Your Money Or Your Health?

Managing your money is a lot like managing your health.

Think about it. To be healthy, we all know we should:

• exercise

• eat right

• get regular check-ups

• manage our weight

• drink plenty of water

• get enough sleep

• stay active

It’s not just one thing.

Financial health is like that too. Many things contribute to being financially healthy. Like…

• living on a budget

• saving regularly

• keeping debt under control

• paying bills on time

• monitoring spending

• having emergency savings set aside

• planning for long-term goals like buying a house, paying for a child’s education, or retirement.

With my physical health, I do some things on the first list every day. Some come easily and I do them without even thinking about it. But others -- like saying no to the office donuts or another slice of pizza -- are more of a struggle.

It’s the same thing for managing money. All of the items on list #2 are important. Some might come naturally. Others, not so much. In your own life, consider…

• Which financial habits come easy for you?

• Which ones are a struggle?

• Which need frequent attention?

• Which ones just need an occasional check-in to see how you’re doing?

Understanding your own relationship with money can help you maintain the good financial habits that come naturally, while making progress toward the ones that are more of a challenge.

With money, just like health, one good habit tends to lead to another. Learning to live on a budget makes it possible to put more in savings. Saving regularly helps to build up reserves for when unexpected things happen. Gaining a sense of control with expenses makes it possible for you to plan for the future and reach your goals for homeownership, college education or retirement.