Better Financial Health in 15 Minutes (or less!)

Why Most Money Resolutions Fail And How To Build A System That Works

• Stacey Hyde

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New Year promises are easy; systems that run while you live your life are rare. We dig into why so many financial resolutions fail—vague aims, overreach, and zero follow‑through—and replace them with small, automatic moves that compound into real progress. Instead of chasing motivation, we show how to set a single automated decision that saves, invests, or pays debt without daily willpower, then pair it with one leak you’ll cut for good.

We start by reframing the goal: don’t say “save more,” schedule a 1 percent increase in your savings rate or 401(k) deferral by your next paycheck. Anchor to paycheck-sized actions like $400 per pay period, not big annual numbers that never get traction. From there, we cover the safety layer—why an emergency fund and targeted debt payoff matter most when your job feels uncertain—and how that buffer protects you from high-interest setbacks. The theme is consistency over heroics, automation over intention.

Then we talk joy. Vacations and experiences belong inside a smart financial plan, not in the “maybe later” pile. Price the trip, automate the transfers, and enjoy the feeling of a fully paid getaway without the credit card hangover. We even share a story about advising a high-achiever to plan a vacation to prevent burnout, plus a practical way to include a friend by aligning costs up front. Guilt-free spending is earned through planning, not luck, and it’s a powerful motivator to keep your system running.

By the end, you’ll have a simple playbook: set one automated increase, cut one leak, build your safety net, and fund joy on purpose. While you’re busy working, playing, and resting, your money will be moving in the right direction by default. If this helped you rethink your approach to money, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a nudge, and leave a quick review so more listeners can build systems that stick.

Envision Financial Planning. 5100 Poplar Avenue, Suite 2428, Memphis, TN 38137. (901) 422-7526. This communication is strictly intended for individuals residing in the United States. Advisory Services offered through Envision Financial Planning, a Registered Investment Adviser.

SPEAKER_00:

Hi, I'm Stacey Haydn. I'm back for another episode of Better Financial Health in 15 Minutes or Less. And Shocker, we're going to talk about New Year's resolutions today, particularly why New Year's resolutions fail and how to actually make some that stick. And the reason that most of them fail is they're vague, they're unrealistic, and they're not tied to real behavior. So what we're going to do is reframe that instead of resolutions, we're going to try to put help you put in systems because systems are automated. You don't have to think about them all the time. So rather than a resolution, we're going to try to put in a financial system. And the reason that a lot of resolutions fail is they're too broad. Safe more is not a plan. They're too aggressive. Hello, January burnout, like you feel like you're deprived and you can't do it anymore, and you just want to go to dinner with your friends. Or there's no automation, which means there's no follow-through. You get busy, you forget to do it. So our plan for you for your financial resolutions is to automate one good decision. It can be savings, it can be investing, it can be debt payoff. So by that I mean like increase something by 1%, whether that be your savings rate, your 401k deferral. And then what we want to do is we also want to eliminate one financial leak. It could be you're paying for some insurance product or something that you don't really need. Um, it could be the subscriptions, it could be um an addiction to meal delivery services or Instacart. Um, so figure out one thing and just cut that back. And so we want to kind of tie your uh resolutions to reality because we're not trying to have a perfect year, that's not possible. And the key thing is consistency wins. So instead of trying to say, I want to save$10,000 this year, which is a great goal, but$400 per paycheck is much more likely to stick. And I'm going to start it this Friday or whenever your next paycheck is. So the key thing is that good financial resolutions don't rely on motivation, they rely on automation. I want to say that again. Good financial decisions rely on automation, not motivation. You need to just be able to set it and forget it. So that's really the key thing here is we're not asking you to reinvent the wheel or come up with something great and new. We really just want you to think about that and set it in place and then go on for your year. And you'll find out that wow, I while I was busy, in my case, playing tennis or um hanging out with my friends, my savings took care of itself because I set it up that way. And so that's my recommendation to you is to set a goal, automate it, and then live your life. Thanks for tuning in. This has been another episode of Better Financial Health in 15 minutes or less. You don't have an emergency fund, you need to build that emergency fund first. If you've got a lot of uncertainty around your job, you really need to concentrate on paying down debt, setting up that emergency fund. Because nothing is more um enjoyable than going on a trip that is fully paid for, that you've saved for and spending it and not having the hangover when you get back of, oh my God, how am I going to pay for this? Because let's be real, if you can't afford the savings plan for the vacation, you can't afford the vacation. So I think it's important to kind of put that into perspective. So vacations are financial goals. Joy does belong in a financial plan. It's not all about just, you know, the grind, it's about joy. I never will forget. I was sitting in a financial meeting with a woman at her workplace, and she was always, she'd always come in to see me. She was super prepared, very goal-oriented. And she's like, okay, what do I need now? And she had set up her emergency fund, she was maxing her 401k, she bought her house, um, she'd gotten it furnished, she she was doing great. And she comes in and she's like, okay, what next? And I told her, I said, take a vacation. And she looked at me like, what kind of she actually said this, what kind of financial advice is that? I said, the type that gets you to where you don't burn out at 40. And she sat there, she leaned back, she took a deep sigh, and she's like, What if my friend can't afford it? I'm like, well, tell your friend to start saving up for the airline ticket. You would have the room anyway, you just pay for the room so that she could come along or he could come along with you. And so I think that's something to remember that enjoying our money is part of our financial plan and it's part of life. And guilt-free spending is earned through planning, not luck. So plan your vacation, stay for your vacation, and then let's enjoy that vacation. Thanks so much for tuning in. And this has been another episode of Better Financial Health in 15 minutes or less. Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcast. It really does help us reach more folks. Thank you.