I’m sure that a lot of you would like to know how to achieve financial wellness, so you will never be financially bankrupt or find yourself without any means of getting an income. Well, if you’re wondering what financial wellness is, you should know that experts define it as “a physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being that is generally rooted on a stable and secure financial capacity”. It is extremely important to be aware of everything that might influence your finances to avoid potential money problems in the future. Here are a few pretty useful tips on how to achieve financial wellness, tips that will make you worry less about your finances and that will help you focus on the beautiful things in your life.
The first step you should take if you want to learn how to achieve financial wellness is to develop a budget that should contain your monthly income, and of course, your living expenses. If you don’t want to face any money problems later, try to stick to that budget and avoid unnecessary purchases. Also, keep good financial records, so you’ll keep track of your financial situation.
After you develop a budget that should contain the amount of money you receive every month, include a savings account and treat it just like any other bill you have to pay each month. This way, you’ll manage to save enough money for emergencies, especially since a lot of experts think you should have in your savings account at least a minimum of six months of salary.
If you are usually not so good with numbers and finances but you want to learn how to achieve financial wellness, then you should ask for help and get some tax advice from a professional, so you won’t make any mistakes that you could regret later. Despite all this, try to always remember that money grows by proper planning, not only by saving, so if you realize you don’t know how to carefully plan your income, don’t be afraid to ask for help.
I know this is sometimes pretty hard to do since we don’t even realize how much money we are actually spending on things we don’t need or never use. Maybe you haven’t realized yet, but by spending $5 for coffee every day, you’ll spend more than $100 a month. Also, I know how tempting it is to visit all kinds of online stores every single day and how hard it can be to turn off your computer without buying anything. It’s not impossible though. Try to be more rational and see if you really need all those things. It will be a bit harder at first, but you’ll get used to it and saving money won’t seem so difficult.
Even though you think it’s a bit early to think about those things, try to save some money for retirement. Be wise and listen to what Warren Buffett said: “We don’t have to be smarter than the rest; we have to be more disciplined than the rest”. Think about your future and even ask your employer to help you with a retirement plan. Take control of your financial life and be more responsible!
If you intend to buy something that’s really expensive, you should first include it in your budget plan and save some money each month, so you’ll be able to buy it without using credit. If you think that even if you save, you still won’t be able to afford that thing (whether it’s a house, a car or even your college tuition) and the only option you’ve got is to make a loan, don’t be hasty; take some time and look for the lowest interest rate and fees.
Always, and I mean always, pay your bills on time! First of all, you should know how much you actually owe, then you should understand how much you can actually afford to pay each month and then stick to your budget, no matter what. Don’t be discouraged if you realize that after you pay all your bills, you won’t have so much money left. You will be able to achieve financial wellness by balancing the money you earn with the money you owe.
Anyone can achieve financial wellness if they are willing to make some sacrifices in order to reach their goals. What other advice could you give to someone who is trying to achieve financial wellness? Do tell!