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5 Personal Money Moves for the New Year

Dec 16, 2025

Heading into 2026, it’s time to take stock of your budget, debt and investments—and check them against your financial goals. These five steps can get you started.

Key Takeaways

  • Revisiting your finances at the beginning of the year can allow you to establish a clear plan and meet your long-term financial goals.  
  • Review your asset allocation and rebalance your portfolio to keep it aligned with priorities like enjoying a comfortable retirement.
  • Other smart money moves include reviewing your budget, consolidating debt and updating your estate and insurance plans. 

Heading into 2026, it’s an ideal time to reflect on your financial health and set the stage for a prosperous year ahead. While financial resolutions might not carry the same appeal as pledges to hit the gym or adopt a healthier diet, they are crucial for helping ensure overall well-being. After all, financial stability is closely linked to both physical and mental health.1

 

Fortunately, improving your financial well-being may be more straightforward than you think. Here are five simple steps you can take to help set yourself up for success in 2026 and beyond. 

  1. 1
    Review Your Investments

    Think about revisiting your asset allocation (or how your investments are split among equities, fixed income, cash and other asset types) to make sure it continues to reflect your financial goals for different life stages. For example, as you near retirement, you may consider shifting toward a more conservative asset allocation with greater exposure to bonds and other typically-stable assets, to help reduce risk and preserve capital.

     

    Periodically rebalancing your portfolio is also important, particularly if market volatility has caused your investments to stray from your target allocations.

     

    Finally, use this time of year to consider preparing for what may be ahead in the market. For example, Morgan Stanley Research’s 2026 investment outlook forecasts U.S. stocks outperforming global peers while U.S. government bonds likely weaken after a rally in the first half of the year. Ask your Financial Advisor how you might want to position your portfolio for such conditions in light of your short- and long-term financial goals. 
  2. 2
    Make Sure You’re on Track with Your Goals

    Are you still tracking toward your key financial goals, such as saving and investing for a comfortable retirement? If recent changes in the market or other factors have temporarily thrown you off course, work with your Financial Advisor to figure out how you can get back on the right path.

     

    Or, if you’re still on track, talk with your Financial Advisor about new goals you want to work toward. For example, in 2025, were you able to boost your contributions to your retirement savings or a loved one’s education fund? In 2026, can you contribute even more? Your Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor can help you look holistically at the year ahead and assess your progress towards your goals.
  3. 3
    Revisit Your Household Budget

    In addition to reviewing long-term goals, it’s also helpful to check on your nearer-term cash needs. Start by revisiting your household budget:

     

    • First, compare your average monthly income with both fixed and variable expenses to identify where your money is going.
     
    • Then, assuming you have extra funds in your budget after your necessary expenses, list your top priorities to help you figure out how you’ll use that money—whether it’s saving more, paying down debt, or building your emergency fund to help handle unexpected costs.

     

    Having trouble getting started? Morgan Stanley’s financial management tools, available on Morgan Stanley Online, can help you track income and expenses and create custom budgets to optimize how you put your money to work. 
  4. 4
    Tackle Your Debt

    Even if you’re good about managing your debt, consider taking steps to help reduce and consolidate it further. For example, if you’re expecting a raise or year-end bonus, applying the extra income to any balances with high interest rates could help reduce your balance more quickly.

     

    Then, think about consolidating any remaining debt, which may help you swap varying interest rates on multiple loans, credit lines or cards for a potentially lower rate on a single loan. Reducing the number of loans you carry can also help simplify your financial life and ease money stress. You may want to ask your Financial Advisor about possible strategies. 
  5. 5
    Update Your Estate and Insurance Plans

    Finally, the new year can be a good time to review and consider:

     

    • Creating or updating your estate plan: If you don’t have an estate plan consisting of a Last Will and Testament, power of attorney and health care proxy in place, make completing your estate plan a priority for this year. An estate plan ensures your assets are distributed according to your wishes. 
     
    • Updating and reviewing any life insurance policies: The beginning of the year is an opportune moment to review and update your life insurance policy to ensure it meets your current financial needs. If your employer does not offer life insurance benefits, consider purchasing an individual policy to bridge the gap. Major life events such as marriage, divorce, having children, buying a home or starting a business can significantly impact your coverage needs, as can changes in income, debt or financial goals. An annual review helps confirm that the policy reflects your current life situation and provides the right level of protection for your loved ones, keeping it aligned with your evolving financial priorities.

     

    By February 1st, many of us have lost track of our resolutions, but resolutions only work if you stick to them. To do that in 2026, connect with your Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor to discuss your financial goals for the year ahead and beyond.

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Footnotes:

1 Soomin Ryu, Lu Fan, “The Relationship Between Financial Worries and Psychological Distress Among U.S. Adults,” Feb. 1, 2022.

Disclosures:

This article has been prepared without consideration of an individual’s investment objectives, risk tolerance or financial circumstances. The products and services highlighted are ideas only. Before a Financial Advisor makes a recommendation of any of these suggested ideas, the Financial Advisor must (i) have a reasonable basis for such a recommendation, (ii) take into account the client’s essential facts to ensure it is appropriate for the client and (iii) urge clients to consult their personal tax and/or legal advisor to learn about any potential tax implications that may result from acting on a particular recommendation. Clients should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving trust and estate planning, charitable giving, philanthropic planning and other legal matters.

Asset allocation, diversification and rebalancing do not assure a profit or protect against loss. There may be a potential tax implication with a rebalancing strategy. Please consult your tax advisor before implementing such a strategy.

Morgan Stanley offers a wide array of brokerage and advisory services to its clients, each of which may create a different type of relationship with different obligations to you. Please consult with your Financial Advisor to understand these differences.

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