Seven proven, realistic ways to improve your finances in 2026

Instead of planning to boost your finances by changing your whole personality, how about putting some science behind how you manage your money? Frances Cook outlines seven sound and sensible approaches.

Ah, it’s that wonderful time of the year. The time when we tell ourselves we’re finally, really, going to give ourselves a personality transplant, and finally become the person we feel we ‘should’ be.

Hey, it’s not all bad. I do love a good goal, and a self-improvement kick. But I love them more when I succeed at them.

So rather than setting ourselves up to hit March tired, grumpy, and still wondering where our money is disappearing to, let’s try something new. Let’s put some actual science behind money management.

Here are seven money habits that genuinely make a difference, because they’re based in how humans actually behave, rather than how we wish we would.

Most people don’t fail at money because they’re careless or irresponsible. They fail because they feel ashamed, and shame is a terrible problem-solver.

When you frame money as a moral issue – good versus bad, disciplined versus lazy – every mistake turns into proof you’re failing. Once you feel like a failure, you stop looking for solutions.

So try replacing judgement with curiosity.Instead of “I’m bad with money,” it’s “huh, interesting. Why did I do that?”

Then a mistake can turn into information. You start spotting patterns. You notice you spend more when you’re stressed, tired, bored, or overwhelmed.

Money gets easier when you stop treating it like a test you keep failing and start treating it like data you’re collecting.

A year sounds motivating, but it’s actually too big. Twelve months is a marathon, and it’s easy to procrastinate when the finish line feels invisible.

Shorter time frames work better. Ninety days is long enough to matter, but short enough to stay focused.

So give yourself one upgrade to focus on per quarter.

One quarter might be fixing KiwiSaver.

The second might be building a small savings account.

The third might be clearing out any subscriptions, and making sure your regular bills are on the cheapest plan.

The last might be starting investing, or increasing it by an amount you can stick with.

Four quarters, four wins, no burnout. And you didn’t need a spreadsheet or superhuman willpower to get there.

The best money decisions are the ones you only have to make once. One-off decisions that permanently reduce financial noise.

So what’s one decision you could make that would remove a weekly worry?

It might be automating long-term goals like a regular payment into savings. Or finally getting advice on a problem you’ve been wondering about for years. You make the decision once. You benefit all year.

A lot of spending doesn’t bring us enjoyment. Instead, it’s just trying to meet an unspoken expectation.

We buy clothes for a version of ourselves that doesn’t exist. We keep gym memberships we don’t use. We say yes to social spending that looks good but doesn’t feel good.

So before you buy something, ask whether you actually want it, or whether you want to want it. If it’s the second one, close the tab/leave the shop. You won’t miss it.

When you stop spending to perform and start spending to support the life you actually enjoy, money pressure eases.

This one is about snapping us out of autopilot. Because sometimes we’re doing things out of habits that started well, but aren’t serving us anymore.

Keep a money diary for one week, to see where you’re spending.

Then pick one regular spend, give it up for the next week, and see if it bothers you.

If it doesn’t? Excellent, keep it gone. If it does? Add it back in, no harm no foul.

Sometimes we’re spending because that’s what we’ve always done, but it’s stopped giving the enjoyment it once did. So check in, see what’s serving you.

A lot of bad money decisions don’t happen because we’re careless, they happen because we’re stressed.

When the crisis has already happened, fear takes the wheel, and our rational brain exits the building.

This can be bad news for racking up debt, or committing to something out of panic.

So on a calm day, take the time to sit down, and think through what you’ll do if there’s a big financial problem, such as losing your job. Who will you call first? Which expenses can you pause? What money is untouchable?

When life inevitably throws something at you, that piece of paper will stop panic from making expensive choices on your behalf.

Some of the biggest problems we can face with money aren’t when we try and fail. It’s when we never try in the first place, because we have a story in our head about how it’s not for us.

Stories like “I’m just not good with money”, or “investing is for other people,” or “earning more isn’t realistic”.

So if you notice one of those pop up, give yourself five minutes to think about where it came from. Maybe parents, or school, or a rough patch that left its mark on you.

Just noticing where that idea came from can shake its authority. Once it loses its authority, it’s easier to make a change for yourself.

2026 doesn’t have to come with big resolutions, and definitely not with punishment. Just some intentional shifts to make money a calmer part of your life.