Embracing Financial Care As Self-Care: How To Make It into Your Daily Routine in 2024

Are your finances something that you tend to avoid thinking about much? Does personal financial management seem like a formidable task to you?

If your answer to these questions is yes, then it is high time that you understand and adopt some effective financial self-care practices. Through this article, we’ll help you do that and enable you to deal better with the monetary aspect of your life.

We all can appreciate the importance of money in our lives; there’s no second opinion about it. You need money to sustain a healthy lifestyle, be it for buying organic food products or paying for your regular yoga classes. When it comes to mental health, a good financial condition ensures that you have one less thing to worry about: how will I pay back my credits?

It enables you to do the things that you find valuable without having to make compromises for the sake of mere survival. You can have an impact on others and make changes for the better, boosting your sense of self-worth. Keeping all these in mind, it becomes evident that you should wisely control what you do with your money and how you do it.

This takes us to the big question: how do you incorporate financial care into your everyday life?

Financial self-care, whether physical or emotional, demands continuous commitment. Similarly, you can get a hang of it once you start believing in and practicing it earnestly. By integrating financial self-care ideas into your everyday life, they can become second nature for you. Here are some tips to help you do that.

According to a Gitnux Market Data Report, about 60% of US citizens do not plan their finances, and about 33% have saved nothing for retirement! This highlights the fact that many of us still don’t realize the importance of financial planning and why it is so important.

Planning your expenditures and investments in tune with your income can help you stay in control of your financial situation. Forming a budget and sticking to it can help you predict your future financial status to some extent.

You will be able to make well-informed decisions not only about money but also in relation to other aspects of your professional and personal lives. Set yourself monthly, weekly, or even daily constraints to keep the expenses in check and to save effectively.

This quote from John C. Maxwell, an American author and speaker, captures the essence of budgeting quite well: “A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.”

Approaching your financial matters from a mindful perspective can undoubtedly add more clarity and direction to your financial self-care plan. Instead of unquestioningly going with the flow, pause and ask yourself—am I being financially prudent, or do emotions strongly influence my decisions?

Seeking answers from yourself will make you think deeply and objectively about the pros and cons of the financial path that you are treading. You may gain some really valuable insights about your financial behavior that have been hiding in plain sight till now.

Question your spending and think about how much intrinsic value the things that you buy have and whether you could do without them. Are there better alternatives that could provide more value for your money? Take some time from your daily routine to ask yourself how all that you did today or are going to do will contribute to your financial wellness.

“An asset is something that puts money in my pocket. A liability is something that takes money out of my pocket.” While Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the popular personal financing book series Rich Dad, Poor Dad, makes it appear really simple, many of us still end up sacrificing our money for dead-end causes.

Consider investment as a form of expenditure and apply all your rules of spending mindfully to it. Moreover, you should proceed with greater caution here, as you generally invest substantial sums and for considerable periods of time.

Think about how all that money could have led to entirely different returns over the same time if you had invested it the other way. Research well about the future prospects of your investment before you materialize it.

A good example of a high-return investment could be that for self-development, either professionally or personally. For instance, paying for an educational program that equips you with high-demand skills can lead to amazing returns—a pay hike, a promotion, or a better job altogether.

While some types of investments won’t offer you clear returns on a daily basis, others can. You may set up daily goals for yourself and track your progress to evaluate how much you are benefiting.

Financial peer pressure is a real thing! It may come through your spouse, kids, friends, colleagues, or even that random social media influencer who has got you dreaming about living that perfect life. All these external stimuli can make you make decisions that don’t do justice to your hard-earned money.

You may be tempted to copy the lifestyle of others without knowing their actual financial background and aspirations. A classic example here can be going for that big house, nice car, and those exotic vacations just because it is what everyone else is trying to do.

Instead of setting your financial priorities and goals according to the opinions and practices of others, you should focus on your own personal needs and objectives. Although it is perfectly acceptable to let other people motivate you, this shouldn't guide your financial self-care habits.

Visit a professional consultant rather than following that all-knowing colleague's advice if you are worried about your finances and find it difficult to make a wise decision on your own.

You can also practice mindfulness meditation to achieve a sense of calm and control. It may also help you develop spiritually and form a wider perspective about how things work.

Scientific research suggests that self-rewards are instrumental in motivating individuals with self-control issues. However, it also points out that indulgent rewards, though providing the greatest degree of motivation, are not sustainable in the long run.

Coming to the financial self-care part, you may motivate yourself to step up your daily savings and avoid spending for the sake of instant gratification by setting up a suitable reward at the end. As stated above, take care that you choose the reward wisely so that it doesn’t end up becoming another problem of self-control to grapple with.

For example, if you succeeded in meeting your daily savings goal, you could treat yourself to doing something that interests you and is constructive, such as practicing an art form.

Financial literacy is an indispensable tool in the financial self-care kit, without which you won’t be able to make much progress. It includes practical and theoretical knowledge on budgeting, saving, investing, setting up emergency funds and retirement plans, and everything else that you may require to achieve financial success.

By being financially literate, you will be able to make better decisions about the use of your money and to discern valuable products and services from not-so-beneficial ones. There are multiple ways through which you can do that: by reading financial awareness books, enrolling in a dedicated course, watching free video tutorials on the internet, or consulting a professional.

Take some time from your daily schedule to educate yourself about financial matters, just like you would for a physical exercise session.

Financial care is an important yet often overlooked part of overall wellness due to the sheer impact of money on all aspects of our lives. The good thing is that it isn’t rocket science to understand and implement, and anyone with a positive outlook towards their financial health can benefit from it.

That said, following these simple financial self-care tips can make a large difference in how you handle your money and the value you derive from it.