Your 2022 Financial Resolution Check-In

How are you doing on your 2022 financial resolutions? Now that we’re two months into the year, it’s time to check in on our progress — and congratulate ourselves on everything we’ve achieved so far.

“If you’ve been moving towards your goals, whether it’s 1 percent or 10 percent, consider yourself a success,” says Jim Wang, founder of WalletHacks. “Many people have quit, or forgotten, their resolutions by the end of January — so the fact that you’re still committed is an encouraging sign.”

Want some more encouragement? We reached out to the same financial experts who helped us make our 2022 financial resolutions and asked them to help guide us through the process of putting those resolutions into action. After two months, what milestones should you be looking for as markers of success — and if you’ve fallen short, what can you do to get back on track?

What financial milestones should you be tracking?

How can you tell whether you’re making progress on your 2022 financial resolutions? It all comes down to identifying measurable milestones, such as “increased my emergency fund by $250” or “stuck to my budget in January and February.”

If you’re having trouble coming up with milestones, try dividing your 2022 financial resolution into twelve monthly goals. This gives you an easy way to determine whether you are on target to achieve your resolution by the end of the year.

“If you broke down your larger financial goals into smaller SMART goals, it’s time to look at your list and see how you’re progressing with the time-based part of your goal,” explains Steffa Mantilla, Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI) and founder of Money Tamer.

SMART goals are specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and time-based. If you set the goal of saving $2,000 by the end of 2022, for example, you can check your progress by asking yourself whether you were able to save $334 by the end of February. If you achieved your goal, good job! If not, it’s time to ask yourself what got in the way — and to re-evaluate whether your SMART goal is realistic enough to achieve in a single year.

What should you do if you’re falling behind?

If you haven’t hit your financial milestones, don’t worry. There’s still plenty of time to catch up.

“A two-month checkup can be a really good idea and can help you gauge what you need to do going forward,” says Matt Schulz, Chief Credit Analyst at LendingTree. “If you resolved to save $2,000 this year and you’ve only saved $100 in the first two months, you can adjust your budget to ramp it up in the next few months and make up for lost time.”

To make up for lost time, start by making a plan. “If you still want to reach your original goal, it’s time to gameplan what you can do to get back on track,” Mantilla explains. “This may mean finding ways to cut expenses or make additional money.”

It helps to stay positive — and proactive. If you’ve already put $100 towards your $2,000 savings goal, you still have ten months in which to save the additional $1,900. This month, think about how you’re going to save the extra money. Will you use your tax refund, for example? Cancel your least-favorite subscription service? Automatically deposit a portion of each paycheck into your savings account every two weeks?

Don’t forget that any progress towards your 2022 resolutions is still progress. “You’ve already done more than the vast majority of people who make resolutions,” says Schulz. “Just making it this far is no small feat, so keep on going.”

Wang agrees. “As long as you’re still moving towards your goal, consider it a win.”

What should you do if you’re ahead of your financial goals?

Many people may be slightly behind their financial goals for 2022 — but some people might find themselves ahead of schedule. What should you do if you’ve already sailed past your monthly financial milestones?

“If you are ahead of schedule, consider making your resolutions a bit more aggressive!” suggests Wang. Can you save $2,500 this year instead of $2,000? Pay off a little more credit card debt every month? Tackle a different kind of financial task, like making a will?

“Do whatever it takes to keep the momentum going,” Wang advises — and we agree. If you’ve already hit your financial goals for January and February, see what happens when you try to exceed your goals in March and April.

Is it time to change your 2022 financial resolutions?

Checking in with your financial resolutions will let you know whether or not you’re on target — and, in some cases, whether or not you need to update your 2022 financial goals.

“If you realize you need to change your goal slightly, don’t think of this as a failure,” Mantilla advises. “Any progress made towards your financial goal is a win for your future.”

If you end up saving $50 per month instead of $100, that’s still an extra $50 every month that you weren’t saving before. Same goes for the progress you make on your debt, your retirement fund and your other long-term financial goals. Every dollar you put towards those goals still counts — even if you aren’t able to put as much money towards your 2022 financial resolutions as you originally planned.

“Life is expensive, busy and stressful in 2022,” Schulz explains. “Progress, not perfection, is what is really important.”