26 Financial Moves to Make in 2026
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New year. Clean slate. Time to stop making the same money mistakes you've been making since 2019.
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Here are 26 financial moves you can make this year. You don't need to do all of them. That's not the point. Pick the ones that matter most for where you are right now and actually execute.
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Today I am going to give you all the quick hitters. Let's go.
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1. Rebuild trust in your money after a hard year
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If last year beat you up financially, you're not alone. Most people feel behind, burned out, or discouraged. Here's the thing: bad decisions don't define who you are. Separate the mistake from your identity. Focus on building systems, not chasing perfection. Create quick wins early in the year. Stack small victories. Confidence compounds faster than returns.
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2. Achieve your financial goals this year
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Fewer goals means more follow-through. Stop making a list of 47 things you want to accomplish. Pick three. Make them specific and time-bound. Break them into quarterly actions. Put them on your calendar like meetings you can't miss. Systems beat motivation every single time.
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3. Find your financial baseline
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You need to know your survival number. What does it actually cost you to exist? Not thrive, not vacation, just survive. Average 3 to 6 months of spending. Separate fixed costs from variable essentials. This number becomes your emergency fund target and the anchor for every big financial decision you make.
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4. Automate your finances
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If you're still manually paying bills and "remembering" to invest, you're doing it wrong. Pay yourself first automatically. Automate bills, savings, investing. Remove willpower from money decisions entirely. Prevent lifestyle creep by default. Grab the Automate Your Finances checklist and set this up in one weekend.
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5. Update your net worth
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Make January your annual financial review month. Track progress, not perfection. Use net worth as a scoreboard, not a judgment of your worth as a human. Identify what's working and what's leaking. Review once per year, same time, same process. Use our Net Worth Checklist so you don't miss anything.
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6. Follow through on the 1-3-6 Method
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One month of expenses saved equals stability. Three months equals resilience. Six months equals freedom. Most people get stuck at one month forever. Finish the step you're on before moving to the next. We have a full 1-3-6 checklist to walk you through this.
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7. Get a high-yield savings account and bucket your money
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Your checking account pays nothing. Move idle cash to a high-yield savings account earning actual interest. Give every dollar a job. Separate emergency funds, short-term savings, and fun goal money into different buckets. This reduces temptation to overspend and makes tracking progress stupid simple.
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8. Reduce expenses you don't value
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Notice the phrasing. Not "cut everything." Reduce expenses you don't value. Target low-value, high-frequency spending. The $12 subscription you forgot about. The convenience purchases that add no joy. Cut gradually, not emotionally. Replace bad habits, don't just remove them. Redirect those savings toward goals that actually matter.
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9. Increase your investments by at least the inflation rate
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Inflation silently erodes wealth every single year. If you're contributing the same dollar amount you contributed three years ago, you're effectively investing less. Auto-increase contributions annually. Treat raises as investing fuel, not lifestyle upgrades. Protect your purchasing power. Let compounding do the heavy lifting.
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10. Run a tax-diversification check
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List all investment accounts. Group balances into three buckets: pre-tax like 401(k) and Traditional IRA, Roth like Roth IRA and Roth 401(k), and taxable brokerage. Identify if you're overexposed to one bucket. Ask yourself: "What happens if taxes are higher when I retire?" The goal is flexibility, not guessing future tax rates.
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11. Re-evaluate Roth versus Traditional annually
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Look at your current marginal tax bracket. Estimate your future tax bracket based on career stage. Consider flexibility needs in retirement. Factor in pensions, Social Security, required minimum distributions. Then decide contribution type for this year only. Avoid making one-time forever decisions about something that should change as your situation changes.
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12. Get updated on tax and retirement changes
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Contribution limits change yearly. Catch-up rules evolve. Credits and deductions shift. TCJA changes plus new legislation like the Big Beautiful Bill matter. Talk to your CPA about how these changes impact you specifically. Don't guess. Get professional guidance.
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13. Contribute to a 401(k), at least to the match
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Employer match is literally free money. If you're not contributing enough to get the full match, you're leaving compensation on the table. Automatic wealth building. High contribution limits. Compounding over decades matters more than almost anything else you'll do financially.
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14. Set a meeting with your boss for bottom-line projects
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Revenue-generating and cost-saving projects create leverage. Visibility matters more than effort. Learn how the business actually makes money and where it bleeds cash. Build measurable value before negotiating for anything. Think like an owner, not an employee.
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15. Ask for a raise that beats inflation
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Inflation is a silent pay cut. If you didn't get at least a 3 to 4% raise last year, you effectively got a pay decrease. Tie your ask to results and measurable impact. Use data, not emotions. Advocate professionally and confidently. Practice the conversation before you walk in.
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16. Design your next income jump intentionally
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Stop waiting for annual 3% raises. They won't make you wealthy. Pair new skills with market opportunity. Think in jumps, not inches. A 20% jump from a job change beats five years of 3% raises. Prepare before the opportunity appears. Income growth fuels everything else.
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17. Build a personal income insurance plan
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One income stream equals risk. Skills are portable assets that travel with you. Side income isn't hustle culture, it's resilience. Optionality creates peace of mind. Protect your future cash flow by developing multiple ways to generate income if needed.
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18. Build on one skill in your skill stack
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Choose compounding skills that get more valuable over time. Go deep, not wide. Apply what you learn immediately. Get feedback fast. Skills unlock income opportunities and career freedom. Invest in yourself as aggressively as you invest in index funds.
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19. Increase your connections
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Relationships accelerate opportunity faster than almost anything else. Weak ties matter most for new opportunities. Give value first without keeping score. Reconnect with dormant contacts you haven't talked to in years. Network intentionally, not desperately.
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20. Replace guilt-based money rules with guardrails
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Guilt leads to burnout and giving up entirely. Guardrails create freedom within structure. Remove all-or-nothing thinking. Spend intentionally on things you value. Make money a supportive tool, not a source of shame.
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21. Schedule money check-ins, not money emergencies
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Quarterly reviews reduce stress dramatically. Adjust course before small problems become disasters. Calm beats crisis every time. Normalize money conversations with your partner or yourself. Treat finances like car maintenance, regular and boring.
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22. Build your SWAN number
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Sleep-Well-At-Night number. Cash or accessible liquidity that covers job loss or major shocks. This number reduces anxiety more than almost any other financial metric. Freedom starts way before retirement.
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23. Create your financial protection plan
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Password manager plus two-factor authentication on everything. Credit freezes for identity theft prevention. Monitor accounts regularly. Assume breaches will happen and plan accordingly. DeleteMe helps remove your personal info from data broker sites that sell your information.
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24. Create a one-page "If something happens to me" doc
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List all accounts and how to access them. Emergency contacts. Clear instructions for your spouse or family. This document reduces chaos for loved ones during the worst moments of their lives. Update it annually. Keep it somewhere secure but accessible.
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25. Create a giving plan
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Align charitable giving with your actual values, not guilt or social pressure. Budget generosity intentionally as part of your overall plan. Avoid reactive, guilt-based giving. Involve your family in decisions. Use money to do real, measurable good in areas you care about.
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26. Increase spending on things you love
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Cut low-value spending so you can increase high-value spending. Spend intentionally, not reactively. Quality over quantity. Plan bigger purchases instead of impulse buying. Enjoy your money without guilt. You're building wealth to use it, not to hoard it forever.
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You don't need to tackle all 26 at once. Pick three to five that will create the biggest impact for you this year. Focus there. Execute completely. Then move to the next ones.
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The year ahead is what you make it. Stop planning. Start executing.
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