Guest Blog: Financial Wellbeing

It’s common to identify that money is a contributor to your health & happiness in some way. Often problem emotions like stress, anxiety, low mood and even confidence may have a connection to your relationship with money, your perception of wealth and your financial wellbeing.

Coaching can help you gain an understanding on your emotional relationship with money (positive or negative) and help you understand the story you are telling yourself right now about your financial future.

Gain a wider perspective on your thoughts and feelings and resolve any barriers to happiness.

Sometimes this is a simple thing like understanding the limits to thr capabilities you have around prioritising and planning. You might find that the kindest thing you can do for yourself is to access advice, information and take action. Instead of procrastinating, avoiding or becoming overwhelmed with where to start, when it comes to sorting finances.

Money can create a medley of feelings from excitement to over-whelm & uncertainty.

You may not have learned the skills you need in life to feel content with your money situation.

Maybe you have too much money and are not sure what to do with it now and in the future.

The good news is you can find answers with the right support & expertise. We can't know everything after all!

We have teamed up with Rockwood Financial Solutions to explore ways to better comprehend the connections between emptional and financial wellbeing.

Read their guest blog below:

“Money doesn’t grow on trees.”

“Money is the root of all evil.”

“Money makes the world go round.”

Money. Money. Money.

It’s one of those subjects we just can’t avoid. Whether it’s commenting on how expensive something is, boasting about a bargain we bagged or complaining about the price of petrol going up again.

And of course, worrying about your finances can impact on your physical and mental wellbeing – sleepless nights, family arguments, relationship breakdowns, anxiety, stress, depression.

But if money can’t buy happiness, why does it affect our wellbeing so much?

It’s because all too often, we focus on how much we think we need, not how much we actually need.

Financial wellbeing isn’t about accumulating wealth – it’s not about working every hour god sends so that you can build up a big pot of money.

Financial wellbeing is about working out what you need to be happy and having enough money to do the things you enjoy in life.

Some people are perfectly happy working a low-stress, low-paid job so that they can leave work at work and spend more time with friends and family. They are comfortable earning just enough to cover the essential bills and treat themselves every now and then.

Other people are focused on building or growing a business; or working hard to create wealth so that they can enjoy the luxuries in life like new cars, five-star holidays and the latest gadgets.

Neither way of living is right or wrong as long as you are happy.

And you might not need as much money as you think you do to achieve happiness.

When was the last time you actually sat down and thought about what is important to you – what do you enjoy doing? Being debt-free, eating out at nice restaurants, family holidays twice a year, having a motorhome that you can escape in now and then or building a big pot of savings for the future?

It’s different for everyone, and that’s the whole point. If you really sit down and think about the things you need to be happy, you’ll probably find there are loads of things you can cut back on.

Are you just paying for things because other people have them –TV subscriptions that you never watch, memberships that you rarely use, holidays to places of little interest, the latest smartphone with capabilities you don’t use?

Maybe you don’t need to upgrade your car every two years if you only need it to get to work. Perhaps you can sacrifice eating out every week when you actually prefer eating in anyway.

This thinking can be applied to your future too.

You might be going without the things that make you happy now so that you have lots of money when you retire. Working overtime and missing out on family events just to build up that pension pot. But will you actually need all that money to have the lifestyle you want later in life?

Some people want to take a big lump sum when they retire and travel the world for a year, so saving now makes perfect sense.

Other people would rather be mortgage-free and have just enough to cover the bills, treat the grandkids and make the garden nice, so why go without a few luxuries now?

What does retirement look like for you, and how much do you need to achieve it?

If the COVID-19 pandemic has had any positives, it’s that a lot of people have had time to reflect on what’s important.

And as a result, a lot of people have improved their financial wellbeing – not their wealth, not their income, not their bank balance – their wellbeing. Because when you realise what you actually need to make you happy, you stop spending on the things that aren’t important.

Needing to reach out to external services for advice and expertise on your goals and vision is all part and parcel of coaching yourself to a happier, healthier life. We can't know everything in life and using external resources to gain clarity and control on our situations is a quick and easy way to support your own wellbeing, instead of grappling with complex information and systems that people dedicate extensive time and effort to learn!

Rockwood Financial Solutions, can help with cash flow planning to improve your financial wellbeing. Helping you work out how much you actually need to do the things that make you happy right now, and how much you’ll need for the life you want in the future. Rockier help you work out how to make it happen.

To get in contact with Rockwood and discover ways to have a better relationship with your finances click here to get in touch.

Nothing in this blog constitutes financial advice or recommendations. For more information, please contact Rockwood Financial Solutions on 0330 332 2679.

To learn more about your money story and rid yourself of negative emotions and beliefs you can explore a free initial consultation with me JK at JKCHANGEWORK to help you to understand how Therapeutic Coaching can enable you to create a happy, healthy lifestyle now and far into the future!