Understanding your emotional relationship with money can be key to financial wellbeing, says SeventySeven Wealth Management’s Eloise Hammond.
Maintaining healthy relationships, whether that’s with friends and family or the things we consume, such as food and drink, is something we all strive to achieve for a happier, healthier life. But have you ever thought about your relationship with money and how that might affect your health and happiness?
I don’t just mean how you might make more if it, but how it makes you feel and how your past, as well as aspirations and fears, might shape the decisions you make when it comes to your finances. Furthermore, how might those decisions about money affect your physical and emotional wellbeing both now and in the future?
It may sound strange to think about having an ‘emotional relationship’ with something as practical as money but for some people it is a particularly sensitive subject and, like many seemingly ‘taboo’ topics that can cause fractures within a relationship, money is often not discussed enough. Understanding why this is could be key to securing your future financial security.
Our relationship and habits with regards to money are defined from an early age. Experiences, such as witnessing arguments about money as a child, can trigger a range of emotions which shape our values later in life.
Similarly, events that occur over time or a change in circumstance – whether expected or unforeseen – can cause us to adopt a different mentality. Life changes, such as a job loss or a new child, might make someone with a usually carefree attitude to money decide to save more, while the loss of a loved one or near-death experience may incite someone to be more frivolous.
I’ve spoken before about how financial wellness is an important part of our overall wellbeing. Worrying about how much money you have now and what you might have in the future can be stressful and global events like the coronavirus pandemic haven’t helped matters.
Understanding your relationship with money better and making steps to improve it is a key part of planning for a more secure financial future – one that can help ease a lot of that stress.
So, as we focus in on love and relationships this February, take some time to look at your relationship with money and ask yourself the following:
- When it comes to money, where do my values come from?
- How does money make me feel – confident or insecure?
- Have I made good financial decisions in the past? If not, why not?
- Do I make financial decisions from the heart or head?
- Am I happy that my money values are good enough for my children to inherit?
It’s important to remember that while you may well have plenty of financial objectives in mind for your future, having a goal without a plan is simply a wish.
If you would like help understanding your relationship with money better to plan for a more secure financial future, please contact Eloise Hammond on:
01892 770 077
eloise.hammond@sjpp.co.uk
Eloise Hammond | APFS
Chartered Financial Planner