Make 2025 your best financial year ever (and have fun doing it)

Most New Year’s resolutions seem to be about “shoulding” on yourself. Starting a new year inspires us to cut out sugar, exercise daily, and finally pay off that credit card debt—none of which sounds like a good time, or it wouldn’t be so hard to get started on these goals.

In fact, 88% of people who set New Year’s resolutions have given them up before January 15. Considering that depressing statistic, you might reasonably decide to forgo the whole “New Year, New You” phenomenon for 2025, rather than set goals that are destined to fail (and make you feel guilty).

But there’s a better way to make changes that you don’t abandon and beat yourself up over: find the fun. Here’s how you can make 2025 your money year and enjoy yourself at the same time.

Figure out what you loved best about 2024

Part of the problem with resolutions is that we focus on the future and forget to remember the past. That’s why the first order of business in creating an enjoyable and wealthier 2025 is looking back on your 2024 decisions to pinpoint the best parts of the year.

When did you feel most alive, connected, happy, or at peace during the past year? And what circumstances allowed you to feel so good during those times?

Perhaps the hours spent playing board games with friends were the best part of your year. Or maybe the week at the beach with your partner was the year’s highlight. Or perhaps it was the continuing ed class you took at the local art school.

Look back at whatever brought you the most joy in 2024 and the decisions that allowed you to have those moments. This can help you shape a more satisfying 2025.

Plan your 2025 joys

With your best 2024 memories in hand, start planning for similar moments in the coming year. That could mean setting up an automatic transfer to save enough money to recreate your delightful vacation or afford another art class. Or it could mean getting on your friend group chat to plan a monthly board game night when everyone is available.

The year ahead is a blank slate, and you can use your money and time to create the kind of year you want. Starting your 2025 financial year with these plans in place will give you something delightful to look forward to, and give you a reason to see money management as an enjoyable task rather than drudgery.

Have a regular date night with your money

We tend to get ourselves into financial trouble when we let our money go out of sight and out of mind. But if money chores feel about as enjoyable as a root canal, it’s no wonder we can go weeks or months without checking in on it.

But keeping a consistent eye on your money is one of the best ways to improve your finances. So, instead of looking at money management as a chore, try setting up a regular date with your money. (And yes, I do mean that romantically.)

Like a date, your money date is a chance to connect with another (your money) while doing something you both enjoy. Start with figuring out what you and your money will both enjoy doing during your dates. In other words, find something you love that’s free or cheap that you can do while checking on your finances. That might mean making yourself pancakes, pouring yourself a glass of wine, or lighting a candle.

The date is your regular opportunity to check in to see what your money has been doing—by looking at your bank, credit card, and investment accounts. You can also see what your money has planned for the future by checking your upcoming bills and other future spending.

But this date isn’t a one-way street. You can also talk to your money about what you want in the future and work together to decide how to make it happen.

It may feel weird to take your money on a date, but both of you will find the relationship improves substantially.

Gamify your bad money habits

There’s a reason it’s tough to stop doomscrolling, nail-biting, and impulsive spending: Doing those things feels better than not doing them. But even though trying to white-knuckle your way through giving up bad habits may feel awful—it also doesn’t work. Essentially, if it feels good, we do it, and if it feels bad, we don’t.

But that doesn’t mean you’re stuck overspending, under-contributing, making late payments, or otherwise indulging in bad financial habits forevermore. Gamification can help take the fun out of your bad habits and increase your enjoyment of some good ones.

Here’s how to make a game of nixing your bad money habits:

1. Break your behavior change goals into levels

Games work by having you complete smaller levels that help you reach a larger goal. Breaking your behavior into smaller, manageable chunks, can reduce overwhelm and give you something to look forward to.

This could work for any type of negative financial habit, such as:

• Paying off debt, making retirement contributions, or building an emergency fund: Create a game level for every $100 that goes toward your goal, with a level up at every $1,000.
• Impulse purchases: Give yourself a point for every time you take a screenshot of a potential purchase and put it in a spending file rather than hitting click-to-buy and level up after 10 points.
• Making late payments: Any payment you make could be worth 1XP, but on-time payments are 5XP, and you level up after earning 15XP.

2. Create incentives

Decide what you will reward yourself with each time you level up. Make this something that will truly incentivize you to keep going—and that you don’t normally treat yourself to. This could be something like a pedicure or meal from a favorite restaurant, or it could be an afternoon off work.

3. Don’t give up—respawn

It’s inevitable that you might backslide while trying to change your bad money habits. But instead of treating this as the end of your journey, think of it as a chance to respawn, just like in video games.

Except respawning after a setback with this game means you get to restart your behavior change from a better position than you were originally. You already have a great deal of progress behind you, so your new start has moved you further along in the game.

Financial prosperity can be yours in 2025

Don’t make the mistake of creating financial resolutions that feel like a chore. Make money fun in 2025 and you will actually enjoy reaching your goals.

Start by thinking through what you liked best about the past year so you can plan for similar joys in the coming year. Financial planning that starts with the things you like best will make it much easier to love the process.

From there, set up a regular meeting with your money and treat it like a date. Do something you enjoy while you get to know your money’s past activities and make future plans together.

Finally, tackle your bad financial habits by making a game based on changing those habits. Figure out the levels for each behavior and offer yourself incentives to level. And when you inevitably have a setback, think of it as a respawn, rather than a reason to give up.

Bringing these strategies to your 2025 finances can help you find the fun in money management.