Financial wellness plays a pivotal role
in our overall health and wellbeing

By Sheilagh Cahill, Education Specialist at the Credit Counselling Society.

We know there are more important things in life than money, yet when you’re struggling financially it’s hard to focus on anything else. Being in a constant state of financial stress impacts your self-esteem leaving you feeling hopeless and with a sense of despair.

Worrying about money prevents you from having a good night’s sleep. Lack of sleep has a huge impact on our bodies, including stress. Stress not only causes headaches it can also disrupt your appetite resulting in either over-eating or not eating enough to save money. Anxiety symptoms like sweating, shaking, a pounding heart and even panic attacks can occur.

As if that’s not enough, financial stress is the most common issue couples argue about. Not having funds to go out makes us withdraw from our friends. Retreating into our shell only makes stress worse and can lead to unhealthy coping methods like drinking, using drugs, gambling, and thoughts of suicide.

All this seems very grim, like a lot of bad news. Wait, there is good news!

The start of a new year is the perfect time to establish new healthy habits, including those related to financial wellness.

Proper money management does not involve a magic formula to find more money. It is not about how much you make. It simply means getting the most from the money you do have.

Here are some ways to bring financial wellness practices into your routine:

Define Your Financial Health
Understanding what financial health looks like for you is the first step to setting yourself up for success. Maybe financial health for you means a focus on savings, a reduction in debt, or even financial freedom. Or it could mean becoming a conscious consumer where you buy only things you need. This individualized definition will support you in creating attainable financial wellness goals.

Build Some Structure
Create a budget that considers your definition of financial health. Building a spending plan, or budget, is a step–by–step process. Once complete, your budget is the solid foundation with which you can manage your current income and expenses and plan for your financial wellness goals.

Like driving a car or playing an instrument, the skill of managing money must be learned – and it’s never too late to start!