Simple Resolutions to Unlock Your Financial Potential in 2026
Data from Northwestern Mutual reveals five financial blind spots among Americans.
As we turn the page to a new year, it’s the right time to reflect on your financial habits and set goals for a secure future. In 2025, Northwestern Mutual’s Planning & Progress Study revealed insights into the blind spots many Americans face. Let’s resolve to address these gaps together—and set up your 2026 for financial success.
1. Mind the Retirement Savings Gap
Americans think they’ll need $1.26 million to retire comfortably. If your savings haven’t kept pace, it could lead to a sizeable gap between what you have and what you’ll need. Such a disconnect could lead to financial anxiety down the road and even missing out on important life goals.
Americans Think They’ll Need $1.26M to Retire
New Year Resolutions
If you think you have a retirement savings gap, here are some goals you can focus on in 2026 to help close it:
Assess your finances – To do so, take stock of how much money you have and where it’s held, how much you owe, any assets you own and how much they are worth.
Set retirement goals – Get started by thinking about when you want to retire and the lifestyle you’ll want to lead.
Get a plan – Work with your advisor to create a tailored financial plan that helps bridge any retirement savings gap you may have and helps you make your goals reality.
2. Prioritize Saving Up While Paying Debt Down
In 2025, 70 percent of Americans held at least some personal debt outside their mortgages. The average amount was $21,500, and the number one source of that debt was credit cards.
70 Percent of Americans Held Personal Debt in 2025
For the third year in a row, Americans are focusing on debt with greater urgency than saving. While reducing debt is important, so is saving. That’s because saving can help you maintain a buffer in an emergency, achieve big life goals (like buying a home, starting a family or retiring) and build long-term wealth.
New Year Resolutions
If you have personal debt, it’s important to save up while paying it down. If you’re struggling to achieve the right mix, here are two ideas to help you improve in 2026:
Pay yourself first – Automating your savings and retirement contributions is a great place to start. You’ll want to treat these “payments” with the same importance and regularity as you would any fixed expense, like your rent, mortgage or utilities.
Manage debt effectively – Create a list of what you owe and prioritize which debts you want to pay off first. It typically makes the most sense to focus your payment efforts on the debt with the highest interest rate first because you pay more in interest every month that balance remains high. Most high-interest debt will likely be associated with credit cards.
Let’s personalize your financial plan.
Your advisor will help you define what’s important for you and your family—uncovering opportunities and blind spots. Then they’ll work with you to personalize a comprehensive plan to grow your wealth while protecting it from risks.
Find your advisor3. Stretch Your Retirement Savings With a Tax Strategy
Nearly half of Americans say they don’t have a good understanding of how taxes could impact their retirement and haven’t factored taxes into their financial planning. Having a well-thought-out tax strategy can make a substantial impact on your life—potentially enabling you to retire sooner, live more comfortably in retirement or both.
Nearly half of Americans Say They Don’t Have a Good Understanding of How Taxes Could Impact Their Retirement
New Year Resolutions
Here’s how you can start laying the groundwork for your retirement tax strategy in 2026:
Contribute to a 401(k) or IRA – These accounts let you save for retirement with tax advantages. Contributions to a traditional 401(k) or IRA can lower your taxable income today, but you’ll pay taxes later when you withdraw money in retirement. With a Roth account you pay taxes on your contributions, but your withdrawals are generally tax-free in retirement.
Diversify the tax treatment of your retirement money – Work with your advisor to help create diversity in the tax treatment of your retirement assets. This way you’ll have access to assets with different tax treatments in retirement, giving you flexibility to manage your taxes efficiently based on your situation.
4. Get Real About the Cost of Long-term Care
Sixty-one percent of Americans expect to need long-term care themselves at some point—but just 44 percent say they have planned financially for it.
What’s more, nearly three-quarters of Americans say that if they have a health event that requires long-term care, they’d prefer to stay in their home and receive in-home care. And the cost of that care could exceed $100,000 in 2026 and half a million dollars annually by 2058.1
Most Americans Want to Remain in Their House and Receive In-home Care
New Year Resolutions
If you’re saving for long-term care (or want to start), here are two potential goals for 2026:
Get realistic about costs – Research how much long-term care should cost based on current data. Be sure to consider the type of care you’d like to have.
Explore strategies to help pay for long-term care – Work with your advisor to learn how different financial instruments can help you pay for long-term care.
5. Debunk Estate Planning Myths
An astounding 61 percent of Americans do not have a will. The percentage of those who don’t varies widely across generations, with 30 percent of boomers+ saying they don’t have one, and 74 and 73 percent of millennials and Gen Z, respectively, saying they don’t.
61 Percent of Americans Don’t Have a Will
The misconception that estate planning is only for the wealthy or elderly can lead to challenges for your heirs should the unexpected happen. The truth: Adults—regardless of age or asset level—need some kind of estate plan to help ensure their wishes are honored and their loved ones are protected.
New Year Resolutions
If you don’t have basic estate planning documents in place, here are two goals for 2026:
Draft essential documents – At a minimum, most Americans should have a will, durable power of attorney, health care power of attorney and a living will in place.
Update your beneficiaries – Review and update beneficiary designations on your life insurance policies and retirement accounts. These designations can supersede instructions in your will, so you’ll want to be sure everything is in alignment.
Take the First Step Toward a Financially Secure 2026
As the new year dawns, now is the perfect time to reassess your financial goals and take action to secure your future. Whether you’re just starting your financial journey, in the midst of building your wealth or planning for retirement, your advisor can help you find a better way to money and make 2026 a year of meaningful progress through strategic financial planning.
