This Week’s Blog Is Written By Scott D. Heins, CFP®, IAG Chief Investment Officer
January 7, 2026

Welcome to 2026! A new year is always exciting, but it also can bring some additional tension into our lives.

Many people take some time to reflect on what we could have done better in the previous year, and we resolve to make adjustments in our lives that we believe will improve our outcomes in the new year.

Perhaps you even made a resolution or two to eat better, take care of your physical or mental health, or build/rebuild frayed relationships.

These are fantastic thoughts, but then the tension rises – the tension between habits and intentions.

We are inevitably creatures of habit, and the flip of the calendar from one year to the next does not return us to our factory settings (thankfully!). No, we effortlessly carry forward the good and bad habits we have accumulated from one year to the next.

Habits are simply shortcuts for our brains. It is hard work having to make decisions all the time about everything, so habits simply reduce the number of decisions needed by putting parts of your life on auto-pilot.

Marketers know this. If they can get you to try their product and enjoy it enough to automate it, they have gained a satisfied consumer for life. Most people do not have the time or patience to comparison shop for every item on their shopping list.

But what happens when you intentionally resolve to alter your habits?

The number of gym memberships explodes in January, driven by intentions to start working out. Most new gym members show up with a burst of enthusiasm in early January that slowly and predictably devolves into old habits, leaving them with merely a monthly gym membership fee as a testament to their good intentions.

Fortunately, many of the best financial habits do not require your recurring appearance at a facility geared toward physical labor. They simply require a one-time action on your part to start automatic wealth-improvement.

If you are working, log in to your employer’s retirement plan and bump up your retirement plan contributions by 1-2%. Consider starting automated monthly contributions to an IRA or Roth IRA. Set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings account every month to build your emergency fund.

Finally, when the financial markets soar or tumble, ignore them – a resolution that requires significantly less energy than deadlifting this or cross training that. And it is one less decision for your lazy/efficient brain to make.

May your positive intentions for the new year overcome the tensions created by your old negative habits in 2026 and beyond.

Quote of the week: James Clear: “Your current habits are perfectly designed to deliver your current results.”

Securities offered through LPL Financial. Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice offered through IAG Wealth Partners, LLC, (IAG) a registered investment advisor and separate entity from LPL Financial.

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results.

Any opinions are those of IAG and not necessarily those of LPL Financial. Expressions of opinion are as of this date and are subject to change without notice. This information is not intended as a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell any security referred to herein. No strategy assures success or protects against loss. Investing involves risk including loss of principal.

ART: 844736-1

Photo Credit: iStock 2229689938