Americans Have a Number of Financial Goals for 2018

LendEDU polled 1,000 adult Americans that are making a financial resolution in 2018 and found more than half (52.2%) said their most important financial resolution for the new year is to save more money.

This was followed by paying off debt (37.50%) and spending less money (10.3%). The percentage choosing paying off debt as the most important financial resolution is up from last year (from 35.56%).

Top financial resolutions for 2018 among respondents include:

• Make & stick to a Budget – 29.5%;
• Save for a large purchase such as a down payment, household upgrade, or car, etc. – 25.2%;
• Pay down credit card debt – 19.9%;
• Place money aside for an emergency fund – 15.5%;
• Save for retirement – 5%;
• Pay down student loan debt – 4%; and
• Save for college – 0.90%.

More than one-quarter (28.6%) indicated they set a financial resolution for 2017, and of those, 44.76% said they met or exceeded their goal.

Top financial concerns going into 2018 include:

• Unexpected expenses – 62.7%;
• Health care costs – 22.2%;
• Higher interest rates – 5.4%;
• The labor market – 4.4%;
• Stock market fluctuations – 2.7%; and
• Virtual currencies – 2.6%.

Despite these concerns, 82.5% said they believe they will be better off financially in 2018, compared to 2017.

Asked what would make them stick to their financial resolutions, respondents said: Having a reward for reaching the goal – 30.8%; segmenting a longer term goal into smaller bit sized pieces – 25.1%; technology that helps them save money or monitor goals in real-time – 13.6%; the encouragement of family and friends – 20%; and having a consequence for not reaching the goal – 10.5%.