Have you ever asked yourself: what is financial peace? For many of us peace itself is the absence of war. So does financial peace mean that there is an absence of some sort of struggle or conflict? Let’s have a closer look.
Financial Peace Definition
Financial Peace definitions can certainly vary. But at healthylifestyleflorida.com we first of all define financial peace as a state of mind. This means that a state of financial peace allows us to look at our finances and think about our finances without any emotional struggle. Or in other words: when you think of your private finances you have no stress. This could mean that you feel confident when thinking of the following topics:
- Your yearly income
- Your yearly costs and/or budget
- Your tax situation
- Your retirement finances
- Your financial future
Absence of Financial Peace
Why do many of us suffer from an absence of financial peace? Especially women seem to have much more stress on their finances than men. There are a variety of reasons. Here are the most important ones:
- Lack of financial knowledge/literacy – mainly because it was not taught at home or at school.
- Lack of confidence in the field of finance
- Fear to face reality – which might mean having to reduce expenses and thus potential life quality or facing the need to work more
Financial Self-Care and Financial Peace
Financial self-care means to invest time on your personal financial situation. This includes having a closer look at how you make money, spend money and how you think and feel about money and identify the fields you need to work on. For further information on financial self-care please read our article on financial self-care.
Financial Peace and Financial Health
We have defined financial peace. But how are financial health and financial peace related?
When you hear the word financial health you probably first think about physical health. But what does health mean? The word health comes from heel (Saxon) and means freedom from bodily pain or sickness. In Ancient Greece and Rome, health was understood as the opposite of dis-ease, or physical imbalance.
Therefore, financial health means to have a certain level of financial balance. (Furthermore, together with mental, physical, social, spiritual, and emotional balance, it creates a state of well-being in our life. It is important to note that a disharmony in one of these states will affect our overall well-being.)
To reach a state of financial health, one needs to have financial peace. This means that you need to have a state of financial peace before you can consider yourself as financially healthy.
What does it mean to have a financial balance?
People who are financially in balance practice financial self-care and in general have a very good understanding of how to make money and how to spend their money wisely. In addition, they usually make smart financial decisions and have positive financial habits like buying certain groceries at discount stores and comparing prices before making a purchase decision. Furthermore, they try to only buy items they need and not because they need to impress others or to compensate for an unmet need. In addition, being financially in balance means that you are investing enough time in managing your financial needs. As a result, you will lead a financially healthy lifestyle.
How to Improve Your Financial Peace?
There are many ways to improve your financial peace. But they all start with identifying your personal “financial pain or stress”. For example:
- Are you afraid of running out of money and having to give up your lifestyle?
- Are you afraid of not being able to make enough money to lead your current lifestyle for the next decades?
- Are these fears realistic?
- What can you do to get rid of these fears?
- Do you need to cut costs?
- Can you find ways to improve your financial health by finding new sources of income or finding better investments?
- Who can support you and who is maybe doing the opposite?
A Word from healthylifestyleflorida.com
Finding financial peace of mind should be an essential goal for all of us. This is why we need to find what holds us back and improve our financial literacy and learn about our own financial trigger points or stressor.
Start your analysis today. You will love what you can be!
