Financial health and it's impact on you
You are currently living in inflation post pandemic and finances are tough. Everyone knows how they feel in their gut when they cannot cover their bills but sadly financial wellbeing is not spoken about on the same level as physical health and wellbeing. It is a mistake. We cannot avoid the bills in our inbox if we intend to look after our health and wellbeing properly. After all, gym memberships don’t happen if we can’t pay for our essentials so what can you do to ensure that you stay on top of your finances and stay confident even when times are tough?
Making saving money fun and rewarding is vital. So many of us have been raised with the concept that saving money is about cutting all the fun out of life and staying home, embracing the boredom. This creates a perception that money doesn’t flow to us with ease, that we don’t deserve it or that we are destined to continue feeling the wallet pinch year in year out. You have to change your perception to up level your confidence.
To start changing your perception of how your financial status impacts your health you need to arm yourself with some new knowledge about the benefits of getting on top of your bills and saving. There are 7 significant ways that better financial health will help you personally from reducing stress, to boosting your self esteem and creating more intimacy in your relationships, let’s unpack.
When bills are stacked high and you don’t have enough money to cover it stress spikes, anxiety lingers as you fear what may happen next if you don’t cover that next bill. You live on edge, hoping for a time when you can take a break from this grind of working, paying bills; sometimes you even say ‘stuff it’ and head on a holiday only the plastic can afford. Despite you feeling like paying bills wreaks of boredom it actually provides stability, a lack of stress and anxiety and a better quality of life. You don’t need millions to appreciate the positive effects of having your financial house in order either. This reduction in stress aids in better sleep, instead of pushing that bill back that will always need to be paid anyway, you can sleep knowing I did what I needed to do. There is one lesson person chasing me for money right now. If you embrace mindfulness you can enjoy that for another day you have moved yourself ahead financially more than you would if you simply hid from the bills.
Unsurprisingly, increased quality of sleep means that your physical health is far better. Instead of running to literally flee your bills you are moving your body, eating better because you understand the massive financial windfall of not paying for medicine to treat disease that is otherwise entirely preventable. You also are able to be kinder to your body, instead of deciding to punish it as it expands when cashflow is low, allowing you to repeat the positive habits you create. One thing I love about exercise as well is that it profoundly assists in keeping the expenses down. Think about it…you can climb a mountain and the only cost is fuel. You can go to the park for a kick of a $10 ball and recreate footy finals fever without spending a cent. You can socialise in any park, pavement or public sports court any time, any day and you will actually be rewarded for it- not spending money while gaining physical health, happy endorphins, clarity of mind and stress reduction. A total win win!
With these benefits the flow on effect of positive mental health comes. Self consciousness is replaced with clarity. You have a goal to reach and you know how you are going to get there. You get a kick out of hitting the next little milestone, you feel more secure and in control of your life.
For those of you who are in a relationship finances are no longer something that is done by one person in the couple. Together you talk openly about what you are trying to achieve, how you’ll overcome obstactles and you treat it as a task you take on together, enjoying the wins with each other too and allowing the partner who may not be looking at the books to support their partner more. Let’s be honest there are multiple ways a more supportive partner is a win win.
Over time the more you transfer these new perceptions into your reality the sooner you look at your finances differently and get out of the funk. The more you experience wins the more you make better decisions daily and the more your self esteem increases. If this still feels like it’s too far away for you right now fear not, I have three suggestions that will help fast track your success.
Create a ‘Money Flows with Ease’ list. For everyday in the month you are to write down what money came to you without any effort. Eg: $5 from someone buying your coffee, $30 from buying food on sale at the grocery store. Once you start adding these up I promise you they will keep coming because you are putting out to the world that money isn’t hard to come by. In my first month of doing this I had an extra $2566 dollars coming into my wallet (or never having to be spent in the first place). This drives gratitude for money instead of hating on its frequent coming and goings.
Have a date night with money. Sit down and look at where money is going and whether you felt that was necessary or not. If it’s something that adds to your happiness keep it but if you went shopping on Saturday and bought another outfit you are likely to wear once or twice then add up how much money you’d spend if you did it differently next fortnight or month. Things that you said no to across the past fortnight or month you’ll realise you actually had the money to spend on or invest in. Now you have the clarity to make better decisions.
Have a crazy brainstorm. Do this with friends or your significant other. List all the ideas you have to bring more money into your bank accounts. Be flamboyant in your thinking, include affiliate marketing and influencer work you could do for the things you love that you don’t want to do without. You might find yourself paying a fraction of the cost but never losing what you wanted and again that’s a ….win win!
In any case make sure that just because your finances may be taking a hit that you don’t ignore how you can make small incremental changes. We don’t get more confidence in one epic go, we get it by doing things that move us forward everyday. You got this, so go now and prove to yourself how capable you are!
