The financial dimension of wellness encompasses not only income, but debt, savings, retirement and any other aspect of financial capacity that can affect your bottom dollar, both now and in the future. This even includes basic budgeting. Keep in mind that good financial wellness does not equate to more money — often times those who are wealthy have very unhealthy financial well-being!

Financial well-being is one aspect of wellness that can drastically affect how well the other facets of your well-being are doing. When you are not financially “well,” it can wreak havoc on your mental, physical and emotional wellness as well. Part of our financial well-being can stem from feeling secure about our current situation and long-term financial outlook. Getting a grip on your finances, knowing what’s at the root of any debt and fully understanding what you need to do long-term and short-term to prepare for your future can help ease some of this strain; however, knowing where to find this information can be challenging and time-consuming.

Here are some practical tips to help you gain financial well-being:

• Attend a learning session or class. Many companies sponsor these regularly, and sometimes your employee assistance program provides financial resources that can help you manage your money in a healthier manner.
• Community resources are available as well. Check out your local credit unions or banking institutions to see if they host sessions to educate you and help you come up with a customized plan. These sessions are often free.
• Prepare the budget you've been putting off creating. Consider methods of tracking that can help you stick to it.
• Contact a credit counseling service or speak to a financial investment counselor.
• Know and understand your credit score, as well as what you can do to help improve it each month.
• Pick a "no spending" day. This will force you to get creative with you have already purchased and what you can do for fun that's free.
• Identify wants vs. needs.
• Use powerful passwords online to protect your personal financial information and change them regularly to avoid being hacked or losing valuable information due to online fraud.  Check which of your assets are covered with fraud protection and what it may cost you to implement such precautions.

Would you like more guidance on financial well-being or other areas of the eight dimensions of wellness? The wellness professionals at BarnesCare are here to help. Contact BarnesCare for more information.

This is the third in a series of articles about the eight dimensions of wellness.