Here's how much your new year's resolution could save you

Giving up the cigarettes could save you thousands of euro next year, while a dry January could save you hundreds, new figures have suggested. File photo: Photocall Ireland

"New year, new you?"

Giving up the cigarettes could save you thousands of euro next year, while a dry January could save you hundreds, new figures have suggested.

The Central Statistics Office has taken a look at the potential savings to be made from typical new year's resolutions.

“[We] examined the financial implications of popular resolutions made at the start of each year, using the prices of some of the items we collect as part of the Consumer Price Index basket of goods and services and other CSO data,” a spokesperson for the CSO said.

“If you stick to them, New Year’s resolutions can lead to significant costs savings, particularly in the area of health and fitness.” 

Pointing out that a lot of resolutions centre on things we can give up, it turned first to smoking. For someone who smokes a packet of cigarettes a day, kicking this habit for the new year would save them €575.36 in January alone.

Across the full year, giving up the smokes could result in potential savings of at least €6,700, the CSO said.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

And for those looking to do a dry January, people who drink on average four pints of lager or stout a week in the pub would save €95.

A change in dining habits could also yield savings.

It said that the cost of a meal in a restaurant has risen by almost 25% between November 2020 and November 2025. Takeaways, meanwhile, have increased by 30% meaning that a takeaway that cost €25 five years ago now costs more than €32.

Coffee drinkers could make significant savings too, as the cost of a single daily takeaway coffee rose by 7% in the year to November.

After the Christmas splurge, the CSO said households often become a bit more prudent and shift their financial focus to better budgeting, tracking their spending and reducing it to increase their savings in the new year.

“Households saved almost 14% of their income in January, February, and March 2025 or approximately €1 out of every €7 of their disposable income.

“And with the dark January nights ahead, many households start to dream of the sun and plan their summer holidays. In 2025, the price of package holidays increased by 1.5%, and despite the costs, Irish residents took more than 4.6 million outbound overnight trips in July, August, and September 2025.” 

Green resolutions

Turning to some eco-friendly new years’ resolutions, the CSO said there was also money to be saved by reducing our energy consumption or using the car less for commuting.

Public transport use is on the rise, as are the numbers switching to electric vehicles.

“People have also been switching to greener options in their home where they can,” the CSO spokesperson said. 

"Our homes are also becoming more energy efficient. The number of homes with renewable energy sources is increasing and as of July, August, and September 2025, 25% of the 1.3 million homes with Building Energy Ratings (BER) had at least one source of renewable energy present such as heat pumps, solar thermal systems, and solar photovoltaic panels."

It said that its figures were derived from the most recent Consumer Price Index for November 2025. Full year inflation figures will be published in mid-January, it added.