Many people set New Year’s resolutions, but sadly, most don’t keep them. In this episode Mark Riepe offers several suggestions for keeping you on track with your resolutions, as well as proposing some specific resolutions that can help you better manage your financial life—whatever the date you choose to implement them.

Mark talks with Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz about two of the most popular resolutions: setting and sticking to a budget and how to pay off debt.

Then Rob Williams, managing director of financial planning and retirement income, discusses ways you can optimize your portfolio—and how you can prepare for the unexpected.

• Choiceology host Katy Milkman contributed to research about the “fresh start effect,” which is the tendency for people to get motivated to change their life after temporal landmarks like New Year’s Day or anniversaries.
• To read more about setting—and sticking to—your own financial resolutions, check out Rob’s article “New Year’s Financial Resolutions.”

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Financial Decoder is an original podcast from Charles Schwab. For more on the series, visit Schwab.com/FinancialDecoder. 

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