5 Financially Empowering Practices To Add To Your Self-Care Routine
Implement financial wellness into your self care practice with these 5 doable steps.
Written by: Myrna Lainé-Hyppolite
Have you ever thought of managing your money as a form of self-care?
You may feel some anxiety around this, but it is totally doable. Don’t you love the feeling you experience after a good massage? A good pedicure? An awesome Zumba class? Those things that you do just for yourself can enhance your overall sense of well-being. Managing your money, in a financial wellness routine, can also be part of that line up!
What is financial wellness? Financial wellness is about how your money makes you feel and how it affects your overall well-being. When you are financially well, have a sense of control over your money, can cover an unexpected emergency, can pay your bills and are able to repay your debt...you feel good about where your money is! This is financial wellness.
Managing money is a huge source of anxiety for many people. How do you get to the point where it becomes a good feeling, something that you feel well and excited about?
Make it part of your self-care routine.
In this 5-part list I am going to share some financially empowering, yet practical ways to create a financially well self-care routine.
1. Track your expenses in a way that you can do consistently. Many times, I have had clients who started a budget, did it for a month and then quit. Why? Because they didn’t pick a method that fit within their lifestyle. If you are that person that is not going to hop on the computer after work, then don’t try to track your expenses on a spreadsheet. Maybe you need to work on an app that you can review easily and effortlessly? Maybe you track them in a notebook? Whatever works for YOU.
2. Make it a habit to look at your money. Many times, we don’t even know what we have, what is happening with our money because we just don’t look at it often enough. Are you incurring late fees? Are you being charged a fee on your checking account because you go below a certain balance? Go ahead and make it a point to look at your credit card and bank accounts on a weekly basis. This will soon become routine to you and enhance your financial wellness.
3. Plan to spend your money on items that bring you joy. By this I don’t mean go out there and just spend to your little heart’s content. Make a plan, make a budget and include FUN in your life. If you want to take that trip to Costa Rica, do so but make sure you planned for it and that it’s not another charge on a credit card, designed to keep you a prisoner of your debt!
4. Outsource the DIY things that will save you time. Make those million-dollar decisions! Can you carve away money for someone to come clean your house? For meal prep? Using your money to outsource the things that take time away from your family and the things that deplete your energy can also be a form of financial self-care.
5. Pay Yourself First. Put your savings on autopilot. Don’t leave your savings to happenstance. You are your most important bill! Pay yourself ahead of the light bill, the car bill, the rent/mortgage! Automate the process by having your money directly put into an online savings account generating at least 2% in interest. Having your savings stash provides you with comfort and security that comes with knowing that you have money set aside to take care of any unexpected emergencies.
Feeling like you have control over your money and using your money to do more than just pay bills will help you improve your sense of financial well-being. Managing your money can indeed be one of the best forms of self-care.
About the Contributor
Myrna Lainé-Hyppolite has close to 30 years of experience in the world of finance ranging from corporate finance, private equity to investment banking. She is an ivy-league graduate with BA and MBA degrees from Dartmouth College. Ms. Lainé-Hyppolite has leveraged her finance knowledge over the years and is now the CEO of Empower Financial Wellness, a financial coaching company established with a mission to educate, encourage and empower individuals to reach their financial goals. As a financial coach, Ms. Lainé-Hyppolite helps individuals grow their net worth, find their money leaks, and learn the basics of confident stock investing. Join the Financial Empowerment Women's Facebook Group or follow Myrna on Linkedin. Her Financial Breakthrough Coaching Program can also be found here.
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