A fresh financial start: Change ONE money habit for 2026, and sustain it

PL

Paula Luckhoff

6 January 2026 | 20:20

Focusing on one habit change has a better success rate than trying to change everything at the same time, says Galileo Capital's Warren Ingram.

A fresh financial start: Change ONE money habit for 2026, and sustain it

A couple working on their finances, budget. Pexels/Ron Lach

Are you someone who makes New Year's resolutions and, on the back of that, someone who actually sees them through?

Just like some people might take a good, hard look at their fitness during the time for reflection provided by an end-of-year break, some may decide to take action regarding their financial health.

The problem is that many resolution devotees start the year with a bang and then fizzle out.

Personal finance guru Warren Ingram says people tend to target changing their financial situation all at once, which is overwhelming and sure not to succeed.

"It's one of my most frustrating human behaviours to observe... At the start of a year the gym is always overcrowded, and around three months later it's back to normal. I think it happens in many aspects; people look at their fitness, they look at their financial wellbeing... And when we look at these resolutions people make it's a bit like government policy - we have 50 priorities and when you have so many it's hard to accomplish anything."

Research shows that focusing on ONE habit change has a much better success rate than trying to change everything at the same time, Ingram says: 

The goal is to build momentum, "not burn out by February".

HOW TO ENSURE YOUR ONE HABIT STICKS:
  1. Make it specific: Don't aim to "save more". Rather aim to "move R1,000 to savings on the 1st of every month".
  2. Make it automatic: Set up a debit order or calendar reminder; whatever makes it happen without the willpower required to do decide something every month.
  3. Make it measurable: By December 2026, you should be able to say "I did this thing 48 times" or "I saved this amount".

EXAMPLES OF GOOD AND BAD HABITS:

  1. Stop the "just checking" habit: Stop checking your bank balance on your phone every day. It creates anxiety and doesn't change anything. Check once a week on a set day instead.
  2. Stop the Saturday spending habit: If every Saturday costs you R2,000 in random purchases, that's more than R100,000 a year. Change Saturday, change your year.
  3. Stop the subscription creep habit: Do one audit of your accounts NOW and cancel the subscriptions you don't use. 
  4. Stop the "I'll sort it out later" habit: Tackle that one thing you've been avoiding for months, such as an insurance review, updating your will or increasing your Retirement Annuity debit order. Pick ONE THING to sort out this year and get it done, soon.

WHY ONE  HABIT CHANGE WORKS SO WELL:

Developing one habit successfully, creates a keystone habit. When you master one thing, it creates confidence for the next.
For example, if you start tracking one category of spending (e.g. takeaways and restaurant spending), you often naturally start noticing other spending patterns.

It's not about perfection, Ingram reiterates - this is about progress you can actually maintain.

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to Ingram's detailed advice

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