2025 Financial Goals Midyear Check-In Report

Ready or not, we’re more than halfway through the year. And the midyear mark is a good time for those who made 2025 goals to check in on their progress, or lack thereof.

Nine in 10 Americans (90%) say they set financial goals for 2025, according to a new NerdWallet survey of over 2,000 adults, conducted online by The Harris Poll. But nearly half of these goal setters (45%) either aren’t on track to hit their biggest money goal or they aren’t sure.

When asked how they’re doing on their biggest financial goal of the year, Americans are split. Of those who set financial goals, 11% have already achieved their biggest goal and another 44% are on track to achieve it. But 37% of goal setters aren’t on track and 7% are unsure.

“Setting financial goals can make it easier to figure out the next steps we want to take. Making the goals specific and giving yourself a deadline also helps,” says Kimberly Palmer, a personal finance expert at NerdWallet. “For some popular goals like paying off debt or building up an emergency fund, the first step might be as simple as creating a budget or opening up a new high-yield savings account.”

Throughout this study, we’ll go through some of the money goals Americans set this year and the actions they’ve taken related to them. For some of the biggest goals of 2025, we’ll also discuss some barriers preventing goal setters from making progress.

A quick internet search for top New Year’s resolutions will tell you saving money is a popular one, and that bears out in the survey data: A whopping 65% of Americans set a savings goal for 2025. Some of the specific savings goals set were saving for vacations (33%), emergencies (31%), a vehicle (22%) or a home (14%).

But plenty of aspiring savers have barriers to hitting their goals. According to the survey, nearly 4 in 5 Americans with a 2025 savings goal (78%) say there’s something preventing them from achieving it. For many, this was increased expenses (41%) and/or decreased income (19%).

Despite these potential hurdles, some Americans have made progress on saving money in 2025. Around a third of Americans (32%) saved for emergencies this year, 21% saved for travel expenses and 8% saved for a home down payment. And more than 1 in 10 Americans (11%) say they opened up a high-yield savings account in 2025. These accounts can be a helpful tool in reaching savings goals, since they may earn 10 times the amount of interest as the average savings account.

“It’s great to see Americans prioritizing saving and taking steps to feel more financially secure, despite facing obstacles that can make saving more difficult,” says Kate Ashford, a NerdWallet investing specialist. “Many people are opening high-yield savings accounts, which shows they’re learning to make their money work harder than it would in traditional savings. Budgeting apps can also be a big help if you’re trying to stick to savings goals, since they help you determine how much you can put away and help you stay consistent.”

Nearly 2 in 5 Americans (38%) set a goal to make more money this year. For some, this may be necessary just to pay the bills. According to the survey, 10% of Americans started a side business or second job in 2025 because their primary job doesn’t financially cover their necessities.

Asking for a raise is a good starting point for those with traditional jobs and performance in good standing. It’s easier to make more money at the job you’re already doing than to take on more work elsewhere. But if that’s not an option or your request is denied, explore solutions outside of your 9 to 5, like a side business. This may check off another goal for some: Around 1 in 13 Americans (7%) set a goal to start a business in 2025.

More than a third of Americans (35%) set a financial goal to pay off or pay down debt in 2025. A quarter of Americans (25%) wanted to pay off/down credit card debt, while 9% set a goal to pay off/down student loan debt and 13% aimed to pay off/down another type of debt.

Like those with savings goals, many who set debt payment goals (81%) have barriers to accomplishing their aims. In addition to increased expenses (43%) and decreased income (24%), some are prevented from achieving their goals because of high interest rates (26%).

According to the survey, 24% of Americans paid off a credit card, 5% paid off a student loan, 5% paid off business-related debt and 10% paid off another type of debt in full in 2025. In addition to lowering money stress, paying down debt can help improve credit, a financial goal for a quarter of Americans (25%) this year.

“Paying off debt is one of the best ways you can increase your financial resiliency, but a lot of other expenses are competing for your money every month. That can make it difficult to meet ambitious debt repayment goals,” says Sara Rathner, a NerdWallet credit cards expert. “If your plans got derailed by unexpected costs, this is a good time to regroup. Nonprofit credit counseling services can be helpful resources if you’re struggling to make progress on your own.”

Nearly 3 in 10 Americans (28%) set an investing goal for 2025 and 19% of Americans set retirement goals specifically. While around 1 in 6 Americans (16%) set a goal to invest in a retirement account, 7% set a goal to actually open a retirement account.

More than 7 in 10 Americans with a financial goal to open and/or contribute to a retirement account this year (71%) say something is preventing them from achieving it. In addition to the financial barriers that Americans with goals to save or pay down debt face, those with retirement goals cite the current market volatility (20%) and their current debt payments (19%) as barriers preventing them from achieving their goals.

Less than a quarter of Americans (24%) say they contributed to a retirement account in 2025 and 6% of Americans say they paused contributions to a retirement account this year. While market volatility can be scary, investing for the long-term is an important part of overall financial security. Saving consistently to a retirement account, even in small amounts, can go a long way toward giving you the option to retire down the road.

The survey found that 1 in 10 Americans (10%) set a goal to buy a home in 2025. This is ambitious and a far cry from 2024, when only around 4.7 million homes were sold, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Association of Realtors. If each of those homes was purchased by a single adult, less than 2% of U.S. adults purchased a home last year.

Others resolved to remodel their homes: The survey found that nearly a quarter of homeowners (24%) set a goal to do home renovations in 2025. That same proportion of homeowners (24%) say they did DIY home renovations this year, while 19% hired professionals to renovate. Just 6% of homeowners say they financed renovations, so hopefully many more were able to use cash on their house projects.

If you haven’t yet made much progress toward your financial goals this year, there’s still time. Around two-thirds of Americans are optimistic about their chances: 66% say financial progress feels more attainable for them in the second half of 2025 than it has thus far.

Make them SMART. SMART goals are: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound. The survey found that some Americans who set financial goals say they’re prevented from achieving them because they aren’t realistic for their lifestyle. It can be fun to dream big, but if your pie-in-the-sky goals are more deflating than motivating, now might be a good time to reevaluate.

Pivot your plans. According to the survey, 22% of Americans who set financial goals say their original goals changed due to economic conditions and 19% of goal setters say their goals changed due to personal circumstances. Life happens, and whether changes are within your control or not, it’s a good idea to allow for some flexibility in goal setting. Your goals are meant to serve you, so if they aren’t, change them up. Set new goals that make sense for where you are right now.

Find your why. Some Americans who set financial goals cite a lack of motivation as a barrier to achieving them. Wanting to “save money” is often not enough. But having an emergency fund that helps you sleep soundly at night or putting money away for a dream vacation might give you more incentive to save diligently. Ask yourself why you set a specific goal and make sure your reason for doing it is enough to keep working toward it.

Break it up. For those who say they can’t achieve their financial goals because they’re overwhelming, try to break the goal into manageable baby steps. You can’t save up a seven-figure retirement fund in a year, but maybe you could save 5% of your income and increase it by 1% annually. Start small and stay consistent, focusing on the process rather than the outcome, especially when it’s far away.

Aim for the good enough. According to the survey, 15% of Americans with retirement goals say a barrier to achieving them is not knowing what investments to choose for their retirement accounts. But doing almost anything is better than doing nothing. Skip the analysis paralysis and get started on your goals without a perfect plan in place. “Good enough” beats “not at all,” every time.

This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of NerdWallet from June 2-4, 2025, among 2,090 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact [email protected].