Money Goals for 2026

It’s 11:45 p.m. Eastern U.S. time. The new year isn’t here quite yet.

I’m sitting here in bed listening to the fireworks going off around the neighborhood wondering what the New Year will have in store for me.

And I’m worried about is my finances.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m disabled with a fixed income and can’t get an extra job. If I do, I’ll lose what little income I have. So, I write. And that’s not earning much of anything. Yet. (Notice I’m trying to be optimistic. But I haven’t earned $5 yet on Medium.)

So, I’m worrying.

And I’ve decided. I’m making some Financial New Year’s Resolutions.

This is what I’ve decided I’m going to do.

Create a budget and stick to it.

Honestly, I’m going to try to stick to it. And I’m going to try very hard.

I’m going to:

Write down my income
List my expanses
Set some goals
Figure out what I’m spending money on that I don’t really need to
And most important of all — record everything.

And that’s the hardest one. At the end of the day, there are times I’m just too tired to sit down with receipts and write things down. I’ve tried before. So, this time. I’m going to try harder.

Save Money

This is something that I have to do. My mother is 94. She’ll turn 95 in February. When she dies, my girls and I have nowhere else to live. Hopefully, my siblings will let us stay in the house and pay the mortgage, utilities and other expanses. I’m not sure if my disability will cover everything. So, I have to start saving now. There is not another option.

I’m going to:

1. Try not to spend as much money

2. Set some realistic goals

3. Build up an emergency fund for when Mom does pass away.

Next,

Improve my credit score

On December 22, 2025, I had my bankruptcy hearing. Yes, our medical bills were that terrible. 2026 will start with a clean slate and I’ll be working to raise my credit score. This way, I’ll be able to buy a house in a few years.

I’m going to:

Get a credit card
Pay my bills on time.
Try to pay the full bill off each month so that I won’t be paying interest.
Try to use the credit card as little as possible.

Spend less money on food

Right now, Mom and I split the grocery bill.

I’m going to:

Plan meals ahead of time
Only buy what we need
Limit the junk food (we need to lose weight anyway!)
Cut back on sodas (water, water, water)
Go to food banks.

A few other things I’m going to do are:

Find a cheaper cell phone service
Pay for less TV subscription/streaming services
Renegotiate my internet provider service with new year deals

As you can see, I did some research. Sitting here, I decided to take matters into my own hands so I searched for ways to be better financially.

Some of my search terms were:

How to get better with money
How to manage my money better
Easy budgeting for beginners
How to stop living paycheck to paycheck
Money advice I wish I knew sooner

I went from a marriage where I wasn’t allowed to do any of the finances to living with my mother and taking care of my girls with a severely fixed income. I have been at a loss on how to get into a “good” financial head space.

I’ve decided I’m going to take control of my finances and make it work.
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That’s my Financial New Year’s Resolutions.

Wish me luck.

Oh, it’s now 12: 25 a.m. Happy New Year everyone.

(And I didn’t write this article to make anyone feel sad for me. I wrote it to state out loud to the world that this is what I’m going to do and I’m going to succeed.

Failur is not an option.)

If you like this and my other articles, please, buy me a coffee. Thanks. Oh, and don’t forget to clap.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.