By Kimberly Palmer, NerdWallet The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments. The start of a new year can bring a surge of motivation around setting new goals, including financial resolutions. One way to help those goals become reality, financial experts say, is to make them as specific as possible. Then, track your progress, while allowing flexibility for unexpected challenges. “It’s easier to track progress when we know where we are going,” says Sylvie Scowcroft, a certified financial planner and founder of The Financial Grove in Cambridge, Massachusetts. That’s why she encourages her clients to set clearly defined goals, often related to paying off a specific debt, saving a certain amount per month or improving their credit score. Here are more tips from financial experts about crafting 2025 financial goals : Trying to accomplish too much can feel overwhelming. Instead, pick your priorities, says Cathleen Tobin, CFP and owner of Moonbridge Financial Design in Rhinebeck, New York. She suggests focusing on those big, often emotionally-driven goals to find motivation. “It’s more compelling than just a number,” she says. For example, do you want to make sure you’re on track for retirement or save money for a house? “Start there.” Scowcroft says she sees clients get tripped up by selecting overly broad goals, such as “get better with money.” Instead, she encourages people to select specific action items, such as “sign up for a budgeting tool and set aside time each month to learn where my money is going.” That level of specificity provides direction so you know what steps to take next, she adds. For example, if your top priority is to become debt-free, then your specific goal might be to pay off an extra $200 of your debt balance each month. Tobin says labeling savings accounts so they correspond with goals can also help. An emergency fund could be named something like “Peace of mind in 2025,” so you remember why you’re saving every time you make a transfer. “It’s more motivating than just ‘emergency fund,’” Tobin says. Measuring your progress as the year unfolds is also a critical component of successful goal setting, Tobin says. She compares it to weight loss. If you want to lose 20 pounds by June, then you need to lose about a pound a week for the first six months of the year. Similarly, she says it helps to break savings goals into microsteps that specify what you need to do each week. Schedule a weekly or monthly check-in with yourself to make sure you are meeting those smaller goals along the way. You might want to review your debt payoff progress or check your credit score , for example. “Being able to break it down into steps that can be done each week or twice a month really helps,” Tobin says. If your goal is to save more money , then setting up an automatic transfer each month can help turn that goal into reality, as long as you know you have the money in your checking account to spare. “It reduces the mental load,” says Mike Hunsberger, CFP and owner of Next Mission Financial Planning in St. Charles, Missouri, where he primarily supports veterans and current members of the military. He recommends starting small to ease into the change. “I wouldn’t jump to double what you’re currently saving,” he says. For example, when it comes to saving in a retirement account, if you’re starting with a 3% contribution, you might want to bump it up to 4%, then slowly increase it from there. “My number one piece of advice is to start small, but make sure you scale over time,” Hunsberger adds. “Because it’s gradual, you probably won’t notice it impacting your lifestyle.” “Stay flexible,” Scowcroft says. “Part of it is just being kind to yourself and not being too rigid.” When unexpected challenges come up, such as a big unplanned expense, you might have to pause making progress on your goal and reset. You might even need to change your goal. Scowcroft says that doesn’t mean you “failed,” just that life changed your plans. Dwelling on any negativity won’t help your forward progress. Sharing your goals with a friend can also make it easier to reach them, Scowcroft says. “It really helps to have an accountability buddy,” she says. She suggests putting a regular “money date” with your friend on the calendar so you can ask each other how you’re doing, brainstorm any challenges or even budget together side-by-side . “It’s a fun excuse to meet up with a friend.” More From NerdWallet Kimberly Palmer writes for NerdWallet. Email: kpalmer@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @kimberlypalmer. The article The Secret to Making Successful Financial New Year’s Resolutions originally appeared on NerdWallet .SAINTS ended 2024 with an all-too-familiar feeling on Sunday when they suffered a 2-1 defeat at Crystal Palace. Southampton took the lead midway through the first half when Tyler Dibling scored his second senior goal but Palace levelled before the break. Trevoh Chalobah scored from a corner, much to the frustration of goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, who felt he had been pushed. His appeals fell on deaf ears, despite Jean-Philippe Mateta’s clear contact knocking him off balance, upon VAR inspection. Ivan Juric turned to Lesley Ugochukwu early in the second half to sure things up but Palace scored less than a minute later, winning the game through Eberechi Eze. Here's how we rated every Southampton player's performance against Crystal Palace... Ivan Juric suffered defeat in his first away game as Saints boss. (Image: PA) Aaron Ramsdale - 6. Made some important saves, preventing Palace from scoring more than twice. Rightfully annoyed with Palace's first, which was after Mateta pushed him. Had a limited view of Eze's winner. Aaron Ramsdale was beaten after being pushed into the post. (Image: PA) James Bree - 6. Came in to replace Yukinari Sugawara, who did not come off the bench. Created two chances but left Saints light on the right, along with Tyler Dibling. Had an effort from a