7 Ways to Improve Your Financial Health

It’s easy to stress over money. But you will feel less stress if you take action to improve your financial health. We share seven ways.

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On The BIGG Success Show, we discuss how to get over stressing about money by taking seven tangible steps to improve your financial health. Here’s a summary of that discussion.

Every day, the headlines carry a stream of negative news about our financial situations. Baby Boomers aren’t ready for retirement. Generation X still hasn’t recovered from the last recession. Millennials are overwhelmed by debt. Generation Z is dismal about the future. On and on it goes.

How can you get past the stress and have a healthy relationship with money? We’ll share seven ways.

1) Set aside a portion of everything you make

If you make $1,000, set aside $200. If you can’t do that, set aside $100. Even if it’s only $10, it’s a start.

It may seem miniscule, but the discipline you develop will take you far. Over time, you can add to the percentage you’re saving, This money – the money you save – lays the foundation for your financial future.

2) When you get a bump in pay, bank at least half of it

This is like found money – you’re already used to living without it, so live without it! And make sure you understand the problem with getting a pay raise.

As your pay rises year after year, and you continue to save at least half of every increase, you will find you are able to enjoy life more now and later.

3) Institute a 24-hour rule for major purchases

Snake oil salespeople hate it when you wait. After you receive the required documentation, franchisors are required by law to give you at least 72 hours before you buy from them. Why not give yourself a third of that, 24 hours, to consider a major purchase?

For example, say you’re shopping for a new TV. You know what you can afford, but the one you really want is out of your range.

You get excited. Emotions take over. As luck would have it, you qualify for special financing. You justify it as just a small hit to your budget every month for two years. The merchant doesn’t have to sell you; you sell yourself.

You can avoid this situation by taking 24 hours before making a major purchase, to give yourself time for logic to return. The best financial decisions are driven by logic, not emotion.

4) Don’t just save. Invest.

You do that by putting your savings to work and capitalizing on the power of compounding. Compounding simply means your money makes money for you, and that money makes even more money, and so on.

Once you have enough money to support your lifestyle for the rest of your life, you can retire!

Want to learn more about getting started with investing? Check out our interview with Erin Lowry, the Broke Millennial.

5) Don’t think available credit is cash in the bank

The money in your bank account is yours. You can pull it out and spend it. Sure, you won’t have it anymore, but the damage is over.

Conversely, if you tap into the available balance on your credit card, you have to pay it back…with interest piled on top. It’s a double whammy!

6) Don’t compare your life to your social media friends

You see your Instagram followers or Facebook friends celebrating a birthday in style or taking yet another dream vacation. But have you ever seen any of them post a photo of themselves paying the bill for that birthday party or vacation?

The Joneses are alive and well and posting like crazy on social media! Don’t make bad financial decisions based on what you see in perfect pictures.

7) Keep the proper perspective about money

You may not be wealthy, but you likely have a different form of wealth – the kind money can’t buy. Take time each day to focus on the good things you have, rather than dwelling on what you don’t have. It leads to BIGG success!

BIGG Takeaway

Good financial health is the result of good financial habits.

So where do you start?

Back to the beginning, our first point: You start by saving something. Anything. $20. $50. $100. And we have a tool that will help you find this money in a hurry and zero in on ways to improve your financial health immediately. It’s our Financial Freedom Tool.

Learn more

Here’s to your BIGG success!

George “The Professor” & Mary-Lynn

Co-Founders, BIGG Success