Should you 'lock in’ your financial goals by year-end?

If you follow social media trends, you might be working to "lock in" your goals during the last quarter of the year to finish strong. This could include completing some of your 2025 financial New Year's resolutions that fell by the wayside or thinking about new ones you can set for the start of the year.

However, setting an ultra-focused, short-term deadline on a goal may not be the best approach for ongoing financial wellness, said Chrisanna Elser, financial planner at BOK Financial®.

"Rushing is for when people come over or when you have to get to work, but you don't want to rush with your financial goals. Take it in bite sizes and revisit it. If your goal is to save money, start with $200 a month and do that for a while. Then, see if you can raise it to $250. Those baby steps make it way less daunting."

Here are her top three suggestions for financial goal-setting:

1. Pick an optimal time
The concept of New Year's resolutions dates back to ancient Babylonians, who made promises to the gods to repay their debts—a financial goal many still pursue today. However, Elser isn't a fan of trying to achieve a financial goal right after the holidays.

"It's just after the biggest spending month of our lives, and those bills don't come in generally until the end of January,” she explained. “So you get started, then you get that huge credit card bill, and it makes you feel deflated—like, why bother? The news always talks about losing weight and getting organized and fixing our financial situations all at once. It's just too much."

Instead, she suggests picking a different time of year, when there might be less pressure, such as spring-cleaning time, which comes right after reviewing your finances for your taxes, or the summer, when things are slow. "I have a friend who always talks about 'Christmas in July,' and that's a great time to do something for yourself."

She also suggests setting time to revisit your finances during your happiest time. "I tell people to look for days or times when they feel good. Are you wired where you hate mornings or Mondays, but Friday is your happy day? Then set a time on Fridays to revisit your financial goals on your happy day so you associate some positivity with it because you're doing something for yourself."

2. Write it down
We live in a digital age where it's very easy to log goals and set reminders on your phone. However, it's just as easy to swipe them away and ignore them in the tidal wave of dings and rings that are constantly coming at you. For this reason, Elser suggested writing goals down on a sticky note instead and putting it somewhere you'll see it. "Just a little note, a little reminder. Don't use a full 8x10 piece of paper because you'll look at that big blank page and feel pressure to fill it with a bunch of goals. Just set one or two goals and put them on a little note. Keep it easy."

She also noted that to set a goal, such as spending less on dinners out or shopping, you need to know what you spent last month, so start tracking your spending. She suggested keeping a money journal for a short time to see what you're spending on. However again, don't let it get too overwhelming or complicated. "You don't want to spend so much time recalculating your food expenses that you don't have time to make dinner, so you use that as an excuse to go out to eat," cautioned Elser. "It's easy to let it snowball."

3. Get past the fear of commitment
A lot of people are afraid to set goals because they don't want to commit. "I get a lot of people who have these grandiose ideas of how much money they want, and I say, 'Ok, let's start with opening a savings account,’” said Elser. "Suddenly, they get scared because that means they actually have to commit to taking action to get to their goal."

Having an accountability buddy could help you walk through that fear. Elser suggested asking them to give you gentle reminders about a financial goal—and then not getting upset when they actually do.

"You don't have to tell someone your whole financial picture, but if your goal is to pay off debt, you can tell you're paying $100 a month toward it, and by spring, you want to make it $150. Ask them to check in with you that you’re actually doing it," said Elser.

By making a financial resolution and building on it step-by-step in this manner, you take control of your finances without the stress of forcing yourself to hit a certain deadline. "All these little revisits, whether it's to increase your savings or pay down debt, will get you closer to your goal," said Elser.