Affordability is the focus of these New Year’s resolutions

For far too many, the arrival of a new year just means being another day older and deeper in debt, like the coal miners in the 1950s song “Sixteen Tons.”

Coal miners and mill workers were often dependent on company-run stores, and if they got a raise the prices went up even more, leaving them to rely on credit while becoming worse off the longer they worked. That might sound just a bit familiar to people who don’t face the dangerous toil of coal miners but have seen costs for groceries, insurance, electricity and other necessities rise faster than their incomes.

Getting to a better place financially could involve earning more, but without a career change many people who work for wages don’t have much headroom. In any case, I can’t tell you how to earn more, but I can tell you how to save and spend wisely.

And saving money is crucial, because savings are a financial buffer that could cover an unexpected car repair — or holiday spending — without taking on debt. Both of those types of spending regularly cause more than a third of people in the U.S. to take on debt, studies have repeatedly shown.

Getting to a financial happy place with good credit, cash in the bank and no high-interest debt can require ongoing attention and effort, as well as some trade-offs. For example, I didn’t buy my first new car until I was 38, a Honda Civic, but I haven’t carried an interest-bearing credit card balance in decades.

Here are my top financial resolutions for the new year:

For everyone: Review all the bills you pay for on a regular basis, such as internet service, monthly subscriptions, personal care services, insurance, loans and even electricity. This will give a better picture of your spending, then you can trim things that you decide are unnecessary or too costly and look for savings in the ones you keep.

Shop that insurance around, for example. Stop paying for streaming services you don’t watch. Make your lunch. Weigh time-vs.-money decisions carefully, such as paying to have meals or groceries delivered. And treat savings account deposits as a regular expense that must be paid.

Review your bank and credit card accounts and compare the terms with rivals. There’s a good chance you can get a better deal, and potentially a new-customer bonus. If you pay monthly fees for basic banking, switch. If you pay an annual credit card fee, it might be time for a new one. But if you have a no-fee credit card you like, don’t cancel it because length of credit helps your credit score.

For homeowners: Utilities, necessary improvements and insurance are usually the largest expenses a homeowner would face beyond paying the mortage. Savings are possible with all three.

The key to a lower electric bill is, of course, to use less power. Upgrading insulation is the most cost-effective way to reduce a home’s use, along with paying attention to the thermostat — get a programmable one if you don’t have one — and minding energy “vampires” like large TVs that run up energy bills when they aren’t being used. Check your utility’s website, because Duke Energy, Dominion Energy and others offer free home energy audits and discounts.

Necessary home improvements, such as replacing a roof or a failing heating and air-conditioning system, can be very costly. So it’s important to know that South Carolina could contribute up to $7,500 toward a roof replacement in hurricane-prone counties (SC Safe Home), and utilities regularly offer rebates and savings on HVAC systems, insulation, and other things. That’s particularly important in 2026, because federal tax credits for home energy efficiency that were expected to last through 2032 were ended in 2025.

Home insurance, including hurricane and flood policies, are expensive and short of reducing coverage it’s hard to save on those due to a lack of competition. The good news is, if insuring your primary home costs more than 5 percent of your annual income there’s a state tax credit for that. It’s called the Excess Insurance Premium Credit, and some readers have told me their accountants didn’t know about it — but now you do.

For 60-plus SC residents: Don’t miss out on age-related discounts and tax breaks in South Carolina, including, the Homestead Exemption. It exempts $50,000 of the value of one’s legal residence from property taxes. Apply the year after turning 65. People with certain disabilities also qualify. Apply through your county auditor’s office.

In Charleston, those receiving the Homestead Exemption are also excused from the city’s $132 annual stormwater fee, upon request. (call 843-724-7311 or email CityofChasSWFee@charleston-sc.gov.)

Also in the Charleston area, residents 60 and older can get substantial discounts on Uber or Lyft rides, worth up to $14 for as many as four rides per week. Apply online at ridecarta.com/services/ondemand/.

There are many more examples, from discounted hunting licenses and driver license renewals to stores with regular “senior discount” days and reduced rates for services such as wireless phone plans.