8 dimensions of wellness

Hi @Former-Member Thanks for the latest info.

@Scoo @Sophie1 @Appleblossom @Shaz51

Financial wellness hmmm..... Here's my thoughts just as they arise: Having been solo for 15 years, renting, working part time, caring and also working through some of my own baggage - I've lived from week to week & sometimes moment to moment. My daughter told me recently that we are way below the poverty line...

Like @Scoo I came from a lower income family & remember Dad with his ledger working out how much he could pay to whom & us having hand-me-down clothes etc. So, a bit similar really. Not much saved for my retirement, although I will be contributing a little bit now that I have some work. We are fortunate to live for very little on a friends property. Definitely NO credit card or loans & I budget very carefully. Don't smoke or drink or go out much. Holidays are generally only a weekend away on the cheap or to visit someone. Opshops, second hand or freecycle. 'Live simply, so others can simply live' is a motto I like, so we don't have anything fancy really (although if funds allowed I'd love to take my girls overseas).

I guess I'm living more in the now than the future. That is, at the moment I'm doing the best I can with the little I have and try believe that we have enough for what we really need. Maybe that's going to backfire on me some day, but I think the stress of worrying about a future that I feel I can't influence much right now would just be too much. If my situation changes then I'll be able to make better plans.

I'm open to magic & miracles too! 🙂

@FindingStrength

Are you (and or daughter) on a pension? Lovely that you have now got some work. Well done you for not getting into debt. There is nothing wrong with 2nd hand, we have always had a mix of old and new - furniture, clothes, etc and we only have one car between us. I am so pleased that we no longer have credit cards.

I firmly believe that being able to manage the funds we have is the key. I must admit that this is not something that comes easily to me and going by research findings is actually the norm and we were in that category of middle class poor. It was actually when we had more money coming in when we got into a mess and it took hubby and I ages to get out of debt which we got into over a short period when we both began earning after being on one income. Rather than being wise and taking advantage of the two salaries we (moreso me) just spent and maxed out our credit cards - previously we had been very careful. When Mr Darcy got unwell and we had to go back to one income we started making better financial decisions but could still do a little better - over the last little while we have been looking a ways to reduce expenditure and have actively been doing so. We have gradually reduced our grocery bill and just this month we changed Mr D's mobile phone plan saving us $360/yr.

One thing that I have felt that I have always done "right" was to get my pay split into two accounts - one for bills and one for spending. We always kept the bills account separate and took advantage of any monthly direct payment plans so things like insurances, electricity, phone came out automatically and we never got behind on these.

Hello @FindingStrength , @Former-Member , @Sophie1 , @Appleblossom , @Boo13 , @Former-Member

Like @Scoo I came from a lower income family, my father worked and my mum stay home

when mum and I left at 11 years old , mum was amazing with numbers and how we survived is amazing and then my aunty and her 4 children moved in with us

there were 7 of us living in one little house and then there were 8 0f us

now being self employed and married for 13 years and getting a very low one income to survive on

we have a working account and we have a account that coins goes into so we can afford a break away once a yeaar

Hi @ Shaz51,

Thanks for thinking of me. This looks like an interesting thread. I to have a family business like @Shaz51 . Income tends to fluctuate with the health of the participants. I have not always been the best money manager. A small inheritance from my Grandmother actually started me on the path of saving. Like @FindingStrength I came from a relatively poor family with hand me down clothes etc although in the tradition I was raised in fathers generally handed over the pay packet to the mother to manage even if a fair chunk of it was handed back. I think having a budget is really important especially if family members have different preferences around money. It doesn't really matter how much you earn if you can't have a bit of discipline around how you spend it.

Cheers.

Discipline is required @Former-Member Fortunately we are no longer the middle poor but are debt free and managing on a low income and looking at ways of doing this better.

@Former-Member @Former-Member @Shaz51 @FindingStrength @Scoo

really enjoying this thread - just read through latest entries - I'm so encouraged to feel like I am not alone in juggling yet another area of life !!

A big part of financial wellness for me is having a buffer in case I lose my job ... as I am the only reliable and significant earner we really do need my income to maintain our lifestyle and mortgage. I like to have enough buffer so I can be out of work for three months and we can still make our mandatory expenses and debt repayments. I didn't have this once in the past and it was awful looking for work with the extra pressure of funds running out way too fast ... so now I try to work with MsS to reinforce the importance of the savings buffer (which we keep in the form of a mortgage redraw) and how vital it is not to touch the buffer. I am much calmer when we have a buffer - although I'd have to say we didn't have one really in our 20s or 30s ... it's only now in our 40s that we have a buffer due again to a small inheritance from when my grandparents passed - the generosity of previous generations has been an amazing miracle for us - I doubt we'd be in our house otherwise or have any savings

We were set financially and made some very poor financial decisions when Mr D became unwell and things went pear shaped and got upto our eyeballs in debt. We were better off in our 30s than in our mid 50s. I have sworn that I will never go into debt again.

Mr D and I both agree we need to manage our low income a bit better and have made some inroads into this but I know we can do a little better and we are looking at ways of doing this

Hearing you about not having much of a buffer when young and trying to get established.

Mostly I have been good with money, and making a little go a long way. I earned it from a young age and never had much to spare. Have not really had a "spending" account or a spending mentality, although a singer once told me off for having expensive taste. Think it was cos I watch out for specials, I had leather gloves for $10. Now I would not buy leather handbags. I love opshops, but really these days I cannot even be bothered to go to them as I have enough. Probably need to get some sandals when they are on sale and that will do me for the year and its only January. I eat better and am more finacially secure than I ever thought possible. Yes, tho living under the poverty line for years. Part of it is being older and gradually paying off mortgage and all the good old things mentioned above.

@Darcy @Carer101 @Shaz51 @FindingStrength @Scoo , @Appleblossom , @Sophie1

even though we don`t have any debt or mortgage, we are still according to the world , we are living under the poverty line

We are on a very low income too @Shaz51 , I know I could apply for Newstart but I don't want to look for another job and /or do the volunteer work that would require.

I am really excited though that we have now put into place some budgeting measures that will help us manage things better. Mr D has recorded where what we have been spending on for a while so we could easily see where we could make some improvements in reducing expenditure.