Your financial management can have an impact on both your emotional and physical wellbeing.
Feeling anxious about money may have a mental (and physical) toll on you, but that toll can be amplified if your worries keep you up at night.
That isn’t the only way financial stress may harm you. In fact, chronic stress of any kind can cause obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
The approach to avoiding and managing financial stress is to get your money in order right now.
Here’s the expert advice you need to develop these seven financial habits that improve your health
Taking Charge of Your Finances
Not knowing exactly where your money is going each month can be a source of stress, especially if you find your finances stretched thin.
Living Within Your Means
It is important to ensure that your life goals are not above your standard of living. For instance, don’t go for an over-the-top house that is way above what you can afford because you think it will bring you happiness.
Using Credit Cards Wisely
View your credit card as a source of credit to be paid back in full every month. This habit and mindset will prevent you from accumulating credit card debt which is one of the most expensive forms of credit available and notoriously difficult to recover from.
See also How to Negotiate Salary for a New Job: The Do’s and Don’ts
Practicing Minimalism
Practicing minimalism is a good financial habit that will also improve your mental health.
Minimalism is when you possess only what you deem essential. With a minimalist lifestyle, you naturally own less, which means you’re not spending as much money to buy and maintain your possessions. With fewer items in your house, there’s less clutter. Your house will be easier to clean and organize, which will make your mind clearer. Without the extra distraction and work that comes from having clutter, you can focus on what matters most like family and friendships and live more intentionally and not comparatively.
Building Your Savings Automatically Each Month
Setting up automated contributions to savings and investing accounts is a healthy habit that helps individuals feel less worried and more in control, especially with respect to longer-term goals that may feel insurmountable (like preparing for higher education expenses or retirement)
Not Stressing Daily Over Investments
By watching each movement in your investments along with being stressed out by the stories you are reading and watching, you are providing much unnecessary stress to your mental and physical health. Try this: Whenever the market is down a lot, go for a walk, remind yourself that market pullbacks are normal and healthy and in the long term, the market has a strong correlation to increase over time.
Planning for the Future
Even if you haven’t invested as much as you’d like (or as much as you think you’ll need) for retirement, there’s still time to start investing (or to invest more). If you work for a company that offers a retirement plan, contribute enough to get the maximum match.
