Roughly 45 percent of Americans make New Year's resolutions each January, with many of their pledges being financial in nature.

The personal finance social network WalletHub recently announced its 15 Financial Resolutions for 2015 to help progress-minded people improve their money management in the New Year.Get reacquainted with your finances: The first step toward financial improvement is to get the lay of the land. That means checking the status of all your financial accounts, taking stock of your assets and debts, and evaluating your monthly cash flow. This will enable you to identify particular areas that warrant improvement as well as evaluate if upgrading an account would be beneficial.Make a budget: Only 39 percent of adults have a budget, according to survey data from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, which makes the fact that we were on pace to rack up $60 billion in credit card debt in 2014 and another $70 billion in 2015 less surprising. Those statistics make the need to create and maintain a budget more pressing.The best way to make a budget is to gather all of your bills from the past few months and make a list of your recurring expenses in order of importance with true necessities like housing, food and health care taking precedence. You can then compare the cost of these expenses against your monthly take-home and eliminate any outlays that would outpace your spending power. Make sure to compare your ensuing monthly spending to your planned budget to make sure you're abiding by it.Implement the Island Approach: The Island Approach is a personal finance technique based on the theory of compartmentalization that encourages consumers to isolate different financial needs on different financial products as if they are a chain of related islands. For example, this might entail getting one credit card for everyday purchases that you can pay off in full by the end of the month and another for revolving debt.Automate as much as possible: One of the most easily avoidable mistakes that people make in regards to their finances is missing due dates. Often due to pure forgetfulness, tardiness can have serious ramifications on your financial life such as missed credit card payments fostering credit score damage.Build an emergency fund: Roughly 56 percent of Americans do not have a rainy-day fund, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's National Financial Capability Study. Like someone without insurance, folks who lack an emergency fund are merely tempting fate and putting themselves at risk of financial catastrophe in the event of prolonged job loss or significant emergency expenses. Building up some monetary reserves should therefore be one of the first orders of business for any financial makeover.Get out of debt: We clearly have a problematic, sordid love affair with debt. After curbing our enthusiasm for overleveraging during the struggles of the Great Recession, we have reaffirmed our affinity for it as the economic skies have cleared. We racked up $46.7 billion in credit card debt a useful indicator of consumer spending habits in 2011 as well as $36.8 billion in 2012 and $38.8 billion in 2013. That makes $122.3 billion in the past three years. Projections also hold that we will incur at least $60 billion in credit card debt in both 2014 and 2015."I think credit card debt is one of the most difficult obstacles that people face," says Deena B. Katz, associate professor in the Department of Personal Financial Planning at Texas Tech University."It's very easy to pull out a card and buy, particularly online or during the holiday season when you want to do special things for your family and it doesn't need to come out of your pocket today. I believe that if you were buried in debt that a priority resolution would be to pay off your debt as quickly as possible to avoid overpaying for the things you bought on credit."Improve your credit score: In case you weren't aware, the difference between good and bad credit is roughly $650 in credit card payments, $1,400 on your auto loan and $2,300 on a mortgage each year. The savings inherent to good credit extend well beyond that as well, considering that your credit standing impacts your insurance premiums, your ability to buy a car or rent an apartment and the types of jobs you can get in addition to the loans you're eligible for.Increase all savings by 15 percent: Most people are pretty good at wasting money. Many of us don't have budgets or emergency funds, we rack up expensive credit card debt by the billion, and we prioritize short-term desires over long-term needs. After all, 1 in 5 people nearing retirement age have absolutely no money saved up, according to the Federal Reserve, and 55 percent of people say they will have to save more for retirement later in life in order to make up for not putting enough away now. Well, why don't we take some steps to change that in 2015?Give back to charity: Charitable giving is beneficial in terms of self-perception, tax liability and basic humanity. Perhaps that is why 65 percent of U.S. adults donate their time to charity each year, according to Gallup polling, while 83 percent give money. In fact, monetary donations totaled more than $335 billion in 2013, according to data from Giving USA and Indiana University. We should make it our mission to top that figure by a long shot in 2015, with a special emphasis on donations involving money rather than time.Do your taxes early: Twenty-eight percent of Americans wait until April to file their taxes each year. As with anything else, procrastination breeds mistakes and 2.6 million people made math mistakes on their taxes in 2013, according to the IRS. Many people also end up filing late and underpaying, incurring expensive penalties along the way. Starting your tax prep early is the best way to avoid these unfortunate events, not to mention lowering your stress levels.Not only can getting organized take a considerable amount of time, but foresight will also enable you to adjust your withholdings in order to avoid a tax deficiency as well as ensure that you are not over- or underpaying.Set a good financial example: Children tend to learn by example, which means yours are likely continuously internalizing how you handle money information that will serve as the foundation for their future relationships with finance. You therefore need to do your best to improve your own financial performance in order to impart beneficial lessons upon your children.Take commonsense steps to fight fraud: Cybercrime has become a major theme for both the modern consumer and corporate America, with a number of notable banks, retailers and entertainment companies getting hacked in 2014. While there is only so much you can do if your credit card information get pilfered from a store all credit cards offer $0 fraud liability guarantees anyway there are a number of steps that you can take to otherwise make yourself a much harder target for fraudsters.Mind your overall health: There is a clear connection between physical, emotional and financial health. Not only are health care expenses the leading cause of bankruptcy in the U.S., but they also comprise a great deal of our annual spending between insurance premiums, out-of-pocket costs, gym memberships and more. Money, work, the economy and family responsibilities all financial concerns in one way or another are also the most commonly reported causes of stress, according to the American Psychological Association.This all serves to underscore the importance of getting our financial houses in order as well as getting regular exercise and engaging in other healthy practices in order to keep our health care costs low. It won't be easy, but this is one resolution that will certainly pay dividends across the scope of your life.Help other consumers: We consumers need to stick together. It's hard enough trying to lead a financially responsible lifestyle in an era of economic turmoil, political obstinacy and unbridled spending without help. One of the best ways to aid others in the pursuit of financial responsibility is to share your experiences with different financial products, companies and professionals.Stress test your finances: People are generally optimistic in nature, which means it can be difficult to imagine and prepare for worst-case scenarios. Responsible financial management is all about preparation, which means it is important that you put your personal finances through the paces much like banks and other financial institutions do in order to verify their stability."Recessions and economic downturns are no longer global or regional, but they are local to the point of being personal," says Scott C. Hammond, clinical professor of management with Utah State University's Jon M. Huntsman Scott School of Business."Your work, your career, your employer is booming. You get raises and bonuses. Your neighbor is downsizing and hoping that unemployment is extended. With one or two changes, you could be your neighbor. In fact, you will be your neighbor. Eventually we will all be hit. So get ready to recover in advance."For more go to wallethub.com/blog/financial-new-years-resolutions/9202/.