Okay, the title might have been a little misleading; I don’t know if checking off financial tasks will make you feel as spoiled as a trip to the Bahamas…but I do know it will make you feel like you’ve taken care of yourself.
While self-care is often thought of as getting a massage or taking time to meditate, sometimes it involves doing things that might not feel like you’re pampering yourself…but rather doing something that will alleviate stress in the long run.
- Making an appointment for a yearly check-up.
- Creating a calming space in your home (yes, this might involve cleaning).
- Checking off something you’ve had on a to-do list for a long time.
I can’t tell you how often something is on my to-do list FOR MONTHS and when I inevitably get around to it, it only takes 15 minutes and I feel SO much better. I always think “I shall learn from this!”
Do I? Not really. I truly am working on this, because I really do feel great when I finally get rid of that task that has been hanging over my head.
It’s a Scientific Fact
In an article in Psychology Today, they even discuss why this makes us feel so good.
It’s possible to manipulate your dopamine levels by setting small goals and then accomplishing them. For instance, your brain may receive a spike in dopamine if you promise yourself that you’ll clean out the refrigerator, and then you do. This is one reason people benefit from to-do lists: The satisfaction of ticking off a small task is linked with a flood of dopamine.
So, what do you say? Let’s do some “feel good finance!”
3 Financial Self-Care Tasks
- Calculate your net worth. Subtract the dollar amount of your liabilities (debts) from your assets. Making a lot of money isn’t really helpful if you spend it all. This leads to #2…
- Spend just a half hour categorizing your spending. Working up a full budget can seem really overwhelming but spending just a bit of time looking at where you are actually spending money can provide a great deal of information.
- Make an appointment with a financial advisor to see how they can help. I frequently hear from people that they are not “rich” enough to be able to utilize the services of an advisor. Yes, many firms have minimum investments in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, but many don’t. Using a financial advisor can help you get to your definition of “rich” much sooner!
Again, none of these tasks are meant to be overwhelming. But envision how you’ll feel by taking care of just one. To quote a study by Wake Forest University, “While tasks we haven’t done distract us, just making a plan to get them done can free us from this anxiety.”
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
