Money Is Part of Self-Care, Too

If you’ve ever thought the saying “money doesn’t buy happiness” was a bunch of baloney … well, we can’t say we totally disagree with you. True, there are more important things in life than becoming rich, but the reality is that there’s more to money than money. It means a lot of other things, too. Security, for example. The ability to be generous with friends and family. And time — time to travel, time off from work and time to spend with your kids.

But that doesn’t mean you should run yourself into the ground trying to find financial success. It works in reverse, too. Taking care of yourself allows you to have a more productive work life, and that can lead to a more secure financial future. That’s why we talked about money when health bloggers from around the world joined us at our BlogHer Health conference. It was there that personal finance expert and Chase Slate ambassador Farnoosh Torabi put the mind-money connection best: “It’s not a coincidence that when you put yourself first by catering to your physical and mental well-being by exercising, by getting enough sleep, meditating, spending quality time with friends … this all can greatly impact your financial well-being.”

To better understand how finances and well-being were connected, we partnered with Chase Slate, which asked BlogHer Health attendees about money: how it makes them feel, how it ties into their goals and how it impacts their well-being. See what people said in the infographic below.

If you find yourself struggling to meet your financial goals, Torabi says the first you should do is forgive yourself. Creating a personal narrative like “I’m not good with money” is useless; it just creates a roadblock between you and your goals. Instead, she suggests reverse-engineering the problem. Ask yourself why you want to get your spending under control: Is it to pay off credit card debt? Save for a down payment for a house? Start a family? Figure out what’s motivating you, and find people — supportive people — to talk to about it. Once you have a clear goal and a support system, you might find saving is easier than you thought.

Ultimately, being in control of your finances brings peace of mind, creating more time for you to focus on you. And that’s just one more way to be healthy — and happy.