Do This to Transform Your Finances in 2025

You can wake up this time next year and realize you’ve just had the most financially successful year of your life. The key to this transformation is something that you can start doing today. 

Many people set financial goals every new year, but most fail by February. 

Why is that? 

It’s because they’re relying on outdated habits.

2025 can be different for you, not by doing more, but by doing different. 

I’m going to show you three specific changes that you can make in 2025 to transform your finances. Stick with me, because by the end, you’ll understand why most people fail, but you won’t.

Watch the extended version HERE.

Build the Right Financial Foundation

There’s one thing we all know we should be doing, but no one wants to: budgeting. It’s like building a house on a shaky foundation — everything looks fine at first, but over time, cracks start to form. By the time the damage is visible, it’s expensive and stressful to fix.

I had a coworker who didn’t plan his spending. Anytime things got tight, he’d float his balance on his credit card and only pay the minimum. It worked for a while, but after three tough months, his balance ballooned so much that even the minimum payments became hard to handle. He had to take out a lower-interest loan just to pay off the credit card. 

The worst part? During that time, we were both working overtime to make extra money, but all his hard work went toward digging out of that hole because he didn’t have a solid budget to start with.

I get it — budgeting isn’t exciting. Most of us want to skip to the fun stuff like investing, starting a side hustle, or making extra money to grow our wealth. But all of that falls apart without a solid financial foundation. It’s like building a mansion on quicksand — it looks good until it sinks.

For me, budgeting isn’t just about avoiding worst-case scenarios. It’s about maximizing my happiness. I track where my money goes and make sure I’m spending on the things that truly bring value to my life. Because money isn’t just cash — it represents my time and energy. I trade hours of my life at work to earn it, so wasting money feels like wasting my life.

Once I’ve nailed my budget and set up an emergency fund, then I focus on growing my money. That’s when investing and other opportunities start to make sense. But it all starts with the basics — building a solid foundation to make everything else possible.

Focus on the Big Wins

Would you rather hustle every day to save a few bucks here and there or focus your energy on one move that could make a huge difference? Once I nailed the basics of budgeting and saving, I realized that grinding for small wins wasn’t the best use of my time. Going from saving 0% to 10% of my income was a big win. Even bumping it to 20% wasn’t too hard. But pushing for 30% or 40%? That’s a grind, and there’s only so much you can cut before you hit a ceiling — and at that point, are you even enjoying life?

Instead of spending hours clipping coupons or chasing minor savings, I started looking for the big wins. When my friend switched from mishandling credit cards to using them strategically, he saved thousands. He was paying $1,000 a year in interest for every $5,000 in credit card debt. Once he paid it off and started using rewards properly, he made money. Last year, I earned over $4,000 in credit card bonuses alone.

Another big win for me was moving money out of a savings account and into investments. Keeping it in savings was costing me money due to inflation. Now, with average market returns of around 10%, every $10,000 I invest earns me $1,000 a year. That’s compounding in action — what Einstein called the eighth wonder of the world.

Then there’s the 401(k), which so many people underestimate. I hear complaints that it’s slow or not worth it, but my 401(k) is a money machine. My employer matches $1 for every $2 I put in, up to a certain limit. If I contribute $5,000 in a year, I get $2,500 in free money. Plus, I save over $1,000 on taxes because 401(k) contributions are pre-tax. That’s $3,500 in extra money for doing nothing except setting up automatic deductions from my paycheck.

The biggest win, though, is increasing your income. This takes effort, but the payoff can be massive. It might mean asking your boss for a raise, making sure they know the value you bring to the company, or even switching jobs if that’s the better option. Studies show people who change jobs typically see bigger pay increases than those who stay put. Of course, there are exceptions — like when staying in one place sets you up for a bigger leap down the road.

The key is focusing on moves that can save or earn thousands with minimal effort. Optimizing your 401(k), fixing your credit cards, and pushing for higher income are game-changers. Instead of grinding for small wins every day, I’ve learned to put my energy into big wins that keep growing over time. And there’s one more strategy that completely transformed how I think about money — it’s not about numbers, but it’s a game-changer.

Rewire Your Financial Mindset

Wealth doesn’t start with your wallet — it starts with your mindset. The way I think about money has completely changed how I approach it. It’s my mindset that helps me focus on the big wins instead of wasting time on tiny, meaningless victories. It’s what shapes my budget and helps me spend money on what truly brings me happiness while cutting out what doesn’t add value.

I’ll admit, this took some work. I used to make the same mistakes over and over. I’d spend hours optimizing every penny, like figuring out how to save an extra $30 to invest that month or juggling five credit cards to squeeze out an extra 1% cashback. I thought I was being smart, but I was missing the bigger picture. Honestly, I should’ve started this YouTube channel way sooner — that would’ve been a much bigger win.

Your mindset works like a GPS for your money. If it’s stuck in scarcity mode, you’re going to miss the big opportunities. I’ve seen so many people focus on what they can’t afford instead of figuring out how to afford what matters most to them. That kind of thinking holds you back.

The key to rewiring your mindset is setting clear goals, practicing gratitude for what you already have, and focusing on progress — not perfection. When I started thinking this way, every financial decision felt easier and more aligned with what I truly care about. 

Earlier I mentioned how I used 401K to my advantage to get free money from my employer. Check out this video to see what crucial mistake 46% of Americans are making on this account HERE.

Cheers!