Americans Looking Ahead to Year of ‘Living Practically’

Inflation fatigue and market concerns may make for an austere New Year’s holiday in the U.S., according to Fidelity’s annual “New Year’s Financial Resolutions Study” released Thursday.

According to Fidelity’s survey of more than 3,000 Americans aged at least 18, consumers are mostly focusing on short-term savings, building up emergency savings and licking their wounds from managing through a higher cost of living in 2024.

“Americans are still recovering from the impacts of inflation and high costs over the past couple of years,” says Rita Assaf, a vice president of retirement products for Fidelity. “That doesn’t leave much room for the unexpected. … Given these factors, it’s really no surprise that more than half [53%] are feeling a bit overwhelmed by their personal finances and are choosing to enter 2025 more conservatively.”

In this year’s study, Fidelity found that 72% of respondents experienced a financial setback in 2024, which contributed to 46% dipping into emergency funds at some point in the year. Another 39% said they were not able to stick with their financial resolution for 2024 because they had less money due to inflation’s impact on day-to-day expenses.

“Emergency savings has been a rising concern over the past several years—likely becoming more prominent with the pandemic and remaining a top concern as costs rose during the pandemic and have fluctuated up and down ever since,” Assaf says.

That type of financial struggle apparently leaves a mark. In 2025, 79% of respondents plan to build up their emergency savings, and 65% of people are considering making their New Year’s resolution a financial one.

These concerns may flow to retirement and other long-term savings, according to the survey data. In the 2023 study, 45% of respondents said they would prioritize short-term savings goals over long-term ones. This year, that figure has gone up to include more than half of respondents, with 55% planning to focus first on short-term goals.

That shorter-term outlook may reflect Americans’ top financial focus areas. When asked about financial concerns, the item that got the most checks from respondents was unexpected expenses at 38%, followed closely by inflation and its impact on day-to-day costs and savings at 37%. Meanwhile, economic uncertainty and the potential of a recession in 2025 came in at 32%.

In a separate survey of 2,000 Americans released Tuesday by loan provider Achieve Co., respondents continued to express a theme of being financially bruised by 2024. Among those surveyed, 81% reported having personal debt in 2024, and 61% ranked the year among the five most financially challenging of their lives.

Achieve also asked respondents where they looked to trim expenses in 2024 as compared with 2023. Retirement savings made the list, but did not top it:

• Discretionary spending (39%);
• Emergency savings (26%);
• Retirement savings (20%);
• Gifts (31%); and
• Travel (25%).

Fidelity did point to some positive news for the year ahead: 72% of respondents have a plan in place for reaching their financial goals. The top goals for this group were saving more money (43%), paying down debt (37%) and spending less money (31%).

“It’s good to see so many Americans planning to be proactive about building up an emergency savings fund,” Fidelity’s Assaf says. “Putting away money from each paycheck to protect against emergencies can provide big dividends as unexpected expenses pop up. Some employers are even stepping in to help by providing access to emergency savings accounts, so we strongly suggest checking with your employer to see if a benefit like this is available to you.”