KEY TAKEAWAYS
✔ Mindfulness is a state of awareness in which you live in the moment and achieve calm
✔ Practising mindfulness can improve your overall health and is completely free
✔ Practising money mindfulness is about a daily habit in which you check in on your finances, review your accounts and concentrate on your financial goals in a relaxed environment
You’ve probably heard of the term ‘mindfulness’. For many it’s similar to meditation but it really means a state of being aware of your feelings, thoughts, actions and your environment. In our normally busy lives – when we’re trying to juggle jobs, relationships and seemingly endless to-do lists – not to mention during the global emergency that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought, it can be difficult to be in the moment and practise mindfulness. We rush and we stress. We forget to breathe and take stock of our surroundings and our situation. We think about the past, worry about the future, and forget to live in the moment of now.
Why is it important to practise mindfulness?
Practising mindfulness can improve your overall health. Studies have shown that mindfulness, which has been practised around the world in various forms for thousands of years, has all sorts of physical and mental health benefits. Mindfulness can reduce stress and make you happier. Studies have shown that practising mindfulness can help with mental health, such as managing anxiety and depression.
Research has found that practising mindfulness can improve your memory and mental focus. Mindfulness can boost your immune system, which is important to managing stress and fending off disease, and may help some people manage chronic pain. And the best part about this wonder remedy...it’s free.
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- Finding the Silver Lining in COVID-19
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- Financial Stress Can Affect Mental Health
What does mindfulness have to do with money?
When you start a daily money mindfulness routine, you learn to change the way you think and feel about money. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by your finances, a daily mindfulness practice will help you to feel more in control and prepared for a financial emergency.
Think of a time when you weren’t focused on your financial goals and made less wise choices. Have you ever made an impulse purchase, or treated yourself to some retail therapy after a bad day to lift your spirits? What state of mind were you in at the time?
We tend to buy things on impulse when we’re stressed or feel like we need to buy something to make us feel better. But impulse buying can make your financial situation worse by taking you away from your budget and your financial goals, and in turn turn continues the cycle of financial stress.
Mindfulness is a tool you can use to train your brain to focus on your goals and think more clearly. Many people avoid thinking about their finances because they find it stressful. They deal with their finances when an emergency crops up. That ends up making money something that feels more out of control and hard to manage rather than something that’s in your control and which you use to meet life goals.
During the global coronavirus pandemic, when many Canadians are relying on government support programs or worried about keeping their jobs, financial anxiety is at an all-time high, you might find daily money mindfulness actually makes you happier!
Reduce money stress with a daily money mindfulness practise
Getting into a daily money mindfulness routine is something that might take a bit of work at first, but over time, it will become a habit. It really is just a short, daily process in which you take time to review all your accounts and transactions. Here are some tips to get you started, but this routine is about making you feel better so experiment to find what works for you!
- Find an environment that is relaxing to you. Perhaps a favourite chair with your laptop and a cup of tea. If you find background music soothing, put that on too.
- Pick the same time every day for your money mindfulness session. Choose a time when you can concentrate and won’t be distracted.
- Check your bank, loan and credit card accounts to see where you are at and the progress you’re making on achieving your goals, such as saving and reducing debt. That will give you a sense of control and greater calm.
- Consider keeping a financial journal. Write down your thoughts and feelings about your financial health. List your financial goals and how you will reach them. Track what you spend and why and how you feel about it and how it gets you closer to your goals.
- It’s important to concentrate on your breathing to achieve a sense of calm. Consider ending each daily session with your eyes closed, focusing on your breathing, while you imagine reaching your financial goals.
We can help too
Reach out to us to help you on your path to financial wellness. We offer a free, one-hour financial health check consultation that includes a credit score discussion. Your health check also includes a demonstration or our unique creditoptimizer tool, which helps you manage and improve your credit score and put your finances more in your control!
If you need support, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, remember that we are all in this together. We are here to help too: contact easyfinancial.com with questions.
Sources used:
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/07-08/ce-corner
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324839#4.-Are-there-any-unwanted-effects?
https://www.nbcnews.com/better/business/how-use-mindfulness-manage-your-money-better-ncna839111
