More Financially Stressed Americans Making Better Budgeting a New Year’s Resolution (2024)

More Americans are making it a New Year’s resolution to manage their finances better in 2024 after a year of rising prices and interest rates pressured their pocketbooks.

According to the 2023 New Year’s Resolutions Study from Allianz Life Insurance Co., 48% of Americans surveyed said that they are likely to make and keep a resolution for better financial planning in 2024. That’s up from 43% last year and 33% in 2021.

Americans are increasingly concerned about money, with 40% of survey respondents saying they are more stressed about their finances at the end of 2023 than a year ago, up from 34% in 2022. The financial concerns came as people faced new pressures, like higher interest rates, persistent inflation, and increasing debt payments, including resumed student loan repayments.

While inflation cooled throughout the year, it continued to weigh on Americans. Of the 29% of respondents who received a pay increase in 2023, only 27% said it was enough to keep up with the cost of living. Looking forward, it remains a major concern, with 69% of those surveyed saying the rising cost of living would affect their ability to save for retirement.

So what resolutions are Americans making to improve their financial outlook in 2024? The most popular answers were creating an emergency fund and increasing retirement savings, each garnering 17% of responses while paying down credit card debt was the plan for 16%.

On the bright side, many respondents said they had improved their financial habits in 2023 by reducing spending (36%), exploring ways to make additional income (23%), or increasing meal planning to limit restaurant checks (22%).

“For long-term financial stability, Americans need to have a plan to mitigate the effects of rising cost of living,” said Kelly LaVigne, vice president of consumer insights at Allianz Life Insurance. “While inflation has slowed from recent highs, inflation isn’t going away. You need to protect yourself from inflation risk long-term.”

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