The champagne is gone, the ball has been dropped, and the holiday bills are starting to roll in.

That means there鈥檚 no time like the present to make a New Year鈥檚 resolution 鈥� especially one that might help take some of the sting out of those bills.

Experts say it really is possible to use Jan. 1 as an opportunity to turn over a new financial leaf.

鈥淭here are certain times of year that are the best times to set a goal, and one of those is most certainly New Year鈥檚,鈥� said B.C.-based Kerry Taylor, a financial journalist and creator of the financial website Squawkfox.com.

鈥淭here鈥檚 science called the fresh start effect, and it鈥檚 a really cool way to make resolutions stick. What it is, is a psychological phenomenon where we feel more motivated and excited to attack a goal based on the time of year.鈥�

That鈥檚 good news for the 38 per cent of people who have chosen 鈥渋mprove finances鈥� as their New Year鈥檚 resolution for 2024, according to Forbes magazine,which polled 1,000 U.S. adults in October.

Money-related resolutions are always a popular choice, second only to the perennial 鈥渓ose weight鈥� or 鈥済et fit鈥� New Year鈥檚 pledge. But financial New Year鈥檚 resolutions feel especially timely this year given Canadians have spent the past 12 months grappling with grocery store sticker shock, rising interest rates and increasingly unaffordable housing costs.

鈥淚 know people are motivated to have more in the bank account, whether that鈥檚 tackling the mortgage or paying off credit card debt,鈥� Taylor said.

鈥淏ut Jan. 1 doesn鈥檛 make the change for you. It doesn鈥檛 guarantee the success, which is where a lot of us go astray. So to make that goal stick, you have to actually do the work.鈥�

When it comes to resolutions, making them stick is less about willpower and more about habit formation, said Vancouver-based Natasha Knox, a financial therapist who helps clients think, feel, communicate and behave differently with money.

Knox advises resisting the temptation to overhaul your entire financial picture at once. Instead, she suggests starting with an extremely small goal 鈥� what she calls a 鈥渕icro- or nano-goal.鈥�

鈥淭here鈥檚 quite a lot of science around habit formation,鈥� Knox said.

鈥淎nd when you鈥檙e trying to form a new habit, you want to start with something so easy it requires no willpower at all.鈥�

That means, if your goal is to save more money in 2024, start by increasing the amount you auto-transfer to a savings account each month by a 鈥渕iniscule鈥� level, she said.

And if your goal is to spend less, try a 鈥渘o-spend day鈥� rather than tackling a more ambitious 鈥渘o-spend January.鈥�

鈥淢easure it in small chunks. Try it for a single day, then maybe the next week pick two days. And then by spring, maybe you have a no-spend week,鈥� Knox said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a lot more sustainable.鈥�

Vanessa Bowen, founder of Toronto-based financial coaching service for women Mint Worthy Co., said the new year can be a good time for people to sit down and reflect about why they make the money choices they do.

鈥淲e talk a lot about money management, but we never seem to talk about money mindset,鈥� she said.

鈥淪o let鈥檚 say someone says, 鈥極K, my resolution this year is to pay down my debt.鈥� OK, that鈥檚 great. But if they hold a mindset that they鈥檒l always be in debt, or they believe that getting out of debt is hard and they don鈥檛 have enough money to get out of debt, their actions will always align with their mindset.鈥�

To understand your own money mindset, Bowen recommends thinking about the financial beliefs you may have adopted from your parents, your own triggers and habits around money, as well as visualizing how you want to think and behave about money in the future.

It can also be a good idea to set up weekly 鈥渕oney dates鈥� with yourself. This is dedicated time you set aside on a recurring basis to touch base with your financial goals and evaluate your progress.

鈥淚f you just set a goal and hope and pray it will happen, it won鈥檛 happen,鈥� she said.

鈥淏ut if you have a plan and have these weekly check-ins, you鈥檙e more likely going to stick to your resolution way past February.鈥�

Other psychological tricks experts recommend include 鈥渢emptation bundling鈥� 鈥� where you take something you don鈥檛 like to do, like paying bills, and bundle it with an indulgence, like eating chocolate.

Another trick? Visualizing yourself as a senior citizen. That trick, in particular, can help you create empathy for your future self and encourage you to care for yourself by saving for retirement.

Whatever the goal, however, it鈥檚 important people don鈥檛 put too much pressure on themselves. Knox recommends finding a friend or family member with a similar goal, so you can cheer each other on when things are going well and commiserate during setbacks.

鈥淭hat has a lot of value. We鈥檙e social creatures,鈥� she said.

While these are difficult financial times we live in, almost everyone can benefit from taking the time to make small changes that will help set them up for a more prosperous new year, Bowen said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 progress over perfection,鈥� she said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not to say that you鈥檙e going to have a 100 per cent mark at the end of 2024, but I think small steps will help people to make the incremental changes that our society and economy needs right now.鈥�

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