Financial Wellness Wednesday

Amanda Clayman’s top tips for achieving financial wellness, as listed on Forbes.

1. There’s No Such Thing as Being Bad with Money. All financial behavior has meaning. The places where we get stuck and make mistakes--we can think of them as a jumping off point for how we think about and use money. There’s information in there. And when we’re talking to about this with someone who's neutral, or we’re able to be neutral with ourselves, we can see constructively what’s going off track and work with that, as opposed to turning that into something that’s directed at the self and saying we’re bad.
2. Think of Money as a Practice. Financial wellness is a way of re-framing money. One way we can think about financial wellness is as purpose driven money—thinking about money as a kind of fuel that we direct at those things that give our lives meaning and joy. Because there’s always competition for our money, we must think of this as an ongoing balancing act. Money is with us from cradle to grave. As we’re consistently managing it, we can use it to keep referencing what’s important to us given the choices that we’re facing. How do we balance how we make money versus how we want to spend money, or how put away money for the future? Or how do I balance money with a partner and building a life together? You’re always looking to find that balance point that is as inclusive as possible between all the different things you’re trying to use money to manage and fuel.
3. Your Calendar is Your Best Budgeting Tool. A lot of people are trying to outsource budgeting so they don’t have to pay attention. But attention is critical to living a purpose-driven financial life based on wellness. Having a regular time that you’re sitting down and reviewing, predicting, and planning what’s going on with your money is one of the best gifts we can give ourselves.
4. Ask What Money Means to You—and Your Partner. There really is no wrong way to do money—it’s fine to be risky or risk averse. Everybody has a lens that they use that feels right for them. Asking yourself what money means to you can help when you have a partner who sees money differently (and I’d say that’s more the norm than the exception). If we take a system look of relationships, we see that we often seek out somebody who will balance us out. For example, if we’re more anxious and analytical, we might want someone who’s more intuitive and optimistic. And between these two viewpoints, you can often come to a more balanced position or way of being with money than either individual would be able to do on their own. We’re all learning different lessons as we go.