As humans, we have basic needs (food, water, shelter, safety). According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, when those needs are not met we are not able to focus fully on other things in our life. Ultimately, we have our basic needs in life met by some change of currency. We have to pay for food, water, a place eat and sleep as well as other things that make life manageable. For many people, managing money can be stressful which can have an impact on our mental health.
”Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.” - Benjamin Franklin
The first time I heard the above quote, I was in the seventh grade and it was said by an old friend who had immigrated from Jamaica. I remember when she said it and I remember how I felt when she said it. I remember thinking long and hard about it because I knew back then that there was one thing that I did not want, and that was failure. It stuck with me over the years. Did I become this master planner and organized person? Absolutely not. In fact, quite the opposite. However, whenever I do fail, it makes me reflect on that quote and I think about how I can plan things a little better in the future.
In college, I taught myself how to budget and It changed my life and the way that I thought about money. In my later years, I heard about the likes of Dave Ramsey and the 7 Baby Steps and that changed things even more. Working in the mental health field, I have noticed that there is a connection between mental health concerns and financial health. I work with many families and individuals on increasing their skills for managing their mental health as well as giving resources or tools to assist with budgeting. I share these tools because I feel we should all have at least the basic understanding of how to complete and follow a budget.
I am not saying that having more money will fix mental health, because some people have more money and more mental health from greed or money mismanagement. Being able to plan things out can have a positive impact on us due to decreased stress about where money is going and how we will be able to pay our bills on a regular basis.
Every year in December, I work on my budget for the next year. It brings me immense joy to play with the numbers and to know that I have a plan. I literally jumped out of my bed the morning of December 1, 2020 because I knew it was time to start working on my 2021 budget. This year, I wanted to share my budget planner with you all. If you would like a copy of this planner (you can fill it on on your phone or computer), you can find it by clicking on the image below or by clicking here: Yearly Budget Planner. Be sure to check out the budgeting tips and the tips for making additional income in the planner.
