Welcome, Warrior, to the second post in my Dimensions of Wellness Series. I’m taking the Dimensions of Wellness model and breaking it down to spend a bit of time expanding on the different areas. You can read my intro post here and the first post on Occupational Health here. Today, let’s delve into Financial Health.
Dimensions of Wellness
If you are new to the concept of Dimensions of Wellness, there’s a full blog post that goes into some detail. But the quickie version is this: Whole person wellness can be divided into different subcategories. An individual has relative health in each category, or dimension, which can also spill over to other dimensions affecting the whole person. Each model uses slightly different dimensions, but the interacting nature remains the same, as does the need to constantly re-evaluate what is happening in our own unique Dimensions and respond in kind.
Defining the Financial Dimension
It is easy to understand that the Financial Dimension is going to be about money. Money does indeed make the world go ‘round. If you are lucky enough to have it, life is much easier. And when you don’t, well, it ain’t a picnic.
But something else that I like to talk about in this Dimension is time. Just like money, time is a commodity that can be in scarce supply or hard to budget. Our time commodity also tends to have a lot of demand placed upon it and depending on how we react to those demands can lead to feelings of stress or anxiety.
So, to my mind, the Financial Health Dimension encompasses those things that are commodities or that we otherwise have to budget. Common things under this Dimension include: pay/income, budget scarcity and/or surplus, savings and investments, bills, time, schedule demands, and availability and accessibility of resources/help.
Money
The first post in this series dealt with the Occupational Health Dimension. And if we are going to chat about money, then it is important to acknowledge that for most of us, our main stream of income is tied directly to what we define as our job or occupation. (See, this is where the intersecting nature of the Dimensions of Wellness models comes in.)
It would be easy for me to hide behind the idea that high paying jobs make life easier. Or that going to college is the right path for everyone because it leads to the highest paying jobs. But, more money more problems sometimes. And let’s be real, the gig economy sprung up partly because college educated millennials couldn’t find jobs that payed a decent wage. Just because a job is high paying doesn’t mean it offers satisfaction (again, see the post on Occupational Health).
I know people with great paying jobs who have trouble paying their bills. And I know people on the opposite end of the spectrum, those with a much more modest income who manage just fine. It really is about what we decide to do with our money. But, again, those decisions aren’t always cut and dried.
Perhaps you have a chronic condition that you need to budget extra for medication co-pays or that might require surgery in the future that you want to save for now. Maybe you are on a tight budget and all of a sudden your car needs a major repair or you have to replace an appliance. Maybe you have lost a job and are worried about keeping the heat on.
Regardless, money as a commodity is the source of a ton of stress. When we have a budget surplus and want something, that is an easy decision. But when things are tighter we have to make some tough choices. And just like with Occupational Health, there are real inequities in the system. The inequalities go far beyond the gender and racial pay gaps. Income inequality means income from all sources, so when you account for the fact that women and members of the LGBTQIA+, and the BIPOC communities are less likely to have retirement savings, investment portfolios, or own property the gap becomes even larger. Or how about the fact that those groups are also less likely to seek out advice from a financial adviser due to fear, shame, or previous (poor) experiences. For research backed info on income inequality, check out this site.
My point here, is that it isn’t as simple as how much you have at this very moment. That is only one piece of the puzzle. How you are saving, or if that is even possible at present, can be a huge source of financial illness. Top it off with long term needs and providing for family members and it is no wonder that most of us will be losing sleep at least once in our lives over money.
Time
Another way that inequity is built into the system has to do with time. I mentioned already that I view time as a commodity we need to budget. And before you tell me that Beyonce has the same 24 hours in a day, I’ll remind you that Beyonce has a lot more of the previously discussed commodity than I do. Enough to buy financial advisers, nannies for her kids, personal chefs, and a whole slew of people to keep her looking fabulous around the clock. In other words, she is outsourcing a lot of stuff that takes up time for the rest of us.
In some less extreme examples, what about the single parent who needs to work two jobs to make ends meet? This person has a budget deficit of both money and time. And probably the stress to go along with it. From an economic standpoint, the basic human needs are food, water, air, clothing, shelter, and sleep. If you need to work multiple jobs just to provide basic needs, then there isn’t much time for anything else and you’ll constantly be anxious.
Or the case of the stay at home parent. This is an individual who willingly gives the precious time commodity to everyone else, without receiving any monetary compensation. I mean, sure, love from your kids is amazing, but that isn’t legal tender to buy groceries. And often stay at home parents subjugate all of their time to others, leaving themselves out. The harried mom dropping off her kids at school in baggy sweats and a bun is a cliché for a reason.
In a more practical sense, though, our society places value on constant productivity. We work crazy long hours and our kids are scheduled to the point that we aren’t around long enough to spend time together and bond. How often do you need extra coffee to get going in the morning or drop into bed so exhausted that you don’t remember exactly what you did that day? Budgeting fun and down time is critically important for our Social and Mental Health (stay tuned!).
The Financial Health Dimension is all about budgeting two very important commodities. Money lends a sense of freedom and security to our lives. When we have enough we are able to focus on the wants of life instead of just the needs. Time is a commodity that we all have equal amounts of in a given day, but being able to spend it doing things we want to do versus what we have to do can have profound implications on our wellness.
Until next time, be well friends!
