Guest Post – Ways to Practice Financial Self Care

I am pleased to welcome Becky Taylor to the blog today. Becky and I met via the Grow & Glow community and decided to collaborate on some self care blog posts for you. Becky is sharing her 4 principles to practice Financial Self Care. And if you head over to Becky’s blog I’m sharing 12 Free Self Care Ideas.

I’ll hand you over to Becky…

Ways to Practice Financial Self Care

My name is Becky and I’m on my own quest to become financially independent. It seems quite a feat when I have a mortgage, some debt and I still want to live my life. I also want to find the true cause to my happiness and connect with myself. I really believe that looking after your finances is one of the best ways of self care.

A few years ago, I would barely open my banking app. I knew there was money in the account but I wouldn’t know the exact amount. I spent my money on all of the things, instead of the true experiences and items that make me happy. Really, I had no control over my finances and I was living payday to payday, saving a very minimal amount which would get eaten up very quickly.

It’s a strange journey I’ve embarked on but, 9 months in, I really love it. I’ve found out more about myself and lived a much more positive life since doing it. Taking control of my finances doesn’t mean I have to give up everything I love either; it just means making the correct decisions for me and ultimately, leading a happier life.

I’ve got 4 principals to practice financial self care that I swear by for improving your wellbeing by being in touch with your finances.

Principle 1 – Set up a Budget

The first way to gain control of your finances is to set up a budget. It’s not the most glamorous act of self care, like burning candles and curling up with a Netflix show, but it’s a necessity. Allocate yourself an hour to go through your bank account and see where and what you spend, and then see what money you can allocate to seperate parts of your life. If you want to save, set yourself some goals. I’ve got a blog post on how to set up a budget which goes into a lot more detail.

Practicing budgeting takes time and patience. Don’t expect your first month to be perfect and make it a budget that works for you. It’s such a stress reliever knowing what’s in your bank account instead of playing my old game of, ‘is my card going to decline today?’

Principle 2 – Find Out What Makes You Happy

It’s easier said than done, but it’s the one thing that really helped me gain control. Before, I would easily keep up with the Jones’. If there was something an influencer was flaunting on Instagram, I would buy it. Wanting all shades of Urban Decays eyeshadows? I had it. Days out trying to show I was living this exciting life. It all came down to showing what image I wanted to portray of myself.

As I got older, I found myself yearning to go back to the things I really wanted to do. I’ve been desperate to go to New York and to Africa ever since I can remember. I’ve had the money to do both of those things, but I haven’t. I mostly haven’t done them because it meant saving a decent amount of money, and why wait when I can do all these really cool things now? But now, I really regret not doing them sooner.

So, I go back to my core values. I now think of the bigger picture and fill my life with things that truly make me happy. To no one’s surprise, it’s generally not materialistic things. Some of my happiest days are dog walks with my husband, spending an evening watching rubbish TV with friends or spending time with my family.

Principle 3 – Budget For Your Life, Not Someone Else’s

I’m a natural people pleaser and I can find myself saying yes to things I don’t want to do. There’s been so many times where I’ve ended up in restaurants or days out, not really being able to afford it, because I’ve not been able to say no.

Now, every pay day, I make sure I spend a good 30 minutes putting my wages into a different savings account and making sure it’s allocated to different things and really knowing what money I have. I allocate myself some ‘fun’ money each week, and by knowing I’ve got a set amount, it really makes me say yes to the things I want to do, rather than feeling I should do.

I’m also a person who really needs at least one weekend a month to recharge. I keep one weekend a month free and have it as protected time. It’s my weekend where I don’t make any plans. It still gives me the spontaneity that I can sometimes crave but the downtime I really need.

Principle 4 – Stay in Your Own Lane

This is the biggest lesson I’ve learnt and it’s a little mantra I say to myself on the harder days – stay in your own lane. It’s remembering that there is no race with your peers, friends, family or work colleagues and we do everything within our own time.

I used to really struggle with the idea of success and never feeling like I was ever successful compared to other people. But, since entering my late 20’s, I’ve realised that the conceptions I previously had surrounding success weren’t the things that were making me happy. It may make my University friends happy, but not me. And you know what? That’s OK.

I’ve finally left the race I wasn’t winning and that it was impossible to ever win. It was impossible to win because I would never ever be happy from it, and end up plunging more money into a life I don’t want. So, I am staying in my own lane and achieving the goals I want to achieve. I no longer care about what other people have, I only care about what I’m doing and what I have and if it’s beneficial for me.

Financial self care is something I personally think can have a real impact on your mental state. We live in an age where everyone is striving to do better and want the latest things and it takes a lot of willpower to go, ‘That is not for me’. But long term, you’ll be thankful for it.

About me

My name is Becky and I blog over at beckytayloruk.com where I show you how to live your best and unique life on your budget. I’m all about being money-savvy and trying to get the best price for the life I want, as well as wanting to live a more positive and fulfilled life. You can also find me on Instagram.

Thank you Katie for letting me blog at Find the Good Everyday. Katie’s written a blog post on my blog where she shares 12 free self care ideas!

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A BIG thank you to Becky for sharing these awesome principals to practice financial self care. I hope you’ve found them useful.

You might also enjoy Self Care Ideas and Creating a Self Care Kit.