2020 has given us the perfect opportunity to talk
Pensions & benefits
2020 has certainly been a unique year. There have been, and continue to be, lots of challenges both for individuals and for organisations across the UK and around the world.
Historically, the perception is that financial stress arises due to a lack of planning, poor decision making and negative behaviours – this plays into the stigma associated with poor financial health. Little acknowledgement is given to unexpected, unavoidable events. We’ve seen this on a vast scale this year, but there are many other events that arise in people’s lives such as accidents or ill health which are often significant contributors to people’s financial stress and anxiety.
This year has brought us plenty of negatives that we could focus our attention on – job losses, companies collapsing, rising debt, increased poverty and instability across the entire economy. For many people, this has been so severe they simply cannot focus on anything other than these issues. This has had a significant impact on mental health too – not least anxiety, depression and feeling alone.
If we take a moment and think a little wider – we will see that there are also many positives to come out of this situation which we can be thankful for too.
Focus on the positives
Many of us have been able to spend more time with those we love and care about. We have taken time to think about things that really matter and focus on the simpler things in life.
We have had an opportunity to pause and press the reset button both on lifestyle and finances. And for the first time ever, we have all had our finances impacted, be that positively or negatively. So this is a fantastic opportunity to open up and start talking about money without judgement, prejudice or stigma.
Sharing experiences, past and present can be hugely beneficial to those around us as well as ourselves. It’s ok to say your financial health has changed, and maybe you need to re-focus or seek help.
Maybe you have found an app that has helped you manage your money in a different way, helped you focus on saving or helped your financial confidence – if it’s had an impact for you it could help those you care about so why not share it?
Maybe this could be a good time to have those bigger conversations you’ve been putting off with parents or older relatives? Better to be prepared in advance than have additional stressors if someone becomes ill or worse.
Below is a financial positivity checklist (you can use this daily, weekly or monthly) to help you get started:
- Share a financial tip with someone I care about.
- Find something I can live without to save money.
- Have a conversation about money with someone I care about.
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Set a rainy day savings goal.
It’s good to talk
The way we think about our money and how we manage our finances is different for everyone. Some of us may use apps to encourage saving, provide us with access to discount codes or help us manage our spending. Others may have experience of good tools and knowledge building sites that have proved useful to create good behaviours.
There are so many organisations out there doing some really great things that it’s often hard to navigate and find ideas that could help you. By sharing things that have worked for us, we are not only talking about money in a positive way, it could make a significant difference to others in your friends, family and colleague networks.
Read our other blogs in the Talk Money Week series: