Now is the time to start planning your financial goals for 2026

We are getting towards the end of 2025, and for many of us the main financial priority at the moment is Christmas. If you followed our advice earlier in the year (see our article Be Prepared! Start Planning for Christmas 2025) you may have been putting money aside regularly to cover the costs of this expensive time. But, if not, it’s important to spend wisely now so that you don’t start 2026 in a financial mess.

And now is also a good time to look ahead to 2026 and decide what you would like your finances to look like this time next year. Obviously it would be great to win the lottery and no longer have a financial care in the world! But, even though that is unlikely to happen, there are several steps that you can take to improve your finances over the next year. 

In this article we take a quick look at five of the most common financial goals, and give you a few tips about how to go about achieving them.

Goal 1 : Survive from month to month

Many people do not manage to get from one pay day to the next without overspending. So, for many of us, our number one goal would be to get to the position where we survive a month without having to struggle financially.

Many of our articles about personal finances stress the importance of making a monthly budget then monitoring your spending to see how closely you are sticking to your budget. This is an essential part of getting your finances into good shape and keeping them there. Unless you know where your money is going, or why you are overdrawing each month, you won’t be able to fix the problem.

But even if you already have a budget, your income and expenditure – money in and money out – may well have changed over the past few months, so it’s important to have another good look at everything to be confident of where your money is going. Only then can you create an up to date, realistic budget that stands a chance of working for you in 2026.

Your budget may well indicate that you need more income to cover all your essential spending, so we’ll look at that next.

Goal 2 : Increase income

Recognising that you need more income is not a shameful thing. You may just be at the point in life where there are so many demands on your current finances that you need to boost them. 

The most obvious way to increase your regular income is to find a job that pays more money. As well as looking for a job elsewhere, it could be worth asking for a pay rise where you currently work, especially if you have not had one for a while. There may even be the opportunity of taking on more responsibility at your work, in return for higher pay. Any of these changes could help your finances get back on track, so even if you feel a little uncomfortable about trying to make them happen, it will be worth it in the end.

Another option is to start up some kind of side hustle. A side hustle is a creative way of making money – for example from a hobby, interest or casual job – as well as your main job. Our recent article Help for Hustles explains all about what a side hustle is, how to choose the best side hustle for you, and how much you can earn before having to pay tax.

If you can find a way of bringing in additional income on a regular basis during 2026, this could be a turning point for your finances.

Goal 3 : Pay off bad debt

Debt is a very common issue in the UK. The average personal debt in the UK is around £2,400 per adult. This figure includes unsecured debts like credit cards, overdrafts, store credit, and personal loans. All of which could be regarded as “bad debt”.

It does not include debts described as “good debt”, such as mortgages, car finance and student loans. Whilst in one sense is good, these debts have a positive outcome in terms of helping you either to buy a major asset or achieve an important life goal. 

But bad debt can soon become a major issue, especially if you are paying high interest rates on credit cards and can’t seem to reduce the overall balance. This can get very stressful and start having a major impact on your finances. It could take years to pay off, and cost far more than the original amount you spent.

So make it a priority in 2026 to get rid of bad debt. The first way to do this is to keep paying as much as you can into your debts, perhaps tackling them one at a time. If you manage to increase your income, try to pay more into your debts to make a significant dent in them as quickly as possible. 

There are two other options that you may want to consider to pay off your debts:

Savings: if you have any savings it could be better to use those to get rid of your debts and free up your finances to start saving again. 

A debt consolidation loan : it can sometimes help to take out one new loan to pay off all your existing bad debt. You then have just one monthly repayment to make, and can focus all your debt-paying efforts into paying off this loan as soon as you can.

For more information and ideas on how to get out of debt, check out our article How to Get Out of Debt in 2025.

And always be aware that if you are feeling overwhelmed by debt and can’t see a way forward, there are various organisations that can provide information and support about further options available to you. For example:

• MoneyHelper
• Citizens Advice
• StepChange
• National Debtline

Goal 4 : Improve your credit score

Another financial goal worth considering is to improve your credit score. This is particularly important if you may want to buy a home or take on some other major financial commitment in the next couple of years. Every adult in the UK has a three digit credit score which is an indicator of your financial health, and is also used by lenders as part of their decision-making process on whether or not to lend to you.

There are three Credit Reference Agencies (CRAs) in the UK – Experian, Equifax or Transunion – who calculate your credit score based on information about your current finances and track record of handling debt. You can find out your credit score either from any of the CRAs or from a credit health company such as Clear Score.

If your credit score is lower than you would like it to be, there are two main areas that you can work on to improve it:

• Financial organisation

• Pay bills on time. Missed or even late payments can impact your credit score. So set up direct debits for all regular bills to ensure they don’t get forgotten.
• Reduce overall debt level. We’ve looked at ways of reducing debt, but be aware that it’s best only to use up to 25% of your current available credit as lenders will usually be concerned if you are close to all your current credit limits.
• Demonstrate that you can handle a loan. It can help to start a new affordable financial arrangement – such as a debt consolidation loan – that over time would provide positive evidence that you are good with money.

• Personal information

• Check your credit report for errors. It’s important to make sure that information such as your address, date of birth, employment situation and current finances is correct and up to date. 
• Make sure that you are on the electoral roll at your current address. You can register on the Gov UK website.
• Check that you are not shown on your report as having financial links to anyone – for example a former partner – if this is not the case. If you are on record as having any kind of joint financial arrangement with someone who has a poor credit score, this could affect your credit score too.

Goal 5 : Build savings

Many people in the UK do not have any significant savings. According to a 2025 Finder survey, even though the average person in the UK has £16,067 in savings, in reality this is far from average. In fact:

• 39% have less than £1,000;
• 23% have less than £200;
• 16% have no savings at all.

This means that the number of UK adults with no savings at all is around 8.4 million people. But having savings is a really important aspect of financial security, and one key goal to focus on for 2026. Not only can savings be so helpful for any kind of unexpected expense or emergency, they can also enable you to enjoy special treats, holidays and family celebrations without being out of pocket.

So make it a goal for 2026 to start saving. Even if you start very small, just by putting a small amount of money each month into a separate savings account, it is a step in the right direction.

You can then supplement regular savings with other activities such as:

• bonuses or tips;
• gifts
• wins
• refunds
• no spend challenges – see our article Are you Ready for a No-Spend Challenge in 2025?

By taking a step by step approach towards building savings, gradually your savings will grow. The main thing is to get started in whatever ways you can.

We hope that this article has provided some inspiration about your financial goals for 2026. Even if you just focus on one of the above, by this time next year your finances could be looking much healthier.

If in the meantime you need any additional funding to sort out immediate financial issues, remember that Loans 2 Go offer a range of personal loans which may be able to help. Full details, including terms and conditions are available on our website. Borrowing is optional and may not be suitable for everyone, so always consider your circumstances and affordability before applying.

For more useful financial and lifestyle tips, visit us here again soon at Loans 2 Go.