’t need.
Palmer recommends beginning with expenses that are easy to overlook, such as recurring subscriptions.
“A lot of us are coming into the new year still paying for subscriptions that we don’t use or don’t need anymore,” Palmer said. “Sometimes we sign up for a free trial and forget to cancel it. This is a really good time to start fresh and let go of some of those subscriptions.”
NerdWallet suggested several practical steps you can take to regain control of your finances:
- Cancel subscriptions you no longer use.
- Set up “sinking funds” for future expenses like travel or holiday spending.
- Check your credit reports.
- Freeze your credit to prevent fraud.
- Review beneficiaries on financial accounts.
- Increase retirement savings if possible.
- Create a plan to accelerate debt payoff.
Palmer said it’s important to start, even with small steps.
“When it comes to paying off debt, one of the factors working against us is just feeling overwhelmed,” Palmer said. “Sometimes just writing down all of the debt you have can help you take back a feeling of control. From there, you can choose a plan and strategize how you’re going to pay it off.”
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