Thinking about money and finances can feel overwhelming and stressful for many. When pondering your budget, retirement, and savings, it can be hard to know where to start. Financial wellness can be defined as the connection between financial knowledge and specific actions that people take to gain financial security and prevent stress due to financial struggles. Being financially literate is important not only to alleviate this stress but also to help you build long-lasting habits that will lead to smarter financial decisions. Remember: don’t work for your money; make your money work for you!
Finding financial wellness is an important part of obtaining overall wellness in your life. According to a recent survey, 60% expressed anxious feelings when thinking about their personal finances, with the major factors being a lack of assets, insufficient income, high debt, and low financial literacy.
Many people face various financial stresses that can take a significant toll on their mental health and overall stress levels. The same survey found that people were more likely to have high financial anxiety when they had overdue bills for the treatment of a health-related issue. Often, these stressors can cause other health issues, which, in turn, may incur more expenses to fix, resulting in a vicious cycle that can be hard to break.
Reducing such high levels of stress can help you avoid the physical symptoms of overwhelming stress, such as anxiety, loss of sleep, high blood pressure, and depression. Additionally, high stress can profoundly affect your relationships with the people around you. Another survey shows that more than 25% of people said that they took their stress out on their partner, and more than 9% said that they took it out on their children.
The connection between low financial literacy and anxiety and stress can be easily addressed by increasing efforts to make financial knowledge more accessible to people.
References:
Arnold, Kristin. “Survey: Surprisingly Fewer People Losing Sleep over Money Issues.”Bankrate, https://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/losing-sleep-survey/.
“Media Center.” Large Number of Americans Reported Financial Anxiety and Stress Even Before the Pandemic |FINRA.org, 28 Apr. 2021, https://www.finra.org/media-center/newsreleases/2021/large-number-americans-reported-financial-anxiety-and-stress-even.
“A Surprising Connection: Financial Wellness and Your Overall Health.” A Surprising Connection: Financial Wellness and Your Overall Health – Healthy Boiler –Purdue University, https://www.purdue.edu/hr/CHL/healthyboiler/news/newsletter/2020-01/finances-health.php.