Would you consider yourself to be financially healthy? Financial wellness is a consistent practice, much like other areas of wellness. You can’t just do it once and be financially well, just like you can’t just workout once and then be fit forever (though I do wish it were that easy!). If we regularly accomplish these small steps, they’ll add up to big changes in the long run.
Here are the 7 steps to help you achieve financial wellness.
Track your income and expenses - if you want a template, download our budget tracker
Build an emergency fund
Save for retirement
Invest your money
Plan for your life goals (buying a house, starting a company, starting a family, saving for a big trip)
Make sure you’re covered insurance-wise
These steps are ordered just how I like to think of them, but you can tackle them in whatever way makes sense to your financial situation. You’ll have to revisit each step periodically and make sure you stay on top of things.
We’ve found that it works best for us, if you schedule events related to each step in your calendar. This also gets you into the habit of consistently thinking about each step. For example, with step #1 tracking your income and expenses, this is something we do at the end of every month. It only takes about 15 minutes. We track everything in a spreadsheet so we can look back and see where we’ve been in order to plan for where we’re going. This monthly practice is also really helpful in making sure you know what is going on with your money. We know where everything is going and we aren’t hit with any surprises.
What works best for you in achieving financial wellness? Remember consistently practicing these steps is key.