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Much like exercise and eating well, your financial wellbeing is key to living a happy and healthy life.
So what is financial wellbeing and how can you improve yours?
Financial wellbeing is often overlooked as one of the pillars of good health, but it’s every bit as important as your physical, mental and emotional health.
Poor financial health has been linked to a range of nasty side effects like stress, depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, relationship break-down, drug and alcohol use to name a few.
Good health is often about balance. Getting on top of your financial wellbeing can certainly relieve stress and give you the time and money you need to balance all aspects of your health.
What is financial wellbeing?
When we talk about financial wellbeing, what do we mean?
More than just earning an income, financial wellbeing is about having financial security and the freedom to make choices.
There are three interrelated aspects to good financial wellbeing:
- The ability to meet your expenses and have money left over.
- Feeling and acting in control of your finances.
- Being financially secure and not needing to worry too much about money.
It’s considered normal for your financial wellbeing to vary over the course of your life. This is particularly true during major life events such as moving out of home, having a baby, changing jobs or retiring. Unexpected financial shocks can also have a big impact on your financial wellbeing.
How can I improve my finances?
Developing good financial habits will help you improve your financial health over time. That includes:
- Having a budget or spending plan.
- Making regular cash savings.
- Building an emergency fund of at least six months living expenses.
- Paying down debt and maintaining a good credit rating.
- Having adequate insurance.
- Building up enough superannuation to retire comfortably.
Much like your physical and mental health, your financial health needs regular check-ups to stay in good condition.
It’s really easy to conduct your own, or you can find a financial planning professional to help you.
How can a financial planner help?
Think of your financial planner like your family doctor: as your partner in good health. Having the right financial planner on your team can help you navigate life’s ups and downs.
A financial planner is able to support your changing needs at every stage of life. For example, in your twenties and thirties a financial planner can help you save, invest and plan for a family. They can help you consolidate and protect your wealth into your forties and prepare for retirement in your 50s, 60s and 70s.
When you go to see a financial planning professional, they’ll look at your overall financial wellbeing and develop a plan tailored to your circumstances. Again, much like the family doctor, financial planning is an ongoing relationship, not just a one-off meeting. So look for someone that you feel comfortable with and can work with long-term.
There is really no wrong or right time to seek advice from a financial planner. The earlier you get started, the more time you have to benefit from their advice.
The Money & Life website is operated by the Financial Advice Association (FAAA). The information in this article is not intended to influence the viewer to make a decision in relation to any particular financial product, class of financial product, or interest in either of these. The FAAA is not licensed to provide financial product advice. Nor is it able to provide legal or taxation advice. The FAAA does not assume responsibility for the information accessible via any links provided in this article. Please consider seeking advice from a qualified professional to ascertain how the information in this article and the links provided may relate to you.
