Wellness and wealth go hand-in-hand, and self-care goes beyond just taking care of yourself mentally, emotionally, and physically.  Those are essential factors in your wellbeing, but did you know that practicing the proper money habits can improve your financial health and overall wellness?

The key to financial self-care is developing healthy money habits that are practical and suit your everyday life.  Money habits typically look different for everyone, but the most important factor of achieving financial wellness is consistency in practicing your healthy money habits.  While this may sound easy, there are bad money habits that can present obstacles if you’re trying to stay on top of your finances.

Creating new habits isn’t always easy.  When incorporating new money habits, you must identify the trigger and the resulting reward for both good and bad habits.  For example, at the end of a stressful work week (trigger) do you go shopping (reward)?  Instead of spending your hard-earned money on frivolous items, you can find healthier ways to deal with stress-spending. You might try putting the money you would be spending in your savings account or allowing yourself to spend $30 each week on whatever you’d like (instead of $300 on things you don’t need).

In today’s busy world, it’s a challenge for many people to find the time to integrate financial self-care tasks into their daily routines. Here are some tips you can use to create habits that can help you stay on top of your money and work toward your financial goals in just 30 minutes per week.

Spend 10 Minutes Each Week Checking Your Bank Account

Looking at your bank account(s) to monitor your spending and checking for any potentially fraudulent transactions is a small financial self-care habit that has a significant impact.  By spending 2-3 minutes each day reviewing your bank account, you can quickly check over any new credit or debit transactions posted to your accounts.  Doing so helps you stay on top of budgeting and ensures you know exactly where your money is going.

Spend 30 Minutes Each Month Going Over Your Budget

Budgeting can seem like a chore, but it’s one of the most critical components of laying the groundwork for successful finances.  It’s important to have a budget in place and keep it up to date.

Budgeting is a task that will likely require more of your time than logging onto your bank app or checking due dates on your calendar, so you may want to dedicate the entire 30 minutes to budgeting during the last week of the month.  Take the time to review your budget for this month and use it as a baseline to budget for next month.  Make changes as needed based on your income and spending needs.

Another healthy habit you can use simultaneously with budgeting is reducing or eliminating any unnecessary recurring expenses.  Think about things like monthly subscriptions, such as Netflix or unlimited car wash memberships.  By reducing these costs or removing them completely, you can free up extra money in your budget to save, invest, or use for unexpected expenses.

Spend 10 Minutes Each Week Looking Over Your Bills

Another quick and easy way to incorporate healthy financial habits into your routine is by spending about 10 minutes reviewing your bills, payments, due dates, and automatic payment dates.  If you’re not already using automatic bill payments, you should consider doing so.  Putting your bills on autopay, especially if you’re a busy individual, means you don’t have to worry about remembering to pay your bills on the due date or missing a payment.

Most companies and banks offer automated payment services.  If the company or bank doesn’t offer automatic payments for some reason, block off about 30 minutes each month to sit down to get your bills organized and paid on time.

Spend 10 Minutes Each Week Reviewing Your Financial Goals

Creating healthy habits is all about taking control of your finances and achieving goals, right?  By setting straightforward, clear-cut goals, you’ll be able to better focus on your budget, saving money, and working towards accomplishing your financial goals.

When setting financial goals for yourself, be realistic about your income and the timeframe in which you’d like to reach those goals.  It also helps to give yourself small milestones along the way.  For example, if your goal is to save $5,000, consider it an achievement each time you’ve saved $500 of that goal.  Small steps lead to big rewards over time.

If you’ve already got financial goals, take a few minutes each week to check your progress and re-evaluate if needed.  If you haven’t started making financial goals yet, try using 10 to 15 minutes of your weekly financial-self care routine to make a list of ideas and brainstorm a plan of action. 

Taking time to incorporate financial self-care routines into your life every week might seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to.  If you don’t feel like you can dedicate 30 minutes a week to your finances, start with small tasks like taking 10 minutes a month to go over your budget or allot five minutes on the same day each week to review your bank account. Forming healthy money habits now can have a powerful impact on your financial future.

This content is developed from sources believed to be providing accurate information, and provided by Spectrum Management Group. It may not be used for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties. Please consult legal or tax professionals for specific information regarding your individual situation. The opinions expressed and material provided are for general information, and should not be considered a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security.