Anxiety, migraine, high blood pressure, depression, and digestive issues are just a few of the symptoms of financial stress. In fact, according to a recent study, 73% of people suffering from chronic stress is caused by financial worries and problems.
What is Financial Wellness?
Financial wellness is not limited to how much money you have now. Being financially healthy encompasses many factors, including how your financial condition influences your stress levels, affecting your mental and physical health. To be financially healthy, you must keep your finances in balance and build up your strength to pay your bills and live a more stable, healthy, and prosperous life.
So, why is financial wellness essential to your health?
1. It provides you a sense of security.
Do you believe that money cannot buy happiness? This saying may be true, but money can surely buy peace of mind. Financial wellness provides a sense of security that even if you lose your job today, you know that you will still be okay. Hence, giving you peace of mind.
Here are some signs that you are financially secure.
- You can sleep without worrying about money.
- You use your credit card for convenience but not out of necessity.
- You don’t worry about losing your job.
- You pay bills on time.
- You have enough savings to retire early.
- You are debt-free.
- You have money for emergencies.
- You have health insurance.
2. You will avoid incurring debts.
Incurring debt is not per se harmful to your health, but struggling to pay back such debt may be very stressful. And the stress you feel may affect your physical and mental health, as debt and health are closely related. This is because debt leads to anxiety, which contributes to poor health outcomes. Financial stress is a health-related stressor that can trigger a stress response that may harm your physiological health. Worse, debt problems can lead to unhealthy behaviors such as suicidal thoughts, excessive smoking, and drug use.
Financial wellness will help you avoid debt. As a result, if you are debt-free, you are more likely to avoid financial stress, which may otherwise lead to health concerns.
3. You may recover faster.
The best way to recover quickly is to have enough money or medical coverage to pay for quality medicines and treatments without having to think about how you can pay for them. Instead of worrying about where to get money to pay for your hospital bills, you will be able to focus on your healing and just let your insurance and emergency savings serve their purposes.
So, how will you achieve financial wellness?
Financial stress and its possible health consequences may seem overwhelming, but there are simple steps people can take to improve their financial and overall well-being.
- Identify the reasons why you want to be financially well. If you constantly worry about an unforeseen bill, having less stress in your life is a tremendous drive to save money. So, every time you set aside money from your paycheck, remind yourself why you want to be financially well.
- Take control of your finances. Controlling your money is controlling your life. When you find why you want to be financially well off, you can start planning ahead. Planning ahead of time also increases your involvement with your finances. Simply paying attention to where your money is going and checking up on yourself to ensure your spending is aligned with your priorities can help you feel more in control.
- Let your plans guide you. Planning ahead of time also allows you to chart out little steps to help you achieve your long-term goal of financial wellness. This is significant because we are programmed to think in the short term. Your goals and plans can also help you stick with new, healthy financial behaviors.
- Reward yourself. Rewarding yourself for your accomplishments, whether big or small, will motivate you to work harder for your goals.
Takeaway
Financial wellness may seem unreachable, but its health advantages are overwhelming. Your wallet is connected to your health.
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References:
- Connolly, Maureen, et al. “United States of Stress 2019 – Effects of Stress on Americans – Special Report.” EverydayHealth.Com, www.everydayhealth.com, 7 May 2019, https://www.everydayhealth.com/wellness/united-states-of-stress/.
- “Survey: 69% of Americans Have Less Than $1,000 in Savings | GOBankingRates.” GOBankingRates, www.gobankingrates.com, 12 Oct. 2018, https://www.gobankingrates.com/banking/savings-account/americans-have-less-than-1000-in-savings/#C.