How to be better with your money — one month at a time

New Year's resolutions are easy. It usually goes like this: you make yourself a promise and forget about it by February. But if your 2024 resolution is to get better with money, forgetting about it might prove costly.

It can be a monumental task to build healthy financial habits. Doing too much at the same time can be overwhelming and quickly turn you off the whole endeavor. Instead, try going one step — or one month — at a time and keep building on small wins. Below, CNBC Select offers a monthly calendar for you to follow so you can improve your relationship with money in 2024.

• January: Build a monthly budget
• February: Pick a debt repayment strategy
• March: Hire a tax professional
• April: Open a high-yield savings account for emergencies
• May: Start a sinking fund for the holidays
• June: Get a travel credit card
• July: Optimize your shopping and spending
• August: Review your insurance policies
• September: Check your credit
• October: Start investing (or review your portfolio)
• November: Review your employee benefits
• December: Plan your holiday expenses
• Bottom line

Your budget is your financial foundation. You need it to be able to set goals and create plans for your money, as well as make informed decisions based on your situation. Without the visibility into your finances that a budget provides, the best you can do is guesswork — which is a rather risky approach.

This is why it's best to create a budget before you get to anything else. This will let you see how much money you have coming in and where it's going. Based on that, you can decide how much you can dedicate to goals and how much you'll spend in different non-essential categories like dining out or entertainment.

To make budgeting easier, we recommend using a budgeting app. If you're new to budgeting, Goodbudget can be a good option. The app uses the envelope method where "envelopes" represent spending categories you divvy up cash into. Goodbudget is free for the first 20 envelopes.

If you have high-interest debt, such as credit card debt, it's a good idea to focus on getting rid of it as soon as possible.

Debt repayment can be a huge undertaking. To be successful at it, you're going to need a method. Here are a couple of popular strategies to consider:

• Snowball and debt avalanche methods. With these two strategies, you're simply focusing on which debts to pay off first. With the avalanche method, you pay off the balances with the highest APR first to save on interest. With the snowball method, you start with the lowest balances to get quick wins and keep you motivated. Whichever one you choose, make sure to always make at least minimum payments on the rest of your balances.
• Debt consolidation: When you consolidate debt, you're rolling multiple balances into one to have a single monthly payment and (hopefully) a lower interest rate. You can do so with a balance transfer card that allows you to move balances from other cards and pay them off with 0% interest over a promotional period. For instance, the Wells Fargo Reflect® Card offers 0% intro APR for 21 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers. After that, 18.24%, 24.74% or 29.99% variable APR kicks in.

A personal loan is another great tool for debt consolidation. You use the funds to pay off your debt and then have just one monthly bill to take care of. LightStream can be a good choice of lender for debt consolidation — it charges no origination fees, no early payoff fees and no late fees. However, unlike some lenders, LightStream won't pay your creditors directly if you're consolidating, so you'll need to take care of that part yourself once you receive the funds.

With tax day approaching, you don't want to be scrambling to find a tax specialist a week before April 15. It's best to book your appointment early and have your taxes done sooner rather than later — or even worse, late when the IRS will charge you penalties.

That said, your tax situation may be simple enough for you to feel comfortable using tax software. For example, if you only have W-2 income and don't expect to itemize your deductions, you can easily file for free using TurboTax Free Edition. It covers situations like W-2 income, IRS standard deduction, eligible interest and dividend income, Earned Income Tax Credit, child tax credits and student loan interest deduction.

If you don't have an emergency fund yet, you want to create one as soon as you can. Think of it as your armor against debt. It helps you pay for unexpected necessities so you can stay on track and spend your money on the things you really want, like a down payment on a home, vacation or shopping.

Consider automating your savings to help you stay on track with your savings goals. And make sure your emergency fund lives in a high-yield savings account. This way, your money can grow even more thanks to the interest earnings. The type of account is important here as traditional savings accounts often offer meager APY.

We recommend high-yield savings accounts such as the LendingClub High-Yield Savings. It offers one of the highest returns on your money and charges no monthly or minimum balance fees.

UFB Secure Savings is another excellent option. Besides a high APY, the account also comes with no minimum balance or monthly fees. You'll also get free transfers between direct deposit accounts.

You may be focused on the summer, but do future you a favor and set up a sinking fund to help ease the end-of-the-year financial stress. Sinking funds are money you save each month for specific goals. Examples can include big expenses you anticipate, such as annual insurance premiums or home maintenance, or something more fun, like a vacation or a new car.

A sinking fund can be kept in any deposit account (like a high-yield savings account), but you can also consider a certificate of deposit (CD). A six-month term CD opened in May would mature by November, just in time to help you pay for holiday travel and gifts.

