Page 56 • The HERALD • 8th January 2026 v THE HERALD - Proud to be part of your community v ASK A PROFESSIONAL NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS TO BOOST YOUR FINANCIAL FITNESS by Michael Osman, Oyster Financial Planning A New Year’s resolution is a tradition, most common in the Western World but also found in the Eastern World, in which a person resolves to continue good practices, change an undesired trait or behaviour, accomplish a personal goal, or otherwise improve their behaviour at the beginning of a calendar year. For some it’s Dry January for others they may join the Gym or make themselves walk 10,000 steps a day or eat 3 apples a day or whatever new online New Year’s resolution challenge goes viral! Quite o en resolutions don’t last very long. In my view it’s more sustainable and durable if you introduce new habits that can lead to better deliverable outcomes you can be proud of. A little of something every day is much better than a great workout plan, new trainers and gym kit do it twice then never bother again. Once you do something religiously a habit can form. Some research suggests doing something every day for 21 days is enough to sustain a habit others say a month or even 66 days. Regardless of the timescale doing something that’s good for you enough times to make it habitual. Let’s take your nancial tness! Is it right to say from the 1st January this year I’m going to save £200 a month into a particular investment or savings account. Do it twice then stop it because it’s perhaps not a ordable. Is it not better to choose a number that is easy enough to invest each and every month and it never be a problem. Maybe £75 works better. Getting into that habit of regularly saving, not just for January 2026 but every month, every year. Once you persist and see the savings increase you become more attached to the number it is growing to. Start o with an emergency fund if you don’t have one, step one. Once that’s achieved, look at longer term tax e cient savings like ISAs, Cash can be a good home for emergency funds and Stocks & Shares can be the home for longer term savings. Start lower but with something that will persist. en review it each year with a little increase if a ordable. It could be you start to save some into your pension as well. Regardless of what it is it’s essential to start, start at a level which doesn’t a ect other areas of your life and maintain this. As your salary grow’s so should your savings, 10% of your salary is a well-versed number to start with, as your career grows and blossoms so do your savings. Compound interest is an investors best friend over time and carefully chosen assets to invest in. Start, make it consistently a ordable and watch yourself grow. Build that house deposit if you are younger reading this. If you are at the other end of the scale age wise encourage your children and grandchildren to start saving, time and compound interest are your friend, embrace them and make them part of your every month life and not just for a couple of months every New Year. If you follow this path and persist with it nancially life will become easier and you will have more favourable choices to make in the future. ese are the little, tiny steps to make a habit to get you on the road to nancial tness! anks for reading and wishing you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year! To discuss any of this please do get in touch. Pop into the o ce in Hythe Village, call: 023 8084 8410 or email: michael@oyster nancialplanning. co.uk Michael Osman, Oyster Financial Planning
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