Diwali 2025: Financial resolutions to start the new Samvat smartly

New Year’s resolutions are famous for being broken. These days, it almost feels like a running joke when someone says, ‘My New Year’s resolution is to start going to the gym’ or ‘eat healthier,’ because the real question isn’t what their resolution is, but how long it will actually last.

Interestingly enough, the New Year for many people in India starts with Diwali, as they consider it to be the time to reset their financial life. You must be hearing Samvat 2082 quite a lot these days, when it already began in April according to the Hindu calendar. However, for many, the new year, or Samvat, starts with Diwali, as they consider it to be the most auspicious time of the year.

Here is a carefully curated list of financial resolutions you can make this Diwali to reset your financial habits:

Declutter finances

We all clean our homes for Diwali to symbolise a new beginning and welcome the goddess Lakshmi with positive energy. Just like this, remember that goddess Lakshmi is worshipped on Diwali to seek blessings of wealth and prosperity, which means that you should also focus on decluttering your finances on this occasion:

• Close unused bank accounts, if any. This can save you from minimum account balance charges, too (if applicable). Remember, don’t close your oldest credit cards, as they’re important for your credit history.

• Check if your investments are actually diversified. Many people invest in the same type of funds, like 2-3 large-cap funds, but that means your money is getting invested in the same stocks multiple times. This creates an illusion that you’re diversifying, when in reality 60-70% of your portfolio is very similar.

• Figure out what subscriptions you don’t use anymore and cancel them. Check your auto-debits and eliminate the unnecessary ones.

To invite prosperity and good fortune, clear the clutter in your life.

Budgeting and savings

If you’re earning and don’t budget, it can cause many problems in the long term. Many people overspend on certain things without realising, draining their pockets and hindering wealth building.

• Start by listing every single income source and expense. This will help you determine the unnecessary expenses and eliminate them, enabling larger savings.

• Decide what financial strategy you want to use. One could be the 50-30-20 rule, in which you divide your income into three parts, with 50% going towards needs, 30% towards wants and 20% for savings and investment.

• Automate your investments and ensure that you follow a goal (retirement, house, wedding, dream vacation, etc). Without a goal, you might not be encouraged enough to save more.

• Start building an emergency fund if you haven’t already. Aim to have at least six months of your monthly expenses for emergencies.

• Reduce your debt by paying off the highest-interest one first. Even if you follow a different strategy, make sure you’re working towards being debt-free.

Learning

Your financial resolution could also be to learn more and give back to society. On festivals like Diwali, support others to add value and meaning to your earnings. Further, build learning habits:

• Commit to reading a financial newsletter.
• Start a finance journal.
• Read personal finance books.
• Find out more about investment tools that you don’t know about, like types of funds, bonds, etc.

Make this Diwali more than just celebrations, make yourself more financially aware and help your friends and family to start investing. Pay attention to things like insurance, digital security, awareness of fraud, widening your investing strategy and invest in yourself.