Financial Wellness

​Okay, I know I am weird but I love talking about money. 
 
I want to talk about retirement, investing, saving and budgeting with everyone. I am that person…. I want to hear what your financial goals are and rally with you when you are struggling. 
 
I read money books (some of my favorites are Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover and The Millionaire Next Door by Stanley and Danko-check out the link in the resource section of my website) and listen to financial podcasts. 
 
I avoid debt like the plague, review my retirement portfolio regularly and love to see my kids college fund grow. I also love to create budgets (though I cannot for the life of me stick to my family’s food budget….) and plan where my money will go. 
 
While I realize not everyone shares my zeal for finances, there are some things I think we can all agree on. We want the financial freedom to live a good life, give generously and be able to someday retire. 
 
So, how do we do that? 
 
I think we need to start with dreaming about what we want our financial life to look like. What are your short term and long term financial goals?
 
For me, it is someday owning a cabin in the woods. I want to be able to go there to clear my head, write and engage in deep self-care without the distractions of life. I dream of rocking on a rocking chair on the patio with my husband, drinking our morning coffee. 
 
So, when I want to buy something that is out of my price range or want to go back into debt, I remind myself of the end game where I have my cabin and that the temporary sacrifices lead to long term goal achievement.
 
Also, we need to budget. We need to know where our money is going and be intentional about how we use it. If I am honest with you, I often make a budget and then don’t track to see if I have actually followed the budget at the end of the month. A budget is actually useless if you don’t track and follow it (something I have to remind myself). 
 
With that budget, we need to balance the short term and long term goals. We need to pay our bills now and engage life while also saving for the future. 
 
These action steps will make your financial wellness a success. 
 
Need help with this? Check out the link here to my favorite financial books. 
 
Have a great week!