“Financial wellness is finding the balance of living well now while also investing in your future, so that your future self has choices and can be proud of the decisions you made today.” — Tara Unverzagt, President of South Bay Financial Partners
There is no better way to begin a new year than by prioritizing your well-being. We encourage you to take time right now, at the start of 2025, to:
- Reflect on your money beliefs and behaviors, and cultivate new habits;
- Develop a deeper understanding of and greater confidence around your financial situation; and
- Set actionable goals that bring joy and allow you to live your dream life.
Every day presents a fresh opportunity to dive into making your financial life more comfortable and confident. From all of us at South Bay Financial Partners, wishing you a healthy and fulfilling New Year!
Setting Up for Success
If your start to 2025 has been feeling a bit slow, don’t fret — there is plenty of time to get on track. Below, we’ve compiled a few of our favorite practices to breathe new life into your financial wellness journey. These steps are small and accessible, but can snowball into lasting change.
1) Tell your friends about your financial journey
Doing something hard with someone else makes it easier. If thinking about money and making financial decisions causes stress or drains your energy, consider talking your situation over with a trusted friend. Sharing your financial journey with a confidant can spark accountability and provide the boost you need toward reaching your goals.
2) Give yourself physical reminders
Set your wallet up for success by adding sticky notes to your debit, credit, gift cards. Write a reminder on your gift card, such as: “Use this next month when you buy _____.” If you want to cut down on credit card debt, keep just your debit card in your wallet and leave your credit cards at home — or commit to using one single credit card with the lowest interest rate.
3) Listen to your inner voices
There are no good thoughts or bad thoughts. When considering the goal you set for yourself, don’t push away your concerned inner voices. They may be a reminder of painful memories holding you back, and can probably offer wisdom to address the road bumps between you and your goal. Processing painful moments from your past can help clear the road in front of you to be more successful — you may just need help from a buddy or a professional.
4) Set time in your calendar
Do you struggle to hold commitments to your goals the way you hold commitments to other people? You may benefit from blocking time in your calendar. We like to call these moments “clarity breaks” — scheduled time spent journaling about the emotions tied to your finances. Tara says, “I love having my clarity breaks outside. There’s nothing like nature to cleanse your mind and help you use parts of your brain that you don’t normally engage.”
One doesn’t achieve financial wellness overnight. It can take time to find the tools that work for you to develop a healthy money mindset and build a financial plan that supports your lifestyle. If you need help making the next step in your journey, check out our 1:1 Financial Coaching and Financial Therapy services.