New year, a new opportunity to start fresh and grow as a person. That’s why New Year’s Resolutions are so popular. Leave the old you in the old year and become a new person.

But resolutions can be very hard to keep. Every year thousands of people make a resolution to lose weight, read more, or save more money, but fail to meet their goals come December 31. This year, don’t let your resolution fall to the wayside, we’ve got some tips on making the most popular/hardest resolutions happen.

Get that Sweat On and Exercise More

Whether it’s to help lose weight, get stronger, or just be more healthy, a very common resolution is to exercise more. A wonderful goal, and a very difficult endeavor.

A major mistake people make is they push themselves too hard and burn out. Especially if you make it your goal to go to the gym every day, this is a major risk. Exercising at a harsh pace could lead to injuries, sore muscles, lack of energy, or negative results. 

The most important part of achieving this resolution is to create a habit for exercising, whether that includes going to a gym, going outside to exercise, or just working out at home. Rather than pushing yourself to your limit on the first couple of workouts, take it lightly and just get into a rhythm.

By making it a habit, you’ll be more likely to stick to working out when the hard times come. Getting sick, sore, or just tired will be easy to overcome and get back out there if it’s a part of your normal routine.

Be Less Stressed

Life is stressful. Work, relationships, staying healthy, emergencies, and flat tires  make everyday life stressful. So it’s no surprise that one of the most popular resolutions year after year is “be less stressed.”

But it’s also incredibly vague. Unlike other things like losing weight, saving money, or traveling more, there really isn’t a way to measure success. Many people feel like they fail this resolution every year because there is no clear goal, no way to measure, or even a plan on how to be less stressed.

Set specific goals to help you de-stress. This could include going to bed on time regularly, taking time regularly to relax, or pursuing a hobby that helps relieve stress. This way, you have something to pursue and works towards to actively reduce stress.

Raise Your Credit Score

Whether you are looking to buy a home or car soon or just want to have as high a credit score as possible, raising your credit score higher is a wonderful resolution to have. Lots of people plan to do it, but either fail to get it higher or actually end up making it dip.

The key to get your credit score up is being properly educated and taking action on what you learned. You need to understand why your credit score is what it is and methods to improve it.

One great tool to raise your credit score is Pioneer’s credit builder loan. It works by making regular payments month after month that we report to the credit bureaus, which then makes your score go up. And the great part is that the money you’ve paid goes into a savings account after you finished the loan.

Travel More to New and Exciting Locations

The world is a huge place and you want to see it! Tons of people make it their resolution to travel more and see the world, but it’s hard to pull off. Especially if you want to travel to someplace completely new, like a forgein country, it can be scary and or expensive.

To help you overcome your fear, dedicate some time to really learn about your destination. The biggest fear that prevents traveling is a fear of the unknown. Especially if they speak a different language or have a very different culture, going to a different country can be terrifying. Before buying that ticket, spend a lot of time researching your destination. Become a sponge and soak up everything you can, including the basics of their language, local customs, best ways to get around, and locations to visit. If possible, chat with people who either have lived there or visited to get a better idea of what to expect.

As for the expense side of travelling, there are some great ways to make it more affordable. You can save up money throughout the year, find discounts or package deals, or split costs with other travelers.

One of the biggest ways to save on traveling is to use credit card points or miles to pay for airfare and hotels. The big difference with Pioneer is that you earn Rewards! points whether you use your debit or credit card. You can redeem these points for plane tickets, gift cards, experiences, and hotels, whatever you need to help make your vacation more affordable.

Saving More Money

Wanting to save money is a very worthy goal to have, and the beginning of the year is a great time to get started. Most people feel like they fail this resolution when the year ends because they either don’t have a plan to save money or expenses popped up that required dipping into the savings account.

Two very useful strategies can help you save money automatically. The first is to set up your direct deposit so that a portion of it goes directly into a savings account. If you don’t have a direct deposit, set up an automatic transfer to pull money from your checkings and place it in your savings that you try not to touch. This way, you are less tempted to spend the money away and instead save it up.

The second strategy is to open a Pioneer ChangeForward account. Every time you use your debit card, we round up your purchase to the next dollar and put the spare change into a special savings account. This means growing your savings every time you, leaving you at the end the year with a nice sum of money.

Open a ChangeForward Account!