The reason the rich sleep soundly at night, rather than toss and turn at 3:00 a.m. fretting over college tuition, is because they’ve done the financial work.
When you walk the walk, you talk the talk. And talk ain’t cheap.
According to a survey conducted by Wells Fargo, 44 percent of Americans feel that personal finance is the most difficult topic to discuss, trumping death, politics and religion. Additional findings include:
- Those in poor or average financial health are twice as likely to update their Facebook profile (47%) than they are to review their finances (25%).
- Two-thirds (65%) of adults spend at least two hours watching television each day, while only one third (34%) spend at least 15 minutes thinking about their finances daily.
- One in four (25%) adults would rather pay for a personal trainer than a financial advisor.
If those numbers don’t make you want to troll Facebook for funny cat videos…
Let’s Talk Money
The irony about burying our head in the financial sand is we spend so much time daily thinking about money. Should I spend, save, splurge, donate, or invest? informs much of our actions and mental energy.
A major barrier to a healthier financial life is knowing what to do. This lack of knowledge leads to depression, relationship issues, health problems, lack of productivity, and of course, more debt.
But don’t blame yourself and go into shame mode — remember, we don’t talk about finances.
People have money values and beliefs that have developed since they were children, so it’s difficult to bring up the topic without personal baggage, says financial planner Rachele Bouchand. People also may have strong opinions about money and don’t want to be judged for their past choices.
Say No to Farting Butt Ornaments
If frivolous spending gets you in trouble, do like the emerging wealthy did before us:
1. Have an honest conversation with yourself and your family. But not a drag discussion focusing on the struggles. Make it cool, and share ideas about cutting back, recycling, or re-gifting every holiday season. Make it a contest and reward the most creative member with a trip to the ice cream store. Support one another to stay on track.
2. Change your money mentality:
~Will your teen fail to thrive if the iPhone 17+ fails to make it under the Christmas tree?
~Can you say no to your office’s Secret Santa and that $12.99 novelty gift?
~Is it possible to start saving before the 1st of every year?
3. Rewire those financial scripts keeping you mired in money limbo. You accomplish this when you:
Make a Financial Plan
For a leg up, check out Team Happy’s Library of Prudent Financial Tips, including:
- Money Is Not The Point (video interview with entrepreneur Corbett Barr)
- Money + Mental Health Tutorial (Mp3 audio)
- Creating a Financial Plan (PDF)
- Household Budget (PDF)
Me and Corbett Barr talking $, mental health + entrepreneurial depression for Team Happy.
And if a community of intrepid mental wellness warriors working positive emotions and healthy relationships isn’t your thing, at least crack open that credit card bill on your kitchen counter.
Money won’t buy you happiness, but ‘rich enough’ will buy you better sleep.
*****
Like this article? Give it a share:
