There’s something called Financial Wellness.
I think we physicians have grown a bit cynical around the word, “wellness” because we often encounter it as part of a lip-service check-box hospital initiative that pretends to support physician wellness, while simultaneously doing just the opposite.
Ever had a hospital Wellness Day? Did they give you free processed carbohydrates and a pen? A boring lecture? Puppies? Massage chairs? Shudder…did you have to play… games?
Even better, was it mandatory?
We had do do this. I remember people getting so angry about having to go to Wellness Day because it was interfering with actually getting work done, thus creating more stress and less wellness.
The irony of forced wellness is completely lost on administrators, but it’s not lost on us.
So, all that said, see if you can step back and remove any negative associations with the word “Wellness”.
I like the word itself. I think of wellness as a general state of well-being. There are lots of things that contribute to our wellbeing, like physical health, strong support systems, having our emotional needs met, being safe, intellectual satisfaction, and financial wellness.
So what is that? I define Financial Wellness as reaching a zen-like state of pure money bliss. Just kidding. As if!
Financial wellness is when you have a general sense of wellbeing associated with your financial state. To get there, you need a few things.
There’s the practical bits: getting organized, having baseline money knowledge, developing a system to handle your money efficiently.
Then there’s the emotional bits: busting through all the negativity built up around money so that you can just get started facing it, developing confidence in your money skills, removing fear, replacing anxiety with calm, and knowing how to think about money constructively.
And there’s the social bits: You need support. You gotta be able to talk to people about your money, your financial ideas, questions, goals— to see “Am I on the right path? Am I doing this right? Is this a good idea? Has anyone else tried this and how did it go?” Talking about money needs to be normalized, and free from judgment. It helps to have humor and levity. A supportive environment helps you make good decisions and prevent repeating ones that didn’t work out so well.
All of this comes together to form Financial Wellness. It’s knowing what your money ducks are, corralling them into a row, making sure they’ve all got a plan, and that they all stick to the plan.
What would it look like, feel like, be like— to achieve financial wellness? How would it feel to be comfortable with your money, instead of anxious? To know what to do with your money and how to do it, and for working with your money to be an easy habit, because you’ve gotten rid of the mind trash that kept you from facing it before?
In other words, what would it be like for money to no longer suck?
It would be life-changing.
It is my goal with Money Med School to help as many physicians reach financial wellness as possible. To educate, to provide the tools, and to create a community that empowers physicians to take the reins of their finances and make wealth happen.
Join me this Wednesday, December 22, 2021 at noon EST, on Facebook Live @moneymedschool, where I’m going to be talking about how money does not have to suck, and how you can achieve financial wellness. (While being a full-time physician.) I’m going to share 3 simple things you can do right now to make money suck less, and actually even be fun!
In just 15-minutes you can learn how to make money fun—sounds like a Geico commercial.
There’s a super handy-dandy worksheet that helps you get the most out of this short session. Join our free Physician Financial Wellness Community & download the free worksheet.
It’s going to be the most valuable 15 minutes of your day.
