Keeping your Financial New Year's Resolutions

Of course, you can pay off debt, save for retirement and your kid’s education at the same time. Though if you really want to improve your financial life, you may want to concentrate your energy on one aspect of it.

That may be especially true when it comes to credit card debt. Consumers who focused their repayments on one card paid down more of their debt than those who spread out their payments across multiple accounts, according to a recent study from Boston University, Georgetown University, the University of Alberta and the University of Manitoba.

Researchers used three years of anonymous data from HelloWallet, an online financial wellness program, to study nearly 6,000 people with more than two credit cards on average.

They found that people who paid off their smallest balances first tended to have a stronger sense of progress than those who dispersed their payments across several cards. That perception motivated them to continue paying down their debts more than people who distributed their payments over multiple cards.

Resolutions are meaningless if you don’t track your progress.

Feedback on credit card debt is easy because you receive your monthly statements in the mail or online. However, when it comes to building an emergency fund, sticking to a budget or saving for retirement, your financial successes may go unnoticed if you don’t keep tabs on them.

Free online personal finance services, such as Mint and Personal Capital, can help you track your saving and investing across multiple accounts and devices.

Though money can be as taboo as sex, it helps to discuss your financial goals with friends.

“Enlist other people to hold you accountable,” said Cynthia Boman Thompson, a certified financial planner and director of financial and accounting services at Cinder Finance in Portland, Oregon.

If you don’t feel like sharing, create your own inspiration.

“Write out a note or card to yourself about why your goals are important. Are you saving for your children’s college? Are you hoping to go on an amazing vacation? Do you need a new car? Use this as motivation whenever you are tempted to stray from achieving your goals,” Boman Thompson said.

If you want to exercise more, put your workout clothes next to your front door. The same goes for your money goals.

Limit exposure to high-risk situations and create reminders for your resolutions, Norcross said. Use your surroundings to trigger healthy behaviors.

For example, let’s say you spend too much at the mall on your credit cards after work. “Change your route home from work to avoid the mall and remove that trigger,” said Wendel, who once froze his credit cards in a block of ice in his refrigerator to keep himself from using them.