Australians want to be more financially responsible in 2015 – with the majority resolving to boost their savings, be less impulsive and budget better, according to a NAB survey of the nation’s top financial New Year’s resolutions.

The survey of more than 1,000 Australians asked people to identify their top three financial New Year’s resolutions for the year ahead.

Financial responsibility is the main goal for most Australians, with 31% (all responses) wanting to save more money, 24% saying they want to make fewer impulse purchases and 18% focused on making and sticking to a realistic budget.

NAB Chief Economist Alan Oster said that while saving more was the top resolution for Australians overall, age, location, income and gender also influenced how we decide upon our New Year’s resolutions.

“Australians are overwhelmingly setting New Year’s resolutions to spend responsibly and get their household budgets and finances in order,” he said.

“In addition to saving, more 30-49 year olds are resolving to pay off their mortgage and loans and change or improve their work situation, while younger Australians are most keen to invest more. Older generations are focused on reducing impulse spending in 2015.

“More women say they want to change jobs or their work situation in the next year, and almost twice as many women (19%) are resolving to set up an emergency savings fund compared to men (10%).

“Families with kids are more likely to focus on the mortgage and other loans in 2015, while Australian singles say they will prioritise paying off credit cards, change their job or work situation and ‘live for today’ without any firm commitments. Widows are the least likely to want to save more, and want to ‘live for today’ – more than any other group.

“Interestingly, West Australians are the most impulsive across the nation with 22% saying they had no financial resolutions and would simply live for today – more than double that in other states.”

You can listen to the General Manager of NAB Wealth, Lara Bourguignon, speak about the results on 2UE this morning: