Maintaining Me Week 5 >>>

Financial Health

Welcome to Week 5 of Maintaining Me where the focus is on Financial Health.

Hopefully Week 4 went well and you’re continuing with your new activities and developing new healthy habits. For the remaining weeks, we hope you can keep the effort up and finish the programme with better habits than when you started.

Dave McCabe has also provided a physical fitness routine for Week 5 which is available on sharepoint. Click the button below.

For Week 5 we’re looking at our finances and how we can make improvements in how we manage our money. Having good financial management is increasingly important in light of rising inflation and the surging cost of living.

Being financially healthy means being economically secure enough to handle both expected and unexpected expenses. Someone who is financially healthy can afford to pay essential bills, has sufficient savings to cover emergencies and can afford any debt they have.

Positive financial wellbeing leads to greater feelings of security and confidence about their overall financial situation, and has a positive effect on mental health.

Financial struggles can have real repercussions for our mental health. When we experience financial difficulties we often end up being stressed, worried and anxious. When our mental health deteriorates it can also mean we’re less able to deal with our finances which can make the problems worse.

As part of our Minding Me programme, for Week 5 we’d like you to commit to attending an online talk about budgeting which takes place over Teams on Tuesday October 11th at 1pm. No matter what stage we are in life, whether we’re starting out on our careers or getting close to retirement, advice on budgeting and how to manage our finances is relevant to us all. The talk will be given by a personal finance expert from Bank of Ireland and should only take about 30-40 minutes. You should have received an invite via email. If not please get in touch with Willie.

If you’re dealing with financial difficulties, the HSE advises the following:

Stay Active. Keep seeing your friends and try to keep paying the bills. If you have more time because you’re not at work, take up some form of exercise. It can improve your mood if you’re feeling low.

Face up to the situation. If it looks like you’re getting into debt, get advice on how to prioritise your debts. When people feel anxious, they sometimes avoid talking to others. Some people can lose their confidence about driving or travelling. If this starts to happen, facing up to these situations will generally make them easier.

Don’t drink too much alcohol. For some people with money worries, alcohol can become a problem. You may drink more than usual as a way of dealing with your emotions or to fill time. But alcohol won’t help you deal with your problems and could add to your stress.

Don’t lose your daily routine. Get up at your normal time and stick to your routine. If you lose your routine, it can also affect your eating. You may miss breakfast because you’re still in bed or eat snacks instead of having proper meals.

Get help if you need it. If you are struggling, the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) has lots of information to help with debt. If you’re feeling worried, anxious or low for a few weeks talk to your GP about options that can help.

IMPORTANT: It’s always advisable to check with your GP before starting any new fitness activities. Depending on your fitness levels you may need to start slowly. Please take care and avoid injuries.

Remember to always check that any advice you come across online or in podcasts or books comes from qualified reputable sources before you follow it. Just because it’s online or in print doesn’t mean it’s true.