Many people are becoming more aware of their overall wellness. Both from a physical and emotional aspect. However, many people fail to consider another aspect which is financial wellness. Some people haven’t even considered the fact that financial wellness ties into other aspects of achieving overall wellness. Once your financial wellness is secure, you can comfortably figure out how much money you can spend on yourself!
What is Financial Wellness?
This term means having the ability to have a healthy financial status. Examples of financial wellness would be manageable debt, an emergency cushion saved, etc. There are many different ways that a person can achieve financial wellness. Not everyone will have the same version. That is why it is important to understand financial wellness and how you can find ways to achieve it!
Financial wellness is such an important aspect to people that even employers are catching on. Many large employers have taken note on the significance and have created financial wellness programs. Financial wellness programs aim to provide assistance opportunities on some major financial concerns that Americans face:
- Financial Stress: When employees have a healthy financial status, they are in turn less stressed. When a person acquires true financial health, they won’t feel as much stress from the burden of bills, debt, etc. This leads to better productivity in the workplace and could even lead to more workplace attendance!
- Professional Advice: Many employees agree that receiving professional financial advice is one of the most important aspects that a financial wellness program can provide. According to a study done by Finra, 53% of adults are financially anxious. That is why this professional advice is so valued.
- Retirement Savings Gap Between Men and Women: According to a Transamerica Center for Retirement Study, 45% of women did not have confidence that they would be able to retire comfortably. Comparably, only 29% of men felt the same way. This difference in financial wellness is something that employees should be aware of.
- Caregiving While Employed: Oftentimes employees may not be aware of available wellness programs and don’t reap all of the assistance that is offered. Caregiver.org provided some statistics about the impact that caregiving has on the workplace. One of the more worrisome statistics is the fact that caregivers often deal with some serious issues. The loss of wages, health insurance, other job benefits, retirement savings, or Social Security benefits are some problems caregiving employees face. These in turn lead to a lack of financial wellness.
- Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): A lot of employees have likely seen an HSA account option at their job. However, many do not take the time to understand what these accounts offer. This is a type of option that is used to cover the out-of-pocket healthcare expenses that employees have to deal with.
If your job offers a financial wellness program, reap all of the benefits that you can. If you see that your job doesn’t currently offer any type of financial wellness program, then talk to your boss! You can see if your employer would be willing to start some sort of program. If not, then you can take financial wellness in your own hands. Budgeting, professional assistance, etc., are ways you can independently improve your financial health. Not every method works for every person so you need to find what you can do to improve your financial situation.