How 'The Great Lock In' can help achieve your financial and wellness goals

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NEW YORK (AP) — As the end of 2025 approaches, a viral TikTok trend is helping people achieve their wellness goals: “The Great Lock In" encourages participants to finish the year strong by fully focusing on their life goals from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31.

Many people focus on exercise or eating healthier. But the trend can also help you achieve your financial goals.

There are no set rules for “The Great Lock In.” The phrase “lock in” is popular on social media and it means to focus intensely on a task.

“Something I like about this particular trend is that it’s like New Year’s resolutions’ little sister,” said Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, financial therapist and founder of Mind Money Balance, a financial wellness podcast and blog.

For Julissa Mercedes, 28, one of her lock in goals is to build an $2,500 emergency savings fund.

“Having some liquid cash will make me feel a little bit safer,” said Mercedes, a San Diego resident who works in finance. Aside from building an emergency fund, Mercedes has three other goals: making a new friend, creating a morning routine, and picking up a new hobby.

"The Great Lock In” is meant to help people achieve New Year’s resolutions that might have fallen by the wayside. If you started your year planning to pay down debt by cutting unnecessary expenses, and have yet to follow up on that, this challenge might help you with that goal.

“I think that’s appealing to a lot of people who are just tired of feeling stuck and like they haven’t been able to make any progress,” said Ben Markley, personal finance educator and host of Sketchy Advice by YNAB, a budgeting app.

If you’re thinking of participating in “The Great Lock In,” or if you’re already doing it, here are some expert recommendations to make your financial goals stick:

To build a goal that will benefit you, it’s essential to review your finances, Bryan-Podvin said. She suggested that you review your bank account and spend some time figuring out how much you earn each month, as well as what you spend it on.

If you made a New Year's resolution around finances, this could be a good opportunity to check on your progress and see if you need to reassess your approach.

When participating in a challenge, it’s best to set attainable goals, Markley said. Sometimes online challenges inspire people to make significant changes, but they can also lead them to create unattainable goals.

“A lot of people can’t sustain that at all, so they drop off," he said. “Or, they do sustain it, but then they go back to their normal life after the challenge, and their spending habits haven’t fundamentally changed.”

Setting a goal that is realistic in relation to your budget and lifestyle is the best way to make sure you can achieve it by the end of the challenge. Bryan-Podvin recommends looking at “The Great Lock In” as a 5K race rather than a marathon.

To continue achieving your financial goals into 2026, Markley recommends centering some of your lock in goals around building new habits or skills.

For example, if your goal is to stop spending on takeout, focus on building a habit that’s related to cooking.

“Find easy meals that you could cook at home with your skill level so that when you want to eat out, you have that to fall back on,” Markley said.

A great way to help create a habit is to use a habit-tracking tool. It can be as simple as setting reminders on your phone or downloading an app that sends you regular notifications, Bryan-Podvin said.

Social media can be a good place to find community support for achieving your goals, whether it's joining a Facebook group, commenting on creators' videos, or posting your own content.

As she started “The Great Lock In” challenge at the beginning of September, Mercedes also decided to document her experience on TikTok. Sharing her journey with followers helps with accountability, she said.

“Seeing that people are still watching and keeping up with my content makes me feel like they’re part of the journey too,” Mercedes said.

As you use "The Great Lock In” trend to achieve your financial goals, take a moment to reflect on your overall relationship with money.

“Give every dollar a specific job so that you’re not going on autopilot when you spend, you’re being intentional with your money and making sure that it’s going towards the things you need and the things you care about,” Markley said.

Sitting down regularly, either by yourself or with your partner, and reviewing your spending habits can help with your long-term financial goals.

If you try this challenge and you find out it doesn’t work for you, that is OK, Markley said.

“You can find something else that works, and it’s no reflection on your character if you don’t pull off ‘The Great Lock-In,’” he added.

While social media challenges can help inspire people to achieve their goals, it’s not worth adding unnecessary stress to your life because of a challenge. Not every trend works for everyone, and there are many other ways that you can achieve your financial goals, Markley said.

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The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.