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I am not much of a supporter of new year resolutions, mainly because I don’t like waiting around for a specific date to make positive life changes.

That said, I guess some people don’t really think about making positive life changes until the new year rolls around.

Out of curiosity, I did a little digging to see what seemed to be the most common new year resolutions that people strive for.

It probably isn’t much of a surprise that more than a few of the most common resolutions are financial goals…

Get in shape

It isn’t much of a surprise that this is the most common new year’s resolution. It seems to be the most typically set and failed resolution that people make.

I don’t know about you, but I have found from failing to keep resolutions many times that I need to make very small changes. Rather than setting a goal to start working out every day, I set a goal to work out once a week. Once I successfully reach that milestone, then I work up to two days a week and so on.

For me, this seems to be the only way that works to help me make life changes.

Eat healthier

A few years ago, I read a book that changed my life. It was called, “What the Bible says about Healthy Living.” I quickly realized that I had been falsely thinking that I was “healthy”.

Just like I mentioned above, I didn’t try to change all of my habits at once, but rather focused on making one small change at a time. The result- I am still keeping up with lots of principles I learned in that book.

Get out of debt

Debt affects many areas of our lives – marriages, physical and mental health, sleep, joy, etc.

Money fights are one of the biggest stressors on marriages and a recent study found people with high levels of debt were more than 13 times as likely than low or no-debt people to lose sleep at night.

Taking the steps today to get out of debt will help you in almost all areas of your life!

Stop smoking

This is a tough one, but probably one of the best things you can do for your physical health.

Start budgeting

I am always in awe of how much people hate the word “budget.” It really is not a form of modern day torture like some would believe. I can’t tell you how much freedom came after we started budgeting.

The key is all about how you set up your budget, but for us, instead of feeling restricted on what to do with our money, it actually provided a lot more freedom and allowed us to spend money on things that we never would have without a budget.

I have written quite a bit about budgeting (and created a budgeting course here), but if you are just starting I suggest you download a free budget spreadsheet and read How to Make a Budget.

Get a new job / Start a business

Boy, do I know the feeling. I had wanted to get a new job and start a business for a while, and I finally found a way to turn my hobby into a full-time income. For inspiration check out the what to do when you hate your job and How I escaped the Rat Race.

Spend more time with family

This is just another one of the many reasons why I wanted to improve my financial situation.

Save or make more money

Saving money is another topic that I have written a lot about – check out these ways to save money!

Get your life organized

I feel like I have a lot of areas in my life organized. But my area of difficulty is my time.

Time management has always been a struggle for me. I have made steps forward over the years after reading books like The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People or Getting Things Done, but I still have a ways to go.

If this is your resolution, check out my Morning Checklist for some inspiration!

Give more

If you are anything like me, you always want to give more, but often overlook opportunities because of the busy-ness of life. For inspiration, I leave you with a bunch of great giving scriptures and quotes.

My personal New Year’s resolutions

As I mentioned earlier, I don’t typically set any resolutions for the new year, but like everyone else I do have a few areas I am looking to improve in. Here are a few things I am looking to improve in 2020….

I want to give more – financially as well other areas of my life

I want to continue to learn how to become a better communicator

Take my prayer life to the next level

How about you – Do you have any resolutions or goal setting for the new year?