If your most hopeful New Year’s resolution is to get into improved financial shape, then you’re not alone. Each year, millions of people set new financial goals. Though many abandon their resolutions too quickly, you don’t have to be one of them. Make your money work better for you this year by following these five financial resolution tips.

Get automated
If your biggest financial resolution involves saving more money, the best thing you can do is set up automatic money transfers from your checking to your savings accounts. Decide on a dollar amount or a percentage that you’d like to save from each paycheck, and make sure that money gets transferred to your savings before you can spend it — you’ll never miss the cash and you won’t be tempted to spend it on something else if it’s automatically deducted.

The same thing goes for paying bills on time. If you made a New Year’s resolution to pay your bills on time, do yourself a favor and set up automatic payments with online banking. You’ll never have to worry about missing a due date again!

Take a credit holiday
One of the best ways to stick to a budget is to pay for everything with cash. The reason?  Research shows that people who pay for everything with credit actually spend about 12 to 18 percent more money than people who pay with cash. Stick to the green stuff, and you’ll think twice before you plunk down money for impulse purchases.

If you think you’ll have trouble forgoing credit cards for your New Year’s resolution, try enacting your own “credit freeze.” Place your credit cards in a plastic container, fill it with water, and put it in the freezer. You’ll still have access to your credit cards if you need them, but you’ll be less likely to use them on a whim since you’ll have to wait for them to defrost.

Get some help
When it comes to making a resolution about money, most of us think we’re alone in our financial struggles. But that’s not true, which is why finding yourself a “money buddy” might be a great way to help keep your financial resolutions. Seek out a friend or family member who can keep you honest on your goals.  That person can talk you off the ledge if he sees you’re about to break your personal financial plan in a major way.

You might also want to talk to a professional financial advisor. Financial advisors can help you plan a budget, set savings goals, and show you how to best make your money work for you.

Build your emergency fund
One of the best resolutions you can make for your money is to set up an emergency fund. An emergency fund is money that you set aside in case you’re faced with a major unexpected expense — typically equal to four to eight months of your salary. Having this money on the backburner is almost as important as having life insurance for your family.

To be successful with this financial resolution, you’ll have to set up automatic payments and put your emergency funds somewhere where you won’t have easy access to them.

Pay down your high-interest debt
Simply making a New Year’s goal to get out of credit card debt won’t be enough. Prioritizing payments on your credit debt will help your overall goals by reducing or stopping credit interest from accruing. Plan to make extra monthly payments on your high-interest debt and to place these payments on auto-pilot, as well.

Financial responsibility might be tough to stomach — especially if you’ve been used to living a little above your comfortable means for a while. But with these tips guiding your New Year’s resolutions for your money, you’re much more likely to succeed with your financial resolutions for the New Year!