A great deal of research has been done to reveal two universal truths.
Money does not make us happy. It’s how we use it that matters.
Further research has discovered that the value of accumulating wealth for its own sake is in direct contradiction with happiness.
In many ways financial wellbeing is about how money can be used to increase our happiness and fulfillment. Money can be a highly sensitive subject which evokes feelings and emotions. Furthermore, we may want to change (or need to change) some of our behaviours towards money in order to enhance our financial wellbeing. That is not always easy to do and from my own experience this usually evolves over time.
Many of us are facing our own challenges right now as we navigate through another lockdown. Interestingly, a study on happiness highlights that the largest contributor to our wellbeing is the quality of our relationships.
As a result of the current situation, we are spending more time with those who we live with – our spouse, partner, children and in some cases our parents. Under normal circumstances we wouldn’t necessarily spend as much time with them as we go about our daily, and often hectic, lives. However, we have the opportunity to spend more quality time perhaps helping with school work, going for more (or longer) walks or to cook together when perhaps we wouldn’t otherwise.
When we come out of lockdown the pace of life will no doubt increase again and the experiences we have had during this period may feel more meaningful and memorable.
A word of warning…
Many financial organisations have adopted the expression of ‘financial wellbeing’ and some seem more concerned about using this to promote financial products.
Of course there are times when financial products are appropriate, but I believe financial wellbeing is a much broader topic.
As to my opinion as to what financial wellbeing is; I believe it is interconnected across all aspects of our lives, and it is important that it is in sync with all these interconnecting factors in order to move the ‘happiness needle’ in the right direction.
It is about being happier, not just wealthier and to feel more confident about our money and to use it towards enhancing our overall wellbeing, as well as those who are closest to us.