Money. It’s something we generally don’t discuss. Whether you hate discussing it because it feels vulnerable or merely impolite, chances are it isn’t your favorite topic for the dinner table or commute carshare.

If this is you, you’re not alone. A Wells Fargo survey found that 44 percent of Americans see personal finance as the most challenging conversation topic - even outranking death, politics, and religion.

But, like many things we tend to avoid, uncovering the truth of your financial situation and approaching it with honesty and non judgment is the precursor to finding your financial nirvana. And financial wellness is actually pretty dang important to overall wellness. 

Why?

Having a lot of money isn’t a recipe for strong mental health, but having enough to not live in a state of panic or stress has a major impact. Further, having a strong financial plan and reasonable budget allows for preventative care and avoiding bigger issues down the line.

Here just a few ways that healthy financial planning can support health in other areas of life.

Physical Health Benefits

How can financial wellness play a role in physical health? Well, for one, budgeting to maintain your wellness affords you the opportunity to get regular health screenings. This usually means not only experiencing better day-to-day health, but also avoidance of longer-term or chronic health problems that can contribute to more severe issues later down the road. 

And, when you bring mental health into the financial wellness picture, even more physical health benefits of financial management come into focus.

Mental Health Benefits

When people aren’t stressing about how to pay rent or feed themselves for the week, they retain their mental capacity and acuity to complete day-to-day tasks. Many middle-income Americans have said that they worry about money more than their own health, careers, or love lives. That’s huge. 

Having a strong financial plan not only helps avoid mental health pitfalls, but also supports strong mental health indicators like honesty, self-esteem, and fulfillment. 

So we’ve established that financial wellness is important. But how does one go about working toward it?

A Few Tips for Financial Wellness

The main thing you need to start working toward financial health is total transparency with yourself. Take an honest look at your income and expenses, and figure out what cuts to make or where to invest. If you’re spending more than you’re earning, it’s important to take an honest look at that - and then either make expense cuts or find additional ways to earn revenue.

 This process can be scary at first, but can actually be incredibly empowering. Reviewing your expenditures to determine what actually has value to you can be an incredibly fulfilling experience - your community investments coming into alignment with your values and goals. Once you create and stick to your budget, you’ll be able to start creating SMART goals for your long-term financial success, whether that’s paying off student loans or saving for a house.

Seek out offerings in your job and your community. Business entities can and often do support employees' financial wellness by offering budgeting or accounting classes, or providing other support programs. A company’s investment in its employees not only enhances their capacities but promotes employee loyalty and, by extension, reinvestment in the company.

Bluebird is committed to the financial and overall health of our employees, and the company offers accounting classes, retirement account opportunities, and other legal, financial, and mental health support benefits intended to support holistic health. Because the financial health of our customers is also important to us, we offer our products at the lowest price per mg in the CBD industry. We also offer assistance programs for qualifying population groups, and a new discounted subscription service available to all.