[Super excited to share with you a guest post by my friend + LWMP expert - Lora Sasiela, LCSW a Financial Therapist + money coach who has worked with Marie Claire Magazine. Enjoy! xo, Hillary ]
Dealing with health issues can bring havoc on one’s financial life and unfortunately health crises are the #1 cause of bankruptcy filings. So to support the fabulous wellness work that Hillary does, I’d like to share some thoughts about connecting physical wellness and financial wellness.
Key #1: Know And Get The Support You Need For Yourself.
Think about the support team you have created to maintain your health… MD’s, acupuncturists, yoga teachers, nutritionists, etc. As you ventured along on your wellness path I imagine that there was soul searching about who and how to bring someone on the team. Perhaps you encountered some trial and error.
Creating the right team requires being in touch with our needs and feeling entitled to have them met.
I would say the same for financial wellness. I encourage you to think about your process of creating your health wellness team and how you can leverage that experience and knowledge to creating a circle of support for your financial life. Perhaps it’s time to work with a financial therapist/money coach.
You might be in a place where it makes sense to bring a financial advisor on the team. Your supports might also include technical support, such as setting up a free account on mint.com, which is an easy and simple-to-use money management site.
A close girlfriend or family member might also be on your financial wellness team. Connecting with them weekly about your goals and creating some accountability for yourself can be a powerful practice. If you benefit from group support, there is Debtors Anonymous, or women’s financial empowerment groups via wife.com. And smartcookies.com offers a great free guide if you’re inspired to start your own group.
Key #2: Know Your Numbers.
When it comes to our health, there are certain numbers, or benchmarks, that provide important information regarding the status of our health: blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, etc. So to with finances, there are certain important measures of our financial health: credit score, net worth, knowing what our ‘monthly nut’ is {the total of all fixed monthly expenses}, the amount of money needed for an adequate emergency fund, etc.
It is important to know and track these numbers to ensure our financial health. And there is nothing more powerful to move you from being in a money fog to financial empowerment than getting clarity around your numbers. Being in the know is the first step to feeling more confident because you know what you’re working with.
Key #3: Make Conscious Daily Decisions.
Take a moment to think about all the decisions you make each day when it comes to your health: What and when to eat, when and how to move your body, getting to bed by a certain time to ensure that you are well rested, etc. If maintaining wellness is a priority, these decisions are made from a place of consciousness and intention.
Now take a moment to think about all the financial decisions we make in a given day. There are a variety of what I call ‘money transit points,’ where money if flowing in and out of our lives. These transit points include: earning, spending, saving, investing, and giving. Each one of these areas present opportunities for you be present and aligned with your financial wellness.
I encourage all of my clients to get clear on their values {so they know their top 5} and their financial goals. Keeping these two factors in mind help guide conscious financial decision-making. Take a moment to write down your top 5 and your financial goals, you can’t do it wrong.
The basis of my financial therapy work is helping my clients embrace their relationship with money. And in reality, our relationships with our body and with money will be the two longest relationships in our lives. So it is in our best interest to make sure both are being nurtured so they are sustainable and satisfying relationships that support us in living the life of our dreams!
Make sure you go through all these keys again and put just one into place so you can be on your way to leverage your wellness plan and rock your money mojo immediately.
Leave a comment below if this post helps you and if you have any money mojo questions for me I’m happy to answer them and help you have a better relationship with money.
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Lora Sasiela, LCSW, Founder of Financially Smitten.com, is a financial therapist and money coach on a fierce mission to help women ditch their fear of money. It was her own money meltdown that caused her to ‘wake up and smell the financial coffee’ thus beginning her own journey to financial wellness. Along the way, she came to see that her 15 years of experience as a psychotherapist empowering women with food and body image issues could be leveraged to inspire and empower women around money issues. Lora is honored to have supported so many women around the world with her private and group coaching programs, teleclasses, live workshops and products.
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Hi Lora,
Yes, this post helped me so much. I was needing a guide for this!
Thank you very much.
@Hillary…thanks so much for asking me to make this contribution to your community and the powerful work you do! xo
@Dalbina…my pleasure and I’m so glad it was helpful!
Lora Sasiela recently posted..Do You Feel ‘Ugh’ When You Think About Savings
My pleasure lady! Thanks for your wisdom and heart. xo
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