ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - Nearly three in four Americans say they fell short of their saving and spending resolutions this year, but financial experts say the new year is an ideal time to reflect on spending habits and create a realistic budget.

Kent Patrick with Bush Wealth Management said one of the biggest things people can do to start 2026 on the right foot is to have a spending budget in place.

“If you look at where we are with our economy, we’ve seen rising interest rates. Even though now they’re starting to come down, inflation has crept up. We even have one of the buzzwords right now, which is ‘subscription creep,’” said Patrick. “All of those rising costs have eroded the purchasing power of people’s income.”

Patrick said to start by tracking take-home pay and expenses for three months to understand where money is actually going.

“Sit down and look at your take-home pay. So this is not your gross income. This is your net income after health care deductions. Maybe you save in a 401k,” said Patrick. “Go pull three months’ worth of your bank statements, review that, and see where you fall. And I think it will open your eyes to where your money is actually going.”

The advantage of budgeting is knowing where money is going and making it work for you, rather than reaching the end of the month wondering where it all went, Patrick said.

Patrick said it’s best to automate the budgeting process using available technology and banking tools.

“Think about years ago, you’d have to have pen and paper, and you would consolidate or reconcile your bank accounts every month. Now you have AI, you have most of your banking needs are provided on your login dashboard, where you can track your spending,” said Patrick. “It’s actually easier than ever to budget, and for whatever reason, less and less Americans are doing it.”

The Federal Reserve recently announced another rate cut, the third of the year, which means deposit rates at banking institutions will likely drop in the coming months.

“It’s more important than ever to make sure you have a savings strategy in place. And maybe you look elsewhere to generate a little bit higher yield on your investments and savings,” said Patrick.

Patrick also recommends considering the 70-20-10 rule: live off 70 percent of income, set aside 20 percent as savings, and give away 10 percent to charitable interests.

According to recent studies, nearly six in 10 Americans live paycheck to paycheck, and more than one-third say they couldn’t cover a $400 emergency without borrowing money. People who track their budget are up to 30 percent more likely to stick to a budget.

Disclosure: This program should not be construed by any client or prospective client as the rendering of personalized investment advice. All investments and investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy including those discussed in this broadcast will be profitable or equal any historical performance levels. Investment strategies such as asset allocation, diversification, or rebalancing do not assure or guarantee better performance and cannot eliminate the risk of investment losses. Any target referenced in this broadcast is not a prediction or projection of actual investment results and there can be no assurance that any target will be achieved.

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