tight angle. Completed two of his five crosses. Taylor Harwood-Bellis - 6. Played a key role in stopping Crystal Palace from scoring two or three in the first half. Wasn't afraid to clear his lines but struggled in the second half, twice fouling in quick succession, earning him a yellow card. Jan Bednarek - 6. Had a tough battle with Mateta but was not given much support by the midfielders in the first half. Was shoulder-barged off the ball by the Frenchman before being booked for a tug. Rescued from an own goal by Ramsdale. Nathan Wood - 5. Struggled against Ismaila Sarr in the first half because the Senegalese winger had the run on him - again in part due to the lack of midfield support. Improved after the break but delayed a through ball for Cameron Archer late on. Kyle Walker-Peters - 7. Played well down the left-hand side again. Bamboozled the Palace defenders with a strong run down the left, leading to Dibling's goal. Didn't deal with Daniel Munoz's ball back into the box, which fell for Eze. Southampton's biggest attacking threat. Kyle Walker-Peters created Southampton's goal out of nothing. (Image: Adam Davy/PA) Joe Aribo - 4. Struggled to impose himself for a third straight game. Held onto the ball in deep areas. Palace found it too easy to get the ball into the forwards behind him. Subbed minutes into the second half. Mateus Fernandes - 7. Struggled in much the same way Aribo did in the first half but was much better when Lesley Ugochukwu was introduced. Forced a save out of Dean Henderson after a moment of individual brilliance. Suspended for Brentford at home after earning his fifth yellow. Tyler Dibling - 6. Got Southampton going with his second goal of the season. Tapped in from close range after moving into a strong position. Struggled to cause many more problems after his goal as Saints ran out of gas. Tyler Dibling scored his second Saints goal against Crystal Palace. (Image: PA) Paul Onuachu - 5. Fed off scraps and had little service all game. Saints aimed balls towards him but he had little chance of doing anything with them. Took a knock before being replaced. Saints looked like a far worse side without him. Adam Armstrong - 5. Had an early effort off-target before providing the assist for Dibling's goal but offered very little. Limited to just 20 touches in 65 minutes. Adam Armstrong got his second assist of the season against Palace. (Image: PA) Substitutes Lesley Ugochukwu - 6. Gave Southampton more solidity in midfield but came on less than a minute before Palace scored the winner. Won two of three tackles. Should start against Brentford later this week. Cameron Archer - 4. Managed just five touches in 25 minutes. Was flagged offside having been played through by Wood, but the ball came too late. Kamaldeen Sulemana - 5. Introduced by Juric with Saints needing an injection of pace. Tried to make an impact but was unsuccessful with his one dribble and one cross. Cut down when he looked like beating a man and running through. Ryan Manning - N/A. Surprised Juric waited until the 86th minute to bring him on. Didn't play enough to be judged fairly. Set for more competition with Charlie Taylor back in the fold and Welington formally joining in January. Adam Lallana - N/A. Bought a free-kick right under the referee's nose. Should hopefully receive more minutes against Brentford.lol646 777 。

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Conversational artificial intelligence tools may soon "covertly influence" users' decision making in a new commercial frontier called the "intention economy", University of Cambridge researchers warned in a paper published Monday. The research argues the potentially "lucrative yet troubling" marketplace emerging for "digital signals of intent" could, in the near future, influence everything from buying movie tickets to voting for political candidates. Our increasing familiarity with chatbots, digital tutors and other so-called "anthropomorphic" AI agents is helping enable this new array of "persuasive technologies", it added. It will see AI combine knowledge of our online habits with a growing ability to know the user and anticipate his or her desires and build "new levels of trust and understanding", the paper's two co-authors noted. Left unchecked, that could allow for "social manipulation on an industrial scale", the pair, from Cambridge's Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence , argued in the paper published in the Harvard Data Science Review. It characterises how this emergent sector dubbed the "intention economy" will profile users' attention and communicative styles and connect them to patterns of behaviour and choices they make. "AI tools are already being developed to elicit, infer, collect, record, understand, forecast, and ultimately manipulate and commodify human plans and purposes," co-author Yaqub Chaudhary said. The new AI will rely on so-called Large Language Models or LLMs to target a user's cadence, politics, vocabulary, age, gender, online history, and even preferences for flattery and ingratiation, according to the research. That would be linked with other emerging AI tech that bids to achieve a given aim, such as selling a cinema trip, or steer conversations towards particular platforms, advertisers, businesses and even political organisations. Co-author Jonnie Penn warned: "Unless regulated, the intention economy will treat your motivations as the new currency." "It will be a gold rush for those who target, steer, and sell human intentions," he added. "We should start to consider the likely impact such a marketplace would have on human aspirations, including free and fair elections, a free press, and fair market competition, before we become victims of its unintended consequences." Penn noted that public awareness of the issue is "the key to ensuring we don't go down the wrong path". jj/gil Nvidia Meta Apple This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

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