More Americans Consider Financial Resolutions Amid Budget Stress, Fidelity Says

With the new year comes the opportunity for a financial reset and more and more Americans are considering saving money. financial resolutions in 2026 with an emphasis on short-term savings goals, according to a recent study by Fidelity Investments.

Fidelity’s annual study finds that 64% of respondents are considering a financial resolution for the new year, an increase from 56% last year.

The study also found that the top three financial resolutions remained consistent year over year, with 44% saying they wanted to save more money36% want to pay off debt and 30% want to spend less money.

Main financial resolutions

Source: Fidelity Investments

“This was the second year in a row that Americans prioritized short-term savings more,” Leanna Devinney, market leader at Fidelity Investments, told FOX Business in an interview. “So it was similar to last year where they were saying, ‘I want more short-term savings goals, like building an emergency fund or paying off debt, versus longer-term goals.'”

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The study found that 55% of respondents feel overwhelmed by personal finance while 31% of Americans describe their relationship with money as stressful. Among age groups, Millennials (68%) and Gen Z (64%) were the most overwhelmed with their personal finances.

Americans also feel more stressed than in recent years when it comes to saving money for their goals after paying bills (35%), being able to pay their monthly bills (34%), paying healthcare costs in retirement (30%), and having enough money. retirement savings retire as planned (30%).

Fidelity found that nearly three-quarters of Americans faced a financial setback last year, which could explain the focus on building savings for unexpected setbacks, with 20% reporting an unexpected non-health emergency.

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“In 2025, 72% of Americans reported experiencing some sort of financial setback, and then 55% said they were overwhelmed with their personal finances,” Devinney said. “As a result of rising prices, 33% said they felt they had much less money.”

“While these are factual concerns, we also see optimism,” Devinney noted, adding that the study found that 70% of respondents see themselves in a different mindset. better or similar financial situation than they were at the same time last year.

Additionally, more respondents reported feeling better about their financial situation than five years ago: 43% of them said this in this year’s study, an increase from 36% last year.

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“The start of the year really started off as a roller coaster. We saw significant market volatility, then a significant market rebound, not to mention lingering concern about our ability to compete with rising prices. Year after year, we saw difficult inflation“.

“I think the reason that over the last couple of years we’ve seen a little bit more of a focus on short-term savings is probably due to some volatility that we’ve seen, as well as the fact that Americans have this time around said they’ve had to dip into some of their savings,” she said.

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Devinney said it’s encouraging to see that Americans are prioritizing their short-term financial goals more, pointing to the 25% who said they want to build their emergency fund over the next year and 23% who said they want to stick to a spending budget.