We are seeing the topic of holistic wellness trending in health communities. In a nutshell, it is an overall positive state of one’s physical, mental, and emotional health. What most people fail to realize, though, is the invisible encompassing role of finance in these aspects of life. So that’s what we want to talk about today. In this article, we are going to define what financial wellness is and why does one need it.
It Starts With the End in Mind
Before we start, though, we want you to make a quick assessment of your finances. How well are you doing with meeting your due dates? Do you find yourself in need of applying for payday loans using a lending website like Loanin.com? Do you feel the need to supplement your current income?
Starting a business is a good way to do so. However, on the other hand, we also want to put it out there that you don’t really need multiple streams of income in order to achieve financial wellness. There’s even a possibility that you’re actually earning enough but simply not spending efficiently. The trick is to know which one is it.
So, What Is Financial Wellness?
With that out of the way, let us move on to talk about the topic in focus. Simply put, financial wellness is the state of achieving balance in the financial aspect of your life.
It is composed of various factors such as being able to live and spend within your means, having emergency savings account to tap into in case of unforeseen events, having the ability to make smart financial decisions, and having a solid plan for what the future might bring.
For us, it is more than just financial security. It is having that sense of contentment of where you are financially, yet still remaining open to accomplish financial goals as you move forward in life.
The Benefits of Financial Wellness
To be even more specific on how much financial wellness matters to us, allow us to share the main benefits that it has brought our lives:
It increased our productivity.
We don’t always recognize the extent of mental disruption that financial concerns can create, especially since most of us have simply grown accustomed to thinking about it all the time. This is one of the reasons why financial wellness can feel so liberating. It can free your mind from worrying over missed payments, poor credit history, upcoming bills, and more.
It has equipped us with soft skills that can help improve how we manage different aspects of our life.
Financial wellness is not something that can be achieved overnight. It is a never-ending process that requires the practice of various soft skills that we can always apply in our work and personal life.
For instance, those who are focused on achieving financial wellness will find risk assessment and strong decision-making skills important in determining the possible repercussions of money-related decisions. At the same time, these are also skills that can significantly improve how you handle your projects at work.
It improves job satisfaction.
Finally, financial wellness has helped us appreciate the work and effort that we put into our income streams. It has also changed how we view work-related challenges and stress, as each step is but a small hurdle in the bigger picture of a more secure future for us and for our families.
Financial Wellness for Employers
In this light, it is also easy to see the advantages of offering financial wellness programs to one’s employees. It increases productivity, job satisfaction, and of course, retention. The challenge now is how to start your own financial wellness program for your employees. Here are three ideas you can start with:
A Student Loan Repayment Program
It’s always refreshing to have young blood among your ranks. They are innovative, energetic, and really hard workers. Unfortunately, though, they are also heavily burdened with student loan repayment.
The great thing about coming up with a repayment program that will help your employees stay on track with it is that it shows your commitment as an employer while at the same time it also strengthens the commitment that your employees have for the company, that in turn, significantly improves company culture.
Flexible Paydays
It can be tough to meet due dates that sit just before the actual payday. Not to mention that there are instances when it’s simply impossible to make ends meet. Surprisingly, both of these issues can be easily resolved with a flexible payday program.
Financial Advice
Finally, it is always a good idea to invite financial experts to your company every now and then to improve your employees’ financial literacy. You can even set-up personalized financial advice sessions for employees that are particularly struggling in personal money management.
There are definitely other activities that you can explore out there, but the three we have featured above are a good place to start.
How to Create a Financial Wellness Program
Regardless of what type of financial wellness initiative you choose, allow us to further help you out by sharing with you some steps that you can follow in order to create the program:
Determine your goal.
The first thing that you need to do is determine your goal. What do you want to achieve with this financial wellness program? As mentioned above, these programs can reduce employee stress and improve job satisfaction. However, at the same time, did you know that it can also improve the recruitment rate and retention?
Having a clear goal in mind helps not only in choosing the right programs to offer your employees but in determining the target teams that can take part in each seminar or activity as well.
Assess the pressing needs.
Your goal-setting process can also help in finding out the exact needs of your employees. Do you find them struggling more in settling student loans? Are most of your employees married and with children? Or have you found most of them prioritizing their retirement?
Hire a professional.
Lastly, unless you’re a financial expert yourself, we definitely recommend hiring a professional lecturer to lead your financial wellness program. They will not just add credibility but will give the much-needed structure that can be quite difficult to figure out on your own.
And that’s it! We hope that we were able to provide you with valuable advice in improving both your business and your employees’ financial futures. Good luck!
