For many Americans, 2022 has been a year of uncertainty and worry when it comes to personal finances. The cost of living is increasing, while salaries and other incomes are not keeping up with inflation. Living from paycheck to paycheck can increase the risk of poverty and raise stress levels.
This is why your family’s financial wellness is more important than ever. It can offer you concrete steps to help you work towards a financially secure future for you and your loved ones.
Keep reading to learn how you can future-proof your financial wellbeing.
What is Financial Wellness?
Financial wellness refers to your ability to meet your current and future financial responsibilities while feeling secure. People who practice financial wellness tend to spend wisely, follow a budget and have emergency funds.
The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) identifies four elements that define financial wellness:
Being able to meet your financial needs today and in the future
Feeling secure in your economic future
The ability to absorb an unexpected economic event
Having the financial freedom to make choices to enjoy your life
How can you improve your financial wellness?
1. Create a Budget
A personal or family budget is a foundation for your financial wellbeing. By creating and sticking to a budget, you are well on your way to successfully managing your daily finances, preparing for emergencies, and your and your children’s future.
2. Start an Emergency Fund
An emergency fund helps protect you financially when unexpected events occur. It can also help prevent you from using long-term savings or going into debt.
3. Protect your Assets
Insuring assets such as your home and its contents, cars, and even your health can help cover losses due to fires, floods, or illness. Like an emergency fund, insurance can reduce the need to utilize your savings or the need to take out a loan when the unexpected happens.
4. Reduce Debt
By managing and eliminating your debt, you can increase your potential to create savings, free-up money for investing, and funds to utilize towards your long-term financial goals.
You can also build and improve your credit score by carefully managing your credit. This can improve your eligibility for better interest rates when taking personal or car loans and mortgages.
5. Save for the Future
Long-term investments and savings can offer financial security and peace of mind when planning for your future whether that may be starting a family, buying a house, or planning for your retirement. On the other hand, short-term investments can help provide you with the cash to cover any unexpected car or home repairs, vacations, or other expenses without needing to go into debt.
2022 has been a tough financial year
For many Americans, 2022 has been a rollercoaster of financial stress. 2022 has been a year of uncertainty and worry when it comes to our finances. Rising inflation (it reached a 40-year high in the second half of this year) along with rapidly increasing house prices and other living costs are increasing economic insecurity and putting pressure on us all to keep up with our bills. In this time of financial crisis, people are looking for sources they can truly trust on how to handle their finances.
According to a recent report, The State Of Personal Finance In America 2022, “One in three Americans said they are either struggling or in a crisis with their finances, and over half said they had difficulty paying their bills.”
Furthermore, “When asked what their two biggest financial challenges were, 40% of Americans reported inflation was their most pressing challenge, followed closely by cost of living (39%).”
The most popular sources of financial advice during the first quarter of this year were family (33%) and friends (35%). However, as many as four in 10 people said that they do not have anyone to ask for financial advice.
Wallet Max helps your future-proof your personal finances
This is where Wallet Max comes in. Wallet Max is your intelligent financial wellness assistant that proactively saves time and money with lifestyle-maximizing digital rewards for socially responsible retail shoppers. Wallet Max accelerates economic growth in local communities by offering exclusive and affordable loyalty discount programs for sustainable small businesses to expand.
Wallet Max is committed to empowering secure and inclusive financial access for everyone, especially the unbanked and the underbanked, and providing quality investment education globally through our proprietary rewards personalization and real-time predictions engine.
Keep reading to learn more about how Wallet Max can improve your financial wellbeing today!
Wallet Max AI Financial Assistant
Wallet Max offers you a powerful AI financial assistant to help you save money and earn cashback rewards. The Wallet Max mobile app gives you personalized offers based on your credit cards, cashback deals, your shopping preferences, and lifestyle. No matter where you go, you can be certain to save and earn money for shopping just about anywhere, including local small businesses.
Comments