As the nation sets its New Year financial goals, new research¹ ² from St. James’s Place’s Real Life Advice Report reveals that purpose, planning and professional advice are key to turning new year intentions into long term financial progress.
Across the UK, the most common financial resolutions for 2026 include building or growing an emergency savings fund (11%), spending less on non-essentials (10%), sticking to a monthly budget (9%), paying off credit card debt (9%) and saving a fixed percentage of income (9%).
However, despite widespread motivation, many struggle to convert these resolutions into meaningful action. People with a structured financial plan, including defined goals and timelines, are almost twice as likely to feel on track when it comes to achieving their savings and investment goals compared with those without one (78% vs 45%). Despite this, only two fifths (42%) of adults have a plan in place, and one in three (32%) say they have no plan at all.
While the desire to improve is strong, with almost nine in ten (87%) of those saving towards a goal saying it motivates them, just one in five (22%) are currently saving or investing towards a specific target. For almost two fifths (37%), the barriers are psychological, with 15% saying planning feels too complicated, 12% believing it would cause stress and 10% avoiding thinking about money entirely.
Advice turns resolutions into results
The research also highlights the powerful role of professional advice in helping people move from intention to action and sustain progress over the long term. Almost all (95%) of those receiving ongoing advice say it helps them reach and stay on track with their goals, and advised individuals are far more likely to feel that their saving, spending and investing aligns with their wider life aspirations (85% compared with just 60% of those who are not advised).
Advice also supports stronger financial planning behaviours. Advised clients are more than twice as likely to have a structured plan in place (68% versus 32%), and they are twice as likely to be working towards a specific financial goal (37% versus 16%).
Claire Trott, Head of Advice at St. James’s Place, says:
“January is when many people feel motivated to take control of their finances, but good intentions alone rarely deliver long-term change. Our research clearly shows that having a structured financial plan makes the biggest difference, providing clarity, discipline and a framework that keeps people on track even when life gets busy.
“With defined goals and a plan to follow, people are far more likely to make consistent progress and feel confident in their financial decisions. Advice then builds on that foundation, offering guidance and reassurance to help people stay focused on what truly matters to them over the long term.”
1 – Opinium surveyed 8,000 UK adults between 22nd July and 5th August 2025. Quotas and post-weighting were applied to the sample to make the dataset representative of the UK adult population.
2- Opinium surveyed 2,000 UK adults between 28th November and 2nd December 2025. Quotas and post-weighting were applied to the sample to make the dataset representative of the UK adult population.
