Improving Your Financial Health Can Affect Your Mental Health.

Have you ever heard…Your health is your wealth?  Because it’s so true! Health is not just limited to eating fruits and veggies, exercising every day for at least 30 minutes, and of course making sure your psyche is in check.  Health can also be attributed to ensuring your financial picture is in balance to alleviate what is known as the silent or invisible cause of some illness. You guessed it, stress; moreover, financial stress.  Did you know that financial stress is one of the most common and largest stressors on relationships (www.thebalance.com)?

Let’s talk about finances for a minute! Be it you are a young adult, middle age, or more mature, finances i.e money plays a part in almost everything you do.  This would include but is not limited to simple daily activities, transportation, household expenses, starting a family, new life adventuring, retirement, etc.  You get no argument from me that there are a few things in life that are still free; however, one can challenge this statement because someone ends up footing the bill.  So let’s relish in the fact that money makes our world function.

I’ve heard many people discuss varying factors regarding money, and that money management itself is stressful in some capacity, so we did some research and found that 71% of Americans identify money as a significant cause of stress.  In addition, 76% of households in America live paycheck to paycheck. These numbers are both high and shocking; however, proper money management is helpful across all social-economical statuses.  You can find more information on the subject at (https://www.becomingminimalist.com/rethink-money-and-breathe/).

Many people have heard that stress is not something to take lightly, but did you know it affects us physically, emotionally, and mentally?  Imagine being worried so much about finances that you can’t sleep at night, you can’t focus on your projects at work, and you may even experience some bouts of depression or suicidal ideations because the burdens seemingly are not going away.  The worry becomes so consuming that it spills over into our relationships with friends, and family members.  Ugh!  Financial stress is just an ugly, vicious cycle that needs to be stopped in its tracks, now!

So what can we do to relieve financial stress?  Good question.  Sure you can consult a finance professional, and yes there are many other issues that can be named as stressors, but this is solely focused on helping eliminate financial stress from your day-to-day life. 

A while ago, we had an opportunity to chat with an interesting young lady that knows how to “Budget like a boss” as she frames it.  Emerald Sparks is a millennial financial strategist, who speaks about the importance of having a vision for your finances.  Emerald believes if you don’t control your finances, your finances will certainly control you!  Her book Vision Future Reality: How to Budget like a Boss lays out the foundation of how to start a healthy budget.  The book will jumpstart your financial journey in a positive direction.  It is a very quick read, she gets directly to the point!  She really knows her stuff, and her bio is extensively impressive.

Feel free to follow her on Facebook and LinkedIn as Emerald Sparks, Instagram @ShzAGem, and Twitter @EmeraldSparksES. Visit her website too; it’s filled with awesome courses, workshops and webinars at emeraldsparks.com.  

Just another way to help you Transcend Living!