Learn How to Declutter Your Money and Reach Your Financial Goals

 

A fresh start is an opportunity to step back, evaluate your current situation, and refocus on what truly matters. If life feels overwhelming or your finances are spiraling out of control, hitting the reset button is a powerful way to regain clarity and confidence. Here’s how to take a holistic approach to your life while prioritizing your financial well-being:

1. Clear the Clutter

Removing chaos starts with looking at your current situation and cleaning things up.

Start by decluttering your physical and financial environments. In your home, choose a space you use a lot—like your desk or kitchen—and organize it. A clean, functional space fosters focus and calm.

Next, address financial clutter. Review your spending habits, bank statements, and recurring subscriptions. Identify and eliminate unnecessary expenses. Just as tidying a room creates a sense of accomplishment, simplifying your finances brings clarity and control. 

2. Create Time for What Matters

Your time and money are your greatest resources—plan them wisely.

Being intentional with your time helps you stay focused and reduces stress. Use a digital calendar to map out your schedule. Block time for self-care, work, family, and personal growth. Regularly review and adjust your schedule to ensure it aligns with your priorities. 

The grass is always greener on the other side because, that guy takes the time to care for his lawn.

Extend this principle to your finances. Add reminders for important tasks like paying bills, reviewing your budget, and checking on savings goals. Treat these reminders as sacred appointments to stay accountable.

3. Brain Dump Your Priorities

A brain dump helps release thoughts and tasks that weigh on your mind.

Take a few minutes to write down everything on your mind—big or small. Don’t filter your thoughts; just let them flow. This could include to-do lists, worries, or aspirations. Once it’s all on paper, organize your thoughts into actionable tasks.

For finances, this exercise might involve listing upcoming bills, savings goals, or debts to address. Writing it all down creates mental space, helps you prioritize effectively, and reduces the anxiety of forgetting important details.

4. Understand Where Your Energy and Money Are Going

The more things we have consuming our energy, the less progress we make in each individual area.

Take stock of how you’re spending your time, energy, and money. Identify areas where you’re overcommitted or misaligned with your goals.

Review your financial categories—housing, transportation, dining, and entertainment. Are your spending habits supporting your long-term objectives? If not, make adjustments. Redirect your resources toward what truly matters, like paying off debt, building savings, or pursuing meaningful experiences.

5. Use the Wheel of Life to Find Focus

Evaluate your life holistically using the Wheel of Life tool. Consider categories like career, health, relationships, and personal growth. Rate your satisfaction in each area, avoiding a score of seven (it’s too neutral and forces clarity). Go through each category and rate our satisfaction with that area of our life on a scale from 1 to 10.

For finances, create a specific Wheel of Life to assess areas like budgeting, saving, investing, debt management, communication, and retirement planning. Identify one area where improvement would have the greatest impact. Then, envision what a perfect 10 looks like and outline steps to get there.

6. Choose a Focus and Commit to It

Small, focused efforts lead to big wins.

Prioritize one area of your life, maybe it’s finances to concentrate on for the next few months. Whether it’s saving for an emergency fund, paying off a credit card, or improving your health, focusing on a single goal allows for meaningful progress.

Pick one financial goal to prioritize for the next season of your life. Whether it’s saving $5,000 emergency fund, paying off a credit card, or creating a sustainable budget, dedicate your energy to this single focus.

Create a commitment document. Write out specific, measurable actions—like setting up automatic savings, making biweekly debt payments, or meal-prepping to save on dining costs. Treat it as a contract with yourself to stay accountable. Get a Financial Accountability Coach™

Write a commitment document detailing specific, measurable actions to take. For financial goals, this might include setting up automatic savings, reducing dining-out expenses, or creating a debt repayment plan. Treat this document as a personal contract and revisit it regularly to stay on track.

7. Maintain Balance While You Grow

We want to ensure that no area of our life declines while focusing on a priority.

As you focus on one goal, ensure other areas of your life stay steady. Set small, consistent habits to maintain balance. For example, while prioritizing financial goals, maintain your relationships by scheduling regular check-ins with loved ones or prioritize your health with quick daily workouts.

In your finances, automate tasks like bill payments and contributions to savings accounts to reduce effort while ensuring progress.

The Power of a Life and Financial Reset

Hitting the reset button is about embracing progress, not striving for perfection. By clearing the clutter, building intentional systems, and focusing on what truly matters, you can regain clarity and control over your life and finances.

When you prioritize what matters most, you pave the way for a life that feels balanced, purposeful, and fulfilling. This isn’t just about setting resolutions—it’s about committing to meaningful change that aligns with your values and goals.

Your fresh start begins now. Are you ready to take the first step? Click here to get matched up with a coach with Accountable’s Coach Match.

This year don’t just aim for improvement—commit to a reset that brings clarity, confidence, and lasting impact. Your future self will thank you.

 

 

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About the Author

Connor Tyson (Owner/ Founder of Progress Solutions)

Hi, I’m Connor, I wrote this blog based upon 24 years of being a financial advisor, during which I have had the privilege of guiding hundreds of individuals and families as they embarked on their financial planning journeys. 

My goal is to help people going through life transitions who feel they aren't where they should be in their personal finances, feel unsure or uneasy about their current situation get unstuck from their current situation by providing a simple and proven path forward, so they can move forward with confidence and change the trajectory of their financial futures and that of their families.

• BS degree - Finance, from Quinnipiac University, 1999
• Financial Advisor for over 20 years, Series 65, Registered Investment Advisor
• ChFC ® designation - Chartered Financial Consultant