Last updated on July 20th, 2023 at 08:33 am
Our financial health is linked to our well-being in one way or the other. Also, financial health is relative and not really hinged on how much you make. When we think of finances, we think of the rich, which is valid, but everyone regardless of their economic status can suffer from poor financial health.
Poor financial health is mostly due to bad choices. Sometimes, we can’t really control how rich we are—due to systemic poverty—or how much we make. But we can tailor our lives to what we have. In every situation, there’s an aspect that we can control, and this responsibility always falls on us to carry out. It’s easy to blame the government and every other person, but at some point, one needs to face the truth.
Poor financial choices don’t immediately disappear once you start making more money. Rich people face financial anxiety as well. The amount you make can always change and increase—it’s an ebb and flow, but your financial health can remain bad if you personally don’t make any changes.
Speaking of finances, as with other aspects of your life, you need to review it and decide you want to do better. No one’s going to do the job for you. While I keep working on bettering my finances because I deserve the peace of mind and security that comes with good financial health, I acknowledge that I have a long way to go though I’m aware of how much I’ve improved.
Here are some ways (within my power that) I keep working on my finances, they might help you:
Financial reset:
We can all benefit from a financial reset. This gives an entirely fresh start and a new perspective on what’s working or not. With a financial reset, you give yourself the power to view your finances and whatever loopholes as a third party.
A no-buy/ no-spend period is a common way that people financially reset. A financial reset can be very strict, but I say it’s worth it because the ensuing stress from having your finances fall apart is an unnecessary difficulty. If you find a no-buy period too much for you, you can try a no-impulse-buy period. In the latter, you are not restricted to your essentials alone as long as it’s all within your budget. Whereas, in the former, you are restricted to solely your essentials.
Financial boundaries:
One financial pitfall is the lack of boundaries. It’s an aspect that we all suffer from. We face these temptations either personally or from outside. The key to having a strong financial boundary is to identify what is truly a need versus want and what’s an emergency versus a non-emergency.
When we find it hard to say no to situations that can cost us money, our financial boundaries are weak. It can be as simple as refusing or not permitting yourself to eat out for the fifth time in the same month. While I’m an advocate of taking care of yourself seeing as you worked hard for your money, there has to be a fine balance. If you’re “taking care” of yourself now and overindulging at the expense of your peace and financial health in the future, then you may want to reconsider your boundaries.
One tool that you may find helpful as you draw financial boundaries is budgeting. You may also find my post on self-boundary helpful.
Financial minimalism:
Implementing minimalism as a lifestyle should cut across all areas of your life and not just decluttering material items or having a single couch in your living room. With financial minimalism, the goal is to spend on what you truly need. Many expenses are wants and often not so important, but we easily convince ourselves of their importance.
The desire to continually consume keeps increasing individually and in society as a whole. Once we can convince ourselves of a need for something, we consider immediately purchasing the said thing even if it means taking a loan. Another prevalent challenge is our need to keep up with our neighbours and friends status-wise.
As long as our value is tied to what we spend and do not spend on or our societal status, our financial health is at risk. At its core, financial minimalism is a prompt for you to decide what your real value is (built on).
Financial goal:
At every point, in my opinion, you need a financial goal. It doesn’t have to be something serious like saving to buy a car or build a house. A simple and sustainable financial goal is to save. For no reason at all, just save. Instead of spending my money now, I keep it for later. That’s what it means to save.
The objective of having a financial goal is to help you stay on track, multiply your money and make your money work for you (as in emergency savings or investments that yield dividends). Without a goal, it’s easy to fall off track financially or to be financially enslaved.
One step to achieving your goals includes outlining methods to achieving them. If your goal is to save more on your grocery purchase, one method to achieve this could be avoiding brand loyalty to manage inflation and shrinkflation.
Getting your finances in order is a bold move. Every day and every single moment, we are inundated by adverts and we don’t even have to step a foot outside of our door to make purchases: a dress that we don’t need, a mobile game that we can do without, another shade of nude lipstick, etc. These temptations alone can keep us stuck in an unpleasant cycle.
Being prudent with your finances is an always-on decision. It’s a choice that has to be made and continuously renewed. On this journey, as usual, don’t forget your why.
Leave a comment, if this was helpful.
Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks. I have a question for you.