National Financial Wellness Month

January is National Financial Wellness Month, an observance where we’re encouraged to pay closer attention to our financial well-being. January represents a good time to reevaluate our financial wellness because we’re just coming out of the holiday season – a busy time when people tend to overindulge and overspend. It’s a prime opportunity to slow down and think about our financial plans and resolutions for the New Year.

Financial wellness refers to much more than just your bank balance; it covers how you generate income, budget and manage the money you have, and plan and prepare for the future. Your financial well-being also has to do with your emotional relationship with money: the influences on you to spend and save, how you respond to those influences, and your confidence about making personal finance decisions.

Money management plays an important role in the life of anyone who earns an income. That’s why companies of all sizes are increasingly coming to realize that their employees’ financial well-being is vitally important to their business success. Workers who are experiencing financial stress are less focused, less productive, and more likely to make mistakes and miss work. Raising employee financial wellness can make a big difference to the company’s bottom line. So National Financial Wellness Month is also a good time for employers to consider implementing an employee financial wellness program.