Habit stacking, success, science, New Year, resolutions, habits, commitments, money, personal growth Make your 2025 a success with the science of habit stacking, Image: Supplied
New Year’s resolutions have gained a reputation for being short-lived and forgotten by the time February comes around. Strategies to succeed at keeping New Year’s resolutions have been studied for many years and there are varying views on the matter
A Swedish study conducted in 2020 revealed that the success of your resolutions is based on how it is expressed. If you phrase it as ‘I will start to’ versus ‘I will avoid’ your likelihood of sticking with it increases.
Another study conducted by Columbia University found that only about 25 percent of people actually stay committed to their resolutions after just 30 days and fewer than 10 percent accomplish them.
One way to refresh your approach to New Year’s resolutions is through habit-stacking, using the New Year as a trigger to build new effective habits.
What makes habit-stacking particularly productive is that it asserts that lasting change isn’t about grand gestures, but is in the small, consistent actions we take every day. Habit stacking is a proven strategy for building routines by pairing new behaviours with existing habits.
However, to ensure that your habit-stacking is successful in 2025, you have to make sure you are stacking the right habits and that you can track your progress in a meaningful manner throughout the year. Particularly when building financial habits for the new year: education, specification and accountability are all extremely important. Head of Client Success at Momentum Velocity Club, Andiswa Mojapelo, gave some tips on making sure that you are successful at keeping to your habits beyond the beginning of year.
Being too trusting…of yourself
According to research conducted by Momentum, 76.5% of households cite their own knowledge/skills/experience as a source of financial advice, while only 9.2% consulted a certified financial planner.
It is challenging to set the right habits and goals when you are looking at it through the wrong lens or are not well-informed. Perhaps this is what has made New Year’s resolutions ineffective is that people trust themselves instead of getting expert advice on the right things to do, especially when it comes to money and finances.
Teaming up with a financial planner to create a personalised financial plan and combining it with habit stacking transforms your finances.
“For example, there are several formulas floated for savings and budgeting on social media and other platforms such as the universal 50:30:20 budgeting formula where the recommendation is to put 50% of your money toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings. This might not be the reality for many South Africans so basing resolutions on that might be a futile exercise,” said Mojapelo.
“Working with a professional to focus on what’s best for your situation and help you build the right habits for you will make a stark difference.”
Being specific
Being specific with a new habit is necessary for its success. Sometimes, New Year’s resolutions can be a bit vague whereas kicking off the year with effective habits can ensure long-term commitment.
“Financial management is often about trade-offs because your money is a finite resource and sometimes you must sacrifice in the short term for long-term success. Being specific with the habits you are building helps you to understand the why,” said Mojapelo. “If you want to get into the habit of saving more, you have to be specific about how much you want to save and for what so that your mindset is in the right place when you forego certain ‘luxuries.”
Build accountability into your habit stacking
Having an accountability partner when starting new habits can be crucial in its success. They can provide you with encouragement, keep you motivated and inspired and celebrate the small wins with you.
“Joining a community of like-minded people can also be a great way to stay on track with new habits,” said Mojapelo. “This can be especially useful if you are entering the workplace for the first time or buying assets, you might not have those people in your immediate circle so having a community can certainly be impactful.”
Whether your goal is financial stability or personal growth, the key to success lies in small, deliberate actions that accumulate over time.
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