Those Little Insidious Things…

…that aren’t so little.

I speak to a lot of people about basic core needs–those things that have the greatest impact on our health outcomes. For example: sleep, hydration, consistently eating, movement, and others are good indicators of moving the needle on how we want to feel.

But beyond those basic core needs, we have this next level of needs–this includes our emotional, intellectual, spiritual needs and more. All of these areas also play into our heath and wellness as well.

Now, we also have external things too that we don’t always consider–areas of our lives like finances or our environment (home, work, climate, etc) also and they can have a direct impact on those basic core needs and other intrinsic needs as well.

I’ve mentioned it before on social media, in other posts, and sometimes I feel like a broken record, but one of my partners, You Define Wellness, has practitioners that address all of these different areas of wellness from the basic core needs to much deeper and all of those things that affect us externally too.

Today I want to look at how one area of wellness–finances (yes, it’s actually an area of wellness)–affect our overall health. Think about it. When the money in our lives is handled pretty well, we feel pretty good–but when we have money issues, it spills over in to other areas. If you’re struggling with money, does it weigh on your emotions? Do you lose sleep over it? Does it affect your appetite? Do you consume more alcohol/use more recreational or illegal drugs? Does stress elevate your blood pressure? Whether we are doing these things consciously or unconsciously, if you’re struggling around money–what is that level of stress that you’re living with?

Have no fear. There is relief. Financial issues don’t have to last forever. We can chat with a money manager, financial planner, accountant, and other financial experts and get some great guidance (and if you need some recommendations on where to start, please reach out). There’s also great resources online like Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University and other programs, but the most important thing to do is to in the big picture is to take a look at our credit.

Now, Let’s be clear I’m not a financial advisor in any sense, but the team at DebtConsolidation.com has put together some great tips on ways to repair your credit. No matter your financial position, all of these tips are things that as your work over time to chip away at and implement, they have a huge ripple effect in our money situation–not only with our credit standing, but with our handling of money, our emotions around money, and how money impacts our physical health outcomes. What are some of these ideas that you might be able to implement today?

• Investigate your Credit Report (PS-NEVER pay for your credit report except in the instance of mortgage application, etc–there are many free ways to obtain it out there that don’t ding your report for checking the score)
• Pay bills on time
• Pay of debt (even if it’s $1 above the minimum payment, you’re still paying it off faster)
• Avoid letting accounts go to collections (you’d be amazed if you ask how many companies are amenable to payment arrangements)
• Use credit cards responsibly to build credit
• Don’t close unused credit cards you’re not using (I learned this the hard way–it actually dings your credit score! I think that’s stupid…but, it is what it is)
• Become an authorized user of another’s credit card
• Avoid applying for loans you won’t get
• Be picky with loan and credit card applications (or anything you apply for that requires a “hard” credit check)
• Patience (none of these is an overnight fix–but they work with consistency)

Information provided from: https://www.debtconsolidation.com/repair-your-credit/

Just like any change or goal I talk about with my clients when it comes to fitness, nutrition, accountability, or habit change–it’s the tiny actions that make the big difference in the end. Small actions, over time, multiply and reduce those stressors we have around money and help us to combat the negative health outcomes that accompany financial stress. If you need any referrals or have any questions, please reach out today!