Inspiration and activities for memorable meetings
The Four Pillars of Financial Health!
Bonus Activity: Are you financially healthy?
The Four Pillars of Financial Health
Are you financially healthy?
Financial health includes four key components: Spend, Save, Borrow, and Plan. It is crucial that you actively work on improving the health of each one. Here are some valuable tips to strengthen each component.
- Spend.
To spend wisely, you need a budget. With a little time, you can put together a clear budget to improve your spending habits. There are tools and apps that you can download to automate the budgeting process for you. Whatever method you choose to use to budget, you must stay within that budget. That means using healthy spending habits to stay on (or even better – under) budget. - Save.
Everyone needs to be saving each month, but the realities of life sometimes make that difficult. In general, you should aim to save a minimum of 10% of your income. If that’s not possible, any amount saved helps improve your financial fitness. Once you start saving, those funds should be considered untouchable. They are not for meeting monthly bills or impulse buys. Instead, they should be used to begin building an emergency fund and more considerable savings for long-term goals. - Borrow.
While credit cards can have perks, such as raising your credit score for on-time payments or rewards, they can also be dangerous. If you have more credit card debt than you should, paying down debt fast should be a priority. - Plan.
Where do you see yourself financially in one year? Five years, and where would you like to be? Do you plan to attend college? These questions are part of planning your healthy financial future. Take some time to figure out what you want your life to look like in the future: By focusing on long-term goals, rather than just monthly spending, you can start to re-prioritize your budget in ways that make sense for your goals.
Remember, no matter what your financial situation, improvements are possible. Take time to analyze your financial health, develop a plan, and then actively work towards your goals. Financial fitness may be a long journey, but it is doable with the right mindset and tools.
Leaders: If time permits, play a round of Monopoly.
| Music Playlist During Snack |
- I’ll Tell Me Ma – The Dubliners
- Gallway Girl – Ed Sheeran
- Mollie Malone – The Dubliners
- Sunday Bloody Sunday – U2
Healthy Snack:
Find the Rainbow with these fruit skewers
Simple Ingredients:
Long wooden skewers
Washed fruit: strawberries, cantaloupe, pineapple, green grapes, blueberries, red grapes
Movement Activity:