Setting a New Years resolution seems an inspiring way to start the year.
But with only about two thirds of Australians able to stick to them beyond January, it’s important to keep a few things in mind.
Based on a survey of just over 1000 Australians, 73 percent have set a New Year’s resolution for 2024—equivalent to 14.8 million people.
The main areas in which Aussies say they want to do better are health and personal finances, according to the survey conducted by comparison website Finder.
Clinical psychologist, Dr. Rachael Murrihy from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) said the new year is a “punctuation” in time giving us the motivation and drive to make resolutions.
“Although we love setting goals, we’re just not that good at sticking to them,” she told AAP.
“I think the problem is people rely on the excitement of the moment to motivate them, but the excitement wears off.”
A healthier start to the year is a main goal—with 39 percent vowing to eat healthier, 36 percent planning to improve their fitness regime, and 33 percent pledging to lose weight.
Many Aussies also want a healthier bank account and 54 percent of people said they aim to save more money in 2024—although 34 percent said they aim to spend less.
In the survey 14 percent said they would seek to increase their earnings, and 13 percent aimed to build an emergency fund.
Dr. Murrihy, who is also Director of the Kidman Centre at UTS, said the key to a successful resolution is to break the lofty goals down into smaller, achievable, steps to keep motivated.
“As human beings we’re driven by the idea of mastery,” she said.
“Let’s say for the first month of training for a marathon you decide you’re going to train for 30 minutes a day, five days a week.
“When you are successful at that, it brings you motivation and that keeps you going.”
A similar survey by Compare the Market, delving into Aussies’ resolutions, also found around half, or 49.7 percent, of respondents wanted to save more—noting a 12 percent increase on the year before.
The likelihood of making a health or finance-based resolution also differed between the generations, the Compare survey found.
Three-quarters of the Gen Zers said they wanted to stash away more cash in 2024, in contrast to just 24.8 percent of Baby Boomers
Additionally 55.2 percent of those born after 1997 said they want to live a healthier lifestyle, compared with 29.2 percent of Boomers.
Compare the Market’s Economic Director David Koch noted in some instances we can help our health and wallet at the same time.
“Cutting back or ditching smoking, alcohol or vaping may improve your health and help the hip pocket,” he said.
“If you spent $60 on these habits each week and gave up completely, that'd be an extra $3120 in your pocket a year.”
