January is Financial Wellness month, so I thought I’d start things off with a discussion of what that term means.

A common definition of financial wellness is “the balance between having a healthy state of well being today while preparing financially for tomorrow.” Most discussions on the topic emphasize that financial wellness doesn’t necessarily mean being wealthy, however it is a state “in which one feels they have control over their current finances and financial future.”

So, what does financial wellness mean to you? To uncover your answer, ponder these questions:

How do you feel about your current income?
Does is cover your basic expenses? Do you have money left over for fun spending? Since financial wellness includes having a currently healthy financial state, your income should not only cover basic expenses but give you room to enjoy your life, as well.

Are you saving money?
Do you regularly put money aside for both specific and general purposes? For example, I have saving accounts earmarked for Education, Financial Freedom (Retirement), Long Term Savings and Short Term Savings. I even keep jars for fun, clothing and charity. I put money aside for all these purposes every month. Putting aside money for things you specifically want and for those rainy days when you’ll uncover something you need or didn’t know you wanted is a good way to empower yourself around money.

Do you track your income and expenses?
Knowing what is going out and coming in not only gives money the attention it wants, but it can make you feel more empowered around it. It also helps you plan and consciously spend so that you don’t have to have more expenses than income.

Now that you’ve looked at these areas in your life, how do you think your financial wellness stands today? What areas do you need to work on so that next January your financial wellness stands improved?

Additional Resources

• Watch the replay of my webinar: The Four Pillars of Money Empowerment
• Financial Wellness Dimension from LifeLifeWell.com, an excellent article asks more detailed questions than I could in this post
• Dimensions of Wellness: Financial Wellness, a quiz based on the above information

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Announcing “The 4 Pillars of Money Empowerment”

On January 22, 2015, I’ll be holding my first live webinar in which I’ll be diving into the topic of money empowerment. I’ll explain what money empowerment is and share ways in which you can empower yourself in the four areas of Money Empowerment. You can grab your seat here.

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Originally created for the TidBitts.com platform, launched in September of 2014, my content on Fridays helps you “Own Your Awesome” in the eight facets of your life.

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