Financial well-being and your health : A direct correlation
Several types of research have been done to understand the link between financial well-being and health. When I am talking about health, I am not just addressing your physical health here. I am addressing all the aspects of overall well-being including physical health, emotional health, social well-being and relationships, mental well-being, productivity, and purpose.
Imagine your life as a wheel of a bicycle and all these above-mentioned aspects of overall well-being are the spokes of the wheel. Now you see, how they are interconnected? If one spoke is weak or broken, it has an adverse effect on all the other spokes. Lack of money is one of the biggest causes of stress. It has been well known that people lose sleep due to financial stress. Quality of Sleep impacts physical, mental and emotional well-being. Emotional and mental well-being deteriorates due to stress and lack of sleep. People have mood swings, anxiety, and depression. It is like a vicious cycle. Stress reduces the quality of sleep which in turn impacts health and creates more stress. Now you can see how financial well-being is related to emotional and mental health.
Poor emotional and mental health reduces a person’s ability to respond to life situations. People make a mountain out of a molehill just because they are stressed. Due to stress, people become angry, respond bitterly to minor day to day incidents, snap at others, become over-reactive or dwell in self-pity. This is a sure-shot formula for creating a rift in any relationship. Thus, financial well-being also impacts your social well-being and relationships. Hence, financial stress is one of the major causes of the high divorce rates. It is a well-known fact that honey will attract more bees than vinegar 😊.
Now When you lack social support, your ability to bounce back from stress, anxiety, depression, etc. reduces. People end up having addictions to alcohol, junk food, sugar, and other harmful substances just because of stress and anxiety. They make poor choices and errors in judgments. Their ability to discern right from wrong fades away. Also due to lack of money, people will take up 2-3 jobs just to stay afloat. This leads to a lack of time. You cannot pay attention to your physical health or relationships when you don’t have time. You cannot take out time or money for self-care to exercise or eat healthy meals or meditate when you are doing 2-3 jobs. You obviously will not get enough sleep in this situation, so everything goes down the hill and you feel like stuck in a rut. All this drama in your life also affects your self-esteem and productivity. Now you see how a lack of financial discipline can become a disaster in all other areas of your life?
Anything can be improved if you put your mind to it. The same is true for financial health. You must plan properly and discipline delayed gratification. Stop money, time and resources leak. Seek the help of a professional if required.
Here are a few tips on how to improve your financial health:-
1) Track your financial well-being by visiting https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/financial-well-being/
2) Reduce expenses
3) Pay yourself first by saving for the rainy day. Develop the habit of mandatory savings. Start small and increase your habit of savings.
4) Stop eating out and start cooking at home.
5) Cut out Netflix, cable and other unnecessary expenses. It will save time and money both.
6) You don’t have to buy the latest iPhone or gadget or anything you don’t need just to impress others with the money you don’t have.
7) Take up another job.
8) Invest in yourself, improve your skills and self-esteem.
9) Start paying off your credit cards. See if debt consolidation makes sense for your situation.
10) Stop impulse purchases. Develop the habit of paying with cash. When you see the money leaving your pocket, it will help you realize the value of money and your spending habits. Also, it will help you stay away from credit card debts.
11) No more happy hours in the bar. It will save money, time, health and relationships.
12) When making any purchases, pay with cash instead of a credit card. This habit will stop you from spending money which you don’t have.
13) Maximize your 401k, IRAs and HSAs.
14) Find someone who has a high net worth. Seek out their help and see if they are willing to mentor you. If they agree, be in their back pocket. Follow their guidance
Self-discipline is highly required to achieve success in anything. In the beginning, forming new habits might be hard but it is not impossible. Keep in mind, with your habits you are not only impacting your life but also the lives of your future generation. You are teaching your children and the next generation with your example. You are impacting the next generation either positively or negatively so make wise choices and impact your kids and grandkids positively. Leave behind a legacy that your future generations will be proud of.
Feel free to contact, if you want to improve your financial well being and productivity.