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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: Review your finances 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. Set attainable goals 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. Focus on habit-building 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. Create community and accountability 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. Reflect on your relationship with money 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. It’s OK if it’s not for you 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. 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. Adriana Morga, Associated Press
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Gold has been having a very good year. That sentiment couldnt have been clearer on Tuesday, October 7, as the precious metal hit a new milestone: $4,000 an ounce. As of early Wednesday, gold was up over 53% year to date. That’s significantly higher than the growth seen by major stock indexes over the same period The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 9.93% this year, the S&P 500 is up 14.42%, and the Nasdaq Composite is up 18.19% as of the market close on Tuesday. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}})}(); As a so-called safe-haven asset, gold has benefited from a few things this year, including a weakened dollar and an unpredictable economy. The latter has been especially true since the U.S. government shutdown on October 1. That Wednesday morning saw gold reach new all-time highs, with spot gold and U.S. gold futures reaching $3,894 and $3,922, respectively. Gold has continued to trend upward over the last week, reaching a high of $4,050 today. Yes, but will it last? Clearly the U.S. government shutdown has, at least so far, been a coup for gold, but for how much longer? Of course, theres no guarantee either way, especially with no end in sight for the shutdown. Financial experts have found themselves split on their predictions. Goldman Sachs has taken a bullish approach, raising its estimated gold forecast from $4,300 to $4,900 per ounce for December 2026. We see the risks to our upgraded gold price forecast as still skewed to the upside on net, because private sector diversification into the relatively small gold market may boost ETF holdings above our rates-implied estimate, Goldman stated during the Monday announcement, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, Monday saw Bank of America take a much more bearish stance, Fortune reports. Bank of Americas technical strategist, Paul Ciana, warned of an elevated risk of correction. Ciana posited that factors like buying based on momentum and overbought signals mean that golds speedy rise could be coming to an end.
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E-Commerce
In my old banking job, where I worked for 12 years, I found myself frustrated with the slow pace of the work, the layers of red tape and approvals to get anything done. After all, banking was a highly regulated industry, and while there were many rules to follow, they were just simply being a good bank by following them. I felt tired, drained, and lacked energysimilar symptoms to burnout. While the organization was frequently voted a best place to work, I couldnt figure out why my great job felt so bad. I wasnt overworking or spending endless evenings logging in, so the typical paths to burnout didnt make sense. What I was actually experiencing was rust out. A COSTLY CONDITION The literal definition of rust out is to decay and become unusable through the action of rust. Rust out is a type of burnout that comes from not using your unique skills and talents at work, lacking learning opportunities, and ultimately, dreading the repetitive tasks at work that sap your creativity. Not only is this costly to an employees peace and mental health, but its costly to employers, too. According to Gallups 2025 engagement report, the global percentage of engaged employees was 21% in 2024. Its even worse for leadership. For young managers (under 35), engagement dropped by 5%, and female manager engagement dropped by 7%. Here’s what to do if you suspect you may be experiencing rust out: CONDUCT AN ENERGY AUDIT One of the biggest contributors to rust out is spending your energy in places that dont align with your unique talents and skills. In my own experience, and in working with my clients, a simple way to uncover your unique talents is to notice your energy. I believe every work activity falls into one of three categories: energy suckers, energy stallers, and energy surgers. Energy suckers feel like they take heroic effort, even though the task wasnt all that large or difficult. Energy stallers are tricky because they throw your energy into neutral. You dont feel drained while doing them, but they dont ignite your energy either. Energy surgers are the sweet spot youre looking for. These projects bring a paradoxthey are challenging, but they make you feel amazing, in flow, and like your most creative self. When conducting an energy audit, assess what percentage of your time is spent on energy suckers, energy stallers, and energy surgers. DUMP, DELEGATE, OR OUTSOURCE After you conduct your energy audit, the next step is to ask yourself: What can I dump, delegate or outsource? You want to dump the things that drain your energy the most. They are likely tasks or projects that we said yes to months or years ago that we keep doing because were on autopilot. In my own experience, these were old reports I would review that no one was paying attention to. If you dont want or need to be there, and it doesnt align with your values and priorities, it may be time to dump it. If you cant dump it, can you delegate it? In a day of back-to-back meetings, I noticed that two of my team members were in there with me. They could handle the meeting and make the decisions, but because I was in the meeting as their leader, people would defer to me anyway. I decided to delegate that meeting. And by asking myself, Where does my presence subtract value for fellow team members? I found more meetings I could delegate. And finally, if you cant dump it or delegate it, can you outsource it? In my years of working at technology and consulting firms, I discovered the power of outsourcing: from office snack delivery to marketing activities to contractors. ADVOCATE FOR YOUR TALENTS Once you are clear on what your energy surgers are, it is up to you to communicate clearly to your boss and peers what your strongest talents are and what type of work youd most like to take on. Leaders cant read minds, so the more you communicate the work you value and ask them to think of you when opportunities come up, the more likely they are to share your name and talents when you are not in the room. This may not happen overnight but through consistent conversations it can work. The good news is that several of my clients have stayed at a company they loved and redesigned their roles into something more enjoyable simply by having this energy and talents conversation with their leader. DECIDE IF A CAREER CHANGE IS NEEDED Sometimes, all of this reflection, advocacy, and self-awareness can bring us to an unexpected place: wondering if we are in the right career and if a change is needed to overcome rust out. While I always encourage folks to advocate and change their current environment so we dont bring the same issues into a new role, there are some questions you can ask to help you determine if its time to stay or go, such as: Does this organization align with my values? Do I agree with the way leadership makes decisions? How have I advocated for the changes I want? Have I set and communicated necessary boundaries for how I spend my time and energy? If you determine that there isnt values alignment and no changes have been made despite your advocacy, it might be time to look elsewhere. The results of beating rust out can boost an employeesand their employer’s peace, potential, and paychecks and profits through improved productivity, well-being, and engagement.
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E-Commerce
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