5 Simple Steps to Financial Wellness - Caitriona Ellis
/5 Simple Steps to Financial Wellness
Ever feel like you are walking a tightrope financially, teetering millimetres from a steep fall?
Are you fed up of;
😲Your income just about covering your expenses
🤨A sense of overwhelm with your debt
😞Being fearful of the future with no concrete savings plan
It’s a regular conversation I have with other Mums and so to support you in working towards a better sense of wellness in your finances, I’ve put together five simple steps to increasing the wellness in your finances.
Step 1- Get clarity on your financial freedom vision
It is very difficult to create a sense of financial wellness without a robust view of what it means for you. The easiest way is to find yourself a guided meditation on YouTube which resonates with you and go from there. This will gently walk you through creating a vision in your mind's eye as to what financial wellness looks like for you. The power of this vision is immense. I’ve found that each time I do this with my vision, magical things happen to improve my financial wellness. Try it and experience the clarity it brings you and the magical effect that ensues.
Step 2- Regularly track your income and expenditure
Are you someone who often wonders where on earth your money has disappeared to? Keeping a regular track of what money is coming into your household is vital to installing good money management habits. Tracking is essential to you having a robust knowledge of where exactly your money is going. It is amazing what you notice when you start this habit. I keep a little plastic bag in a drawer where I put all my receipts and 2-3 times per month I will go through them and reconcile my account using a simple excel spreadsheet to record my information. How can you track your finances better starting today?
Step 3- Get a handle on your debt
Do you know what your total consumer debt is? By consumer debt, I mean credit card, personal loans and overdraft debt. The vast majority of people do not know what this total is for them. Ignorance is not bliss in this situation. You need to get a handle on the total consumer debt you have. Once you understand this, you can actively make a plan to deal with it. Being aware of this figure often spurs you into action to deal with this and step by step you will reduce this amount. Understanding your credit score is key also to your debt health. Rip of that band aid and get a handle on the total of your consumer debt. Get a free copy of your credit score online today.
Step 4- Have a robust savings plan in place for your future
Do you put a set amount of money away every month? Do you have provision for your annual expenses? Do you have an emergency fund in place to cover unforeseen expenses? Do you know what your pension is worth? Have you got provision for your kids futures? Addressing these situations can be tricky and it is often avoided for this reason. However avoidance does not rectify the situation. Take some time today to think out what exactly you would like to have in place in the future and step by step put that in place.
Step 5-Protect your family
Do you have sufficient life insurance in place? Do you have a will with guardianship agreed? It is not an easy task to complete but it is most certainly a necessary one, should the unforeseeable occur. Speak with a broker to complete a comprehensive review of your insurance needs and get the peace of mind that eventualities are covered for.
Overall I strongly feel that our relationship with money can be likened to our friendships. If you have a friend who doesn’t return your calls or messages and when you meet they turn up late with no apology or explanation, then it’s highly likely that this friendship will not survive. Equally with money, if we are disrespectful to it, have no vision or plan for it, have no idea where it goes and save little to none of it, don’t protect it, it will disappear quickly. However once you create a respectful relationship with it, it hangs around and expands to create the level of financial wellness you desire. It may sound a little woo-woo but having spent the last 6 years working on this, I can testify it to be absolutely true.
So if this piece speaks to you and you crave a better sense of wellness in your life, then simply address the 5 simple steps and you will see a marked improvement in your wellness level. It is simple, it is easy and it is fun once you are in flow with it and creating your future baby step by baby step. Here’s to your financial wellness.
Bio:
Caitriona Ellis is Mum to 3 children who she home educates full-time. She is originally from Ireland but now lives in the Isle of Man. She has spent the last 6 years studying wealth management with her mentor and has transformed her own family's financial wellness from a stressed out state to a clear path to financial freedom. She is a highly competent individual with an honors Commerce degree. She is also a fully qualified Financial Advisor. She has recently completed her Level 4 qualification in Residential Estate Agency and is soon to become a Fellow of the National Estate Agents Association. Her career in the banking sector allows her great comfort with crunching numbers. She has been in the property market for the last 15 years managing her own buy-to-lets with a portfolio of over £1m. Her great passion is supporting Mums to achieve their financial wellness.
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