THE majority of Americans are tossing out their materialistic New Year’s resolutions for 2021, according to new research.
A survey asked 2,000 Americans about their plans for the new year in light of the 2020 coronavirus stress and found that seven in 10 participants weren’t bothered with things like losing weight or hitting the gym.
The survey found that over half of respondents (54 percent) are planning to better budget in 2021
The vast majority cared more about saving that getting in shape
Another 49 percent are hoping to pay down debt
The poll found that 71 percent shared they’ll be focusing on learning life skills or practical goals instead, like saving some money.
In fact, top planned New Year’s resolutions for 2021 are focused on saving money for the future (62 percent), as well as learning a new skill (50 percent).
Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Affirm, the survey also found that over half of respondents (54 percent) are planning to better budget in 2021 and another 49 percent are hoping to pay down debt.
Sixty-eight percent of respondents shared they want to move away from “traditional” resolutions to focus more on experiences – like spending more time with their family (53 percent) and traveling more (49 percent).
The poll found that 71 percent want to focus on learning life skills or practical goals now
A large portion of the participants think they’ll be better off next year
In fact, respondents plan to take an average of two road trips in the new year.
Nearly six in 10 (58 percent) of respondents also said their 2021 resolution will be having a more positive outlook at life.
Reflecting on such a difficult year, it makes sense that respondents are approaching their 2021 resolutions differently – in fact, 65 percent don’t even plan on looking at these as “resolutions” but rather “intentions” for the new year.
Seven in 10 respondents also shared they don’t plan on setting harsh deadlines to achieve their new goals, but they’ll rather be checking in with themselves throughout 2021.
After a year of lockdowns, many people feel they’ll actually have more money in 2021
A whopping 62 percent of those polled also said they can’t wait to tackle the new year with a fresh mindset and renewed motivation after feeling stagnant all throughout 2020.
And with this renewed motivation, 63 percent of those polled believe their personal finances will be better off in 2021 than they were at the end of 2020.
This also may be connected to the 43 percent of respondents who shared they learned to be more intentional about their purchases in 2020 and plan to take these experiences with them in 2021.
“It is no surprise that people are focusing their upcoming New Year’s resolutions on taking control of their finances in 2021 given all the experiences that they had to put on hold in 2020,” said Silvija Martincevic, Chief Commercial Officer at Affirm.
These are the ways Americans plan to commit to their 2021 resolutions:
- Check in throughout the year to measure progress – 45 percent
- Create specific steps for each one – 44 percent
- Tell a friend or family member about them – 41 percent
- Write them down – 38 percent
- Download an app to help them track their progress – 37 percent
- Post about them publicly on social media –33 percent
“We expect to see much more intentional spending in 2021 as people attempt to make up for what they missed out on this year!”
Even though respondents are feeling optimistic about 2021, 53% percent of respondents are worried they won’t be able to afford to pursue all of their new goals and resolutions.
However, the majority (58 percent) agreed that pay-over-time solutions allow them to better budget and one third (32 percent) plan on using one to fund their goals.
Martincevic said: “We eliminate complexity, uncertainty, and hidden fees, and empower consumers to confidently buy the things they want and need while staying within their budgets.
“With Affirm, consumers know exactly how much they’ll pay and when they’ll be done making payments, enabling them to achieve their budgeting goals on their own timeline.”
In order to stay committed to their goals for 2021, 45 percent of respondents plan to set checkpoints throughout the year to measure their progress and 44 percent will create a game plan of specific steps for each of their new goals.
The majority of those polled (70 percent) also shared they don’t plan on setting harsh deadlines to achieve their new goals, but they’ll rather be checking in with themselves throughout 2021.
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