Despite the booming economy, financial anxiety is on the rise. According to Northwestern Mutual’s 2018 Planning & Progress Study, money is the number-one source of stress among Americans. To achieve overall health and wellbeing, it’s becoming increasingly clear that financial wellness plays a key role. As a result, many are seeking out financial advice that not only puts them on the path to prosperity but also gives them peace of mind that they can handle any uncertainty ahead. In the 2018 PwC Employee Financial Wellness Survey, 21 percent of employees defined financial wellness as freedom from financial stress, another 21 percent said it meant freedom from worry about unexpected expenses, 21 percent defined it as freedom from debt, and 18 percent said it meant the freedom to make choices.
Recently, Jill Lindsey, founder of her namesake boutique, wellness center, and cafe in Brooklyn, NY, hosted the workshop, Bringing Humanity Back to Finances and Investing. It tackled the topic of financial wellness, providing participants with tools they could use to better manage their finances. “I feel like this is a topic everyone struggles with in some way or another, so I spoke with my financial advisors about the topic,” says Lindsey. “They were already in the works of creating a workshop, so I was happy to host it and share it with our community.”
Workshops that help spa-goers manifest abundance have grown in popularity, and spa-goers are now delving even deeper into the psychology of money with books like You are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth (Viking, 2017) by Jen Sincero and Beautiful Money: The 4-Week Total Wealth Makeover (A TarcherPerigee, 2017) by holistic wealth expert Leanne Jacobs. According to Sincero, cultivating gratitude for your finances and being conscious of the money miracles that surround you can help you attract more abundance. Jacobs recommends a “money cleanse,” which involves eliminating thoughts that don’t align with your goals. Money cleanses, detoxes, and more are on the rise, as people realize the role their emotions play in their relationship with money.
The growing number of podcasts tackling the topic of financial wellness are another example of how hungry people are for advice and tools to deal with this stressor in their lives. Financial journalist, bestselling author, and founder of the HerMoney website and podcast, Jean Chatzky has created a judgement-free zone for women on all things financial. “Health without financial stability doesn’t work anymore—and neither does the reverse,” says Chatzky. “It’s not just that medical bills are the biggest cause of bankruptcies every year. It’s that even if you have a lot of money, poor health can drain those resources really quickly. And being in good health without solid finances works in your 20s and 30s, but as we age, we need more in the way of resources to keep us healthy.” As more people come to understand this, the demand for wellness-related financial resources will grow.
“If there is an opportunity to create a curriculum or partnership for teaching people to have a more positive relationship with money, then people will respond to it,” says Lindsey. “I think as we evaluate our lives and the importance of things, the emphasis on what we do with money is key. It’s a huge topic that can span across so many areas of our life, so suggesting a support for how to feel good spending, saving, or really looking at how we spend our money is important to our wellness."
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