Look into banks that offer strong returns on six-month CDs. For instance, Ally Bank advertises solid yields and terms ranging from three months to five years. The CD comes with no minimum balance requirement and charges no monthly fees.

Marcus by Goldman Sachs also offers high-yield CDs with terms ranging from six months to six years. However, you'll need to deposit a balance of at least $500.

Still haven't booked any summer vacation plans? A travel credit card is possibly one of the best tools to help you save money on travel and offer some extremely nice-to-have perks.

Take the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (see rates and fees), for example. It earns 2X miles on all purchases, meaning you get rewarded for everything you buy. With double rewards, those miles will likely add up quickly. You can use them to book travel directly with Capital One Travel or to cover your recent travel purchases. Another option is to transfer your rewards to the issuer's airline and hotel partners. On top of all that, you'll get benefits like travel insurance, airport lounge access, expedited airport security and $400 worth of annual bonuses and credits to offset the card's $395 annual fee (see rates and fees).

You have a credit card that earns rewards to fund your travel. But what about the rest of your discretionary (and essential) spending?

It pays to be a shrewd shopper. Learn to hunt for deals and know how to determine whether a deal is worth it. You can find browser extensions that show you price history charts at online retailers and apply promo codes automatically. For instance, camelcamelcamel tracks prices on millions of products on Amazon and you can check the charts to see price fluctuations over time.

A cash-back credit card can also be a good idea as it allows you to earn rewards where you spend the most. If groceries are a large expense for your family, for example, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is an excellent choice as it earns 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%).

Or, if you commute by ridesharing, look into the Capital One Savor Rewards Credit Card which earns 10% cash back on Uber and Uber Eats. It also comes with Uber One membership statement credits every month through Nov. 14, 2024.

When you already have an insurance policy in place, it's all too easy to let it renew automatically. But this is how you miss out on potential savings.

We recommend reviewing your policies once a year to make sure you're still getting the best deal for the coverage you have. It's also a good excuse to consider whether your coverage still meets your needs or if you want to change it.

With that, shop around and call multiple insurance providers for quotes. That includes all types of coverage you have, from homeowners insurance to auto insurance. Compare the policies and prices. If you're not getting the biggest bang for your buck, it might be time to switch.

Credit is another essential part of your financial health, so it's best to keep an eye on it. You want to check your credit at least every few months and give your credit reports a good look every year. This won't only give you an idea of how your credit is doing, but it will also allow you to notice any warning signs of fraud. Seeing a credit card opened in your name that you definitely haven't opened? Or a debt that doesn't belong to you? It's time to investigate, dispute those errors and potentially even freeze your credit.

You're entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each credit bureau once a year — you can request them at AnnualCreditReport.com. Currently, free weekly online credit reports are also available. And for regular credit monitoring, you can sign up for a free service such as Experian Dark Web Scan + Credit Monitoring. You'll get an updated Experian credit report and FICO score once a month, as well as real-time alerts about new inquiries and accounts opened in your name.

It's hard to build wealth without investing. If you haven't started yet, now's the time.

It can be overwhelming when you're a beginner, especially when you don't have much to invest. In this case, consider an investing app. Acorns specifically can be a good option for novice investors as it automatically invests your spare change and rebalances your portfolio.

If you're already investing, check your asset allocation and figure out whether your current investments still meet your goals. If not, it might be the time to change things up. If you're unsure about the best course of action, it may be a good time to speak with a financial advisor.

November is when open enrollment typically begins, meaning you can review and change your health insurance benefits. You can also sign up for or change your contribution to a health savings account (HSA) or a flexible savings account (FSA).

While you're on it, it might be a smart move to take a look at your other benefits too. Your 401(k) plan is especially important to your financial well-being. See if you're on track with your contributions and if not, adjust accordingly. At the very least, you want to max out your employer's match (if offered).

And of course, make sure you take advantage of all of your paid time off. This is a part of your compensation package and no one will pay you back this money if you don't use it.

It's the end of the year, and you've hopefully made some huge strides toward mastering your money. But your finances have one last task: to survive the holiday season (and if you started that sinking fund back in May, this task should now be a little easier).

Between traveling to be with your family and buying gifts for friends and loved ones, holidays can quickly become expensive. It's best to spend some time planning at the beginning of December and maybe even create a separate budget for the month. Include your estimated travel expenses (unless your credit card rewards can take care of them) and set a limit for how much you want to spend on presents. Even better, create a list of people you're buying gifts for and set a limit for each person.

Having these numbers might help you hold yourself accountable and avoid overspending.

Taking care of your finances is hard work — but it pays (quite literally). To avoid overwhelming yourself, focus on accomplishing one task each month. And don't forget to pat yourself on the back along the way. After all, hard work deserves recognition.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every personal finance guide is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of financial products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.

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