what is not financial well-being?
When many of us think of financial wellness, we think of images of The Kardashian or Real Housewives of Atlanta That reminds me: shopping until you drop, eating out everywhere, and Sunday Funday with the girls from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m everyone Sunday. This is not financial well-being; this is television.
This is a sponsored post written in collaboration with Prudential. All opinions expressed in this post are based on our personal views.
Need a financial wellness reality TV check?
As with physical well-being, there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to financial well-being. But just as eating and drinking whatever we want without exercising isn’t physical wellness, ignoring how or where we spend our money isn’t financial wellness either. Financial wellness is unique to each of us, but we should know our definition of financial wellness and work toward that goal if we haven’t already achieved it.
You better believe Kris Jenner has an eye on every penny the family earns and spends. This is why they are a billion dollar empire.
What is Financial Wellness?
Here’s a truth bomb for you, and it may sound a little new agey, but your financial well-being impacts you physically and mentally. Think about how you felt the last time you couldn’t pay a bill or had a $500 emergency. (Why do you always have to replace tires when you don’t have money?)
Research shows that our physical, financial and mental conditions influence each other, and here’s the good news: optimizing one can improve them all.
That is Why we’re working with Prudential to start the conversation about financial wellness.
Why should you care?
Do you want to earn more? Are you no longer worried about bills? Do you have that emergency fund?
These money worries cause stress that keeps you from making more money. This results in you putting more money on your credit cards. This leads to you not getting enough time with your partner and then not being able to sleep at night.
Do you see where we’re going with this?
Is the queer community special when it comes to financial well-being?
We don’t like to focus on the negative, but we all know that being LGBTQ just feels a little more challenging, and the challenges vary depending on our individual LGBTQ status. Now we have evidence that our feelings could be true.
Prudentials 2018 Financial Wellness CensusA comprehensive survey of U.S. financial health found that one-third of Americans have misconceptions about their own financial health. It found that more than 50% of respondents performed worse than average when measured by their income, savings and other assets, and debt.
That’s not really a surprise. How are queer people doing?
So, LGBTQ Census Respondents from Prudential reported having a lower income than the general population. That’s probably not too much of a surprise. However, LGBTQ women are more likely than other demographic groups to take out loans for major purchases, such as buying a home and financing college. While these can be smart purchases, too much debt of any kind is detrimental to our financial well-being.” However, LGBTQ women are often more confident than LGBTQ men that they would achieve their financial goals, and LGBTQ men are less concerned about this than anyone else , they achieve financial goals, a kind of financial apathy.
Come on, boy!
What can the queer community do to get on the right path?
Here are three steps to consider:
1. Make bank details
Prudential has confirmed that we do not use financial instruments as other populations do.
Now we know that many in our community don’t trust financial services because, in our opinion, they don’t know how to help LGBTQ people or because they don’t want to help LGBTQ people. But for the sake of our own financial well-being, we need to get over it. It’s, as David says, like trying to build a house with scissors instead of a hammer. No amount of motivation from Tim Gunn will “make it happen.”
2. Use retirement savings products
Finally, one amazing thing – queue up your best Blanche Devereaux – a staggering 55% of queer respondents are not saving anything for retirement, “compared to 42% of non-LGBTQ respondents.”
Nothing! Zero. Nothing!
Again, if we don’t plan for a better future, how will we have one? We all need to take advantage of our company-sponsored retirement plans. It is free Money! Start contributing to your plan today, even if you only contribute 1% of your income.
3. Avoid debt
You know we’ll preach about it until we’re blue in the face. Financial well-being cannot be achieved if we continue to dig ourselves further into a hole of debt.
We get it, it’s hard. We had to do it ourselves. Sometimes we need to take a step back (give up some desires) to take two steps forward (advance financially) to have the future of our dreams. If you need help with this, you can do so You can find help here.
Given our community’s unique risks and concerns, such as the fact that Older LGBTQ people are more likely to be single, live alone and have no children And that many of us, due to a lack of certain legal protections, return to the closet as we get older and need care, and inadequate retirement provision worsens our financial situation.
The That’s why we’re partnering with Prudential to promote financial wellness in the queer community. We want to change these trends.
Who is responsible for your financial well-being?
This is certainly an anecdote, but a recent survey in ours Strange Money™ Facebook Group revealed that one of the main reasons our community (and especially those who joined the Queer Money™ Facebook group) struggle with financial well-being is “lack of knowledge.”
Talking about money is difficult for everyone because personal finance is just that: personal. Families don’t talk to their queer or straight children about money. There are so many taboos surrounding money and too many people feel like they struggle with these issues alone. We want to change that.
Most schools don’t offer financial education, and if they do, it’s clearly not enough. Queer people also have a hard time 30 states where it is legal to discriminate against us that our heterosexual colleagues don’t have to deal with. These facts may not go away for a long time, if ever. This leaves one person responsible for your financial well-being.
You.
The reality is that your financial well-being is your responsibility. When is it time to act? Now! If knowledge is half the battle – thanks, GI Jane – then now is the time to act, now that you know how your financial situation affects your physical and mental health.
So keep an eye out for more posts, videos, etc. in the next few months. Queer money™ Podcast episodes and tools to help you and the rest of the queer community improve our financial well-being. As a result, you will become better and stronger and our community will become better and stronger.
In the meantime, Click here to visit Prudential’s interactive State of Financial Wellness page and see how you compare to the rest of America.