The more we explore strategies for gaining control of our finances, we start to see that there are many synergies between a financial wellness programme and a fitness or healthy eating programme:

1. They are all good for your health, for example, whether that be physical health, mental health or both. We are all taught from a very young age that eating well and exercising regularly go a long way to in looking after ourselves.

2. They all involve habits that we should try to change for a lifetime and not as a short-term quick fix. Going all in for a sprint, a crash diet, can mean you end up in a worse position than when you started. This will involve building long-term, lasting habits into a routine to fit around your lifestyle. For example, some routine habits could be:

– check your bank balance daily

– automate savings and bills straight after pay day

– do a money fitness test every few months, checking your numbers such as income, outgoings, insurance and mortgage renewals, etc.

3. They all involve varying levels of intensity – you can choose to walk or run – turn the dial up or turn it back down – it is your choice. This would vary, for example, as a result of personal motivation or economic reality.

4. For all of them, the best time to start was 20 years ago. The second best time is NOW. Be the 80 year old that’s discovered yoga or running, or the 60 year old newly-turned plant-based cook.

It is never ever too late to change your money habits and to invest in your financial health. Even if you’re at the later end of your working life, you could still:

– change behaviour and control outgoings to a better level;

– find contentment in having “less”

– save for a rainy day, whether through generating extra income through a new or part time job, selling unwanted things, house or animal sitting, renting out rooms, etc.

– share things with close relatives or friends, such as meals, holidays, cars, subscriptions, etc.

The point here is that it is never too late to look after your financial health. At Financielle we help people who are 16 and who are 60+, the methodology is the same no matter what your age, you just need to decide to START.