New Year’s resolutions are made at the beginning of each year, and in most cases, the same resolutions are made year-after-year and dropped by the end of February.

Pledges to change habits such as live healthier lives, become debt free, lose weight and manage time and money better are all among the things that are repeatedly listed as New Year’s resolutions.

The staff at Cornerstone Fitness and Wellness hears and witnesses numerous resolutions and some succeed while others “fall off the wagon.”

“People will come wanting to start back exercising and to lose weight, so they sign up for the 3-month special membership that is offered at the beginning of January, but they will come for a month or two and then stop,” said Susan Edwards, patient coordinator at Cornerstone Fitness and Wellness. “Usually, the people with New Year’s resolutions don’t keep it, and we don’t see them again.”

To heighten the chances of achieving those yearly commitments, one should keep the end result in mind, keep focus on the goal and take it one day at a time Edwards said.

“Keep your goals in view so you can achieve whatever goal it is,” said Edwards. “A lot of times people get overwhelmed when they look at their goals because they think it is too far out of reach, so try not too get discouraged and take it one day at a time.”

Another commitment that tops the resolution list is financial goals. Resolution advice when tackling financial goals is: if retirement is on the horizon contribute as much as you can to a retirement account, 401K, IRA or Roth IRA, said Russ Hamlin, financial advisor at Edward Jones Financial.

“Make sure your investments still match your goals and risk-tolerates as these things can change over time,” said Hamlin. “Promise yourself to avoid “emotional” investing – consider all factors before making buy or sales decisions.”

Setting goals and New Year’s resolutions are good to have because they give you something to strive for, Hamlin said.

“Make sure you have supplement cash in your portfolio to address financial needs,” said Hamlin. “Which means have emergency cash on hand.”