This past May, Mahan Health focused our Monday meditation series on cultivating abundance in all aspects of our lives. While this focus was on cultivating an abundance mindset, we often associate abundance with physical wealth, and our relationship to it. In this month’s installment of Exploring the Circle of Life, we’re going to dive a little deeper into the complicated aspects that are often involved in our relationships to wealth, and provide some tangible tips to help you feel more confident in your finances.
Whether we like it or not, money is an essential aspect of our daily lives. There’s no question that it contributes to our quality of life and whether we can nourish ourselves well. However, our relationship with finances is often complicated. For some, it is a source of security and comfort, for others, it induces anxiety, fear, and stress.
Societal norms, media portrayals, and peer pressure can all heavily influence our relationship with money. This relationship can often feel like a wave: one minute we feel the powerful tug to spend our money on fancy gizmos and gadgets; the next, we feel the need to save for the future. Behavioral scientists even suggest that our relationship with finances is often rooted in emotions, not logic; which results in the perception that happiness comes from purchasing and accruing more things. This can lead to impulsive purchases, and later, feelings of regret.
Thus, understanding our relationship to money, and how to manage our finances, is a crucial step in enhancing our financial wellness. While it’s true that financial literacy is often hard to come by, there are many ways for you to learn more about financial literacy, and how to effectively manage your resources. Without a level of financial literacy, many people struggle with debt, poor credit scores, and other financial challenges.
To improve our relationship with finances, we need to understand the emotional attachment we have to money. We can start by creating a budget, setting financial goals, and prioritizing our spending. We can also develop healthy financial habits by learning about personal finance, investing, and other financial matters.
Our relationship with finances is complex. It is not just about the money in our bank account, but the emotions and value we attach to it. Improving our relationship with money requires a shift in mindset, and the adoption of healthy financial habits.
It is essential to recognize the factors that influence our views on money and develop strategies to overcome them. By doing so, we can create a positive and healthy relationship with finances that leads to financial stability and success.
Here are 5 Ways to Begin to Enhance Your Relationship with Money:
- Attend Financial Literacy Workshops: Financial literacy workshops can be an excellent way to boost your financial prowess. Attend a workshop hosted by a financial expert or organization that provides insight into budgeting, investing, and savings. Workshops may be hosted online or in person. Check your local banks and investment firms, or speak to a financial advisor to learn of any upcoming workshops or opportunities. Manisha Thakor’s organization, Money Zen, also offers plenty of classes to help you strengthen your relationship with and goals surrounding financial planning.
- Take Online Courses: Numerous online courses teach personal finance and investment. Take these courses to learn how to budget, invest smartly, or develop a financial plan for your future. Check free online courses through Coursera, or check any local universities or colleges for any classes on financial literacy.
- Read Finance-Related Books: Reading personal finance books and investment guides can be beneficial for enhancing financial literacy. Books may cover financial topics like starting a small business, investing and saving money, and building a retirement plan. Again, Manisha Thakor has written some excellent books available via Money Zen on enhancing financial literacy.
- Get a Financial Mentor: A financial mentor can be helpful for someone who needs guidance on financial matters. They can offer a wealth of expertise and insight that can help you make smarter financial decisions. Any local bank or investing firm will have plenty of financial mentors available to you to support any decisions you may be contemplating.
- Seek Professional Advice: Consider seeking guidance from a financial planner or advisor. This is different from getting a financial mentor as a financial advisor can offer tailored solutions to your specific financial needs, help you create a financial plan, and offer advice on saving, investing, and managing money, as opposed to just walking you through which investments are best for the current economic environment.
In the end it’s important to consider every area that makes up your quality health and well-being. What’s one thing you’ll implement from above to support your financial health?
