New Year’s resolutions: Tips from financial, fitness and mental health experts

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New Year’s Day is just another day for some Canadians, but for many others, it is the day to set resolutions, to rebrand or to create vision boards for the year. For those who set resolutions, the annual goals can be fuel for motivation, but for others, they can feel overwhelming.

Several experts weighed in on how to frame resolutions so that they are not only achievable but promote mental well-being.

Financial awareness

With the cost of living rising, financial educator and founder of MeVest Lesley-Anne Scorgie says one of the first things Canadians can do to improve their financial situation is to be aware of their expenses.

She says this process is not about shame or guilt, but rather empowering oneself with self-awareness.

“Look at what’s running through your account,” Scorgie said in an interview with CTV News Channel on Thursday.

“Credit card statements, bank accounts, is there an opportunity for you to identify maybe two or three financial leaks that you could plug and take that money back?”

She added “maybe you’re shrinking a subscription that you signed up for and downsizing it.”

Identifying food waste and impulse purchases could also be a way to save more money, Scorgie said.

“It’s doing your very best to find anything that you can cut back or cut out,” she said.

Starting simple

Toronto personal trainer and fitness expert Kristin Dalziel says if Canadians have fitness goals for 2026, setting small, tangible goals that can be easily implemented in their everyday life is the best approach.

“The number one reason why people abandon their fitness goals is because we get this ‘go hard or go home’ mentality, and we feel we need to change everything about our lives right now,” Dalziel told CTV News Channel on Thursday.

“Maybe you’re just walking your dog every day and you simply add another lap around the block. If you’re working an office job, maybe it’s as simple as setting a timer so that at the two-hour mark, you stand up and you do a sit-down, standup 10 times for a set of squats.”

Dalziel says whether the goal is finding a community that likes the same type of movements, like walking or running, or joining a class, or watching fitness videos online, the best way to be successful is to start simple and give yourself kindness.

“I’m always telling (my clients) to be kind to themselves,” she said. “How they show up that day is perfectly acceptable for that day. Not every day has to be the best thing you ever do (...) It’s just showing up for yourself.”

Think about why

Echoing Dalziel’s starting small approach to resolutions, psychologist and University of Toronto professor Steve Joordens recommends creating habits slowly.

“Habits are really hard, and the success comes just by starting to create a new habit,” Joordens told CTV News Channel on Thursday. “If you try to make too big of a habit, your brain is just going to work against you.”

Joordens also says creating a community around resolutions can be beneficial to achieving goals and to your health.

“Many of us think about physical health and how we’d like to be physically stronger, but in fact, we now know that social health seems to be the foundation of both physical and mental health, and overall happiness,” he said.

For Joordens, the biggest takeaway for any New Year’s resolution is thinking about why you’re doing it.

“It’s really good to sit and think about why you are doing this and not just say, ‘I wish I was in better shape,’ but if you think more, ‘I’ve got so many years left, and I really want to enjoy those to the fullest,’ and imagine some of the adventures you’d like to go on” he said.

“It’s the why that helps you keep going,”