The following is a guest by Josh Wolberg, Director of Personal Finance and Wellness Programs at Channel Financial. Channel Financial is an independent?retirement plan?consulting and wealth management firm.
One of my favorite quotes is from Benjamin Franklin: ?an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.?
The wisdom of this quote has been borne out by the progress being made by wellness programs to prevent illnesses before they occur as opposed to waiting for medical conditions to develop and then treating the illness.? One of the core drivers of overall well-being that has been largely underappreciated are the effects personal financial stress can have on our health.? There is a growing body of research linking financial stress to dramatic effects in all areas of life.
If we focus just on the health effects on financial stress, people with high financial stress experience twice as many heart attacks, nearly three times the migraines/headaches, and over five times the rate of severe depression and anxiety.? Plus, there are other non-health effects of financial stress, such as personal relationship difficulties, distraction and decreased engagement at work, etc.
The Health Effects of High Financial Stress:
It?s one thing to be aware of the health consequences of financial stress, but doing something about it is a separate issue. ?We need to focus on practical ways we can reduce financial stress and begin to create financial stability.? Here are some first steps you can take:
Goal:? Start tracking your spending and create a budget.? Much of financial stress comes from living paycheck to paycheck.? The most important step in reducing your financial stress is spending less than you make, regardless of how much you make.? Can you think of a professional athlete or celebrity who gets paid millions of dollars per year and still went bankrupt?? Most of us can think of several.? This just shows you that it doesn?t matter how high your income is, you will be financially stressed if you spend more than you earn.
Potential Action Steps:
- Sign up for a free web service such as Mint.com or Mvelopes.com to track your spending and create a budget.
- Adjust your expenses to create a budget that allows you to free up a portion of your income each month.
- Use this monthly freed up cash flow to pay down high interest debt and build an emergency fund with 3-6 months of living expenses.
Goal:? Become more knowledgeable about personal finance.? We spend most of our adult lives coping with complex financial decisions, yet most of us have received virtually no formal instruction in personal finance to prepare us for these challenges.
Potential Action Steps:
- Ask your employer if they provide any personal financial resources such as a consultation with a qualified professional or financial education courses.
- Sign up for a community college course on personal finance.
- Go to the library or a book store to find books on personal finance.? Ask the librarian or book store employee for recommendations.
This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it is a good place to start.? Ask your employer if they have additional recommendations.?Trig users can visit the Work/Life page and click on the Living tab to see other financial resources or call toll-free at 1-855-633-TRIG for live assistance with financial concerns.
Josh Wolberg, CFP?, MBA is the Director of Personal Finance and Wellness Programs at Channel Financial. ?He also serves as an adjunct professor at Minnesota State University teaching in their Financial Planning Certificate Program and volunteers as an instructor with BestPrep, a non-profit which teaches students business, career and financial literacy skills.
Securities offered through LPL Financial. Member FINRA/SIPC.? For a list of states in which Josh Wolberg is registered to do business, please visit Channel Financial.
Source: https://www.trigls.com/blog/?p=882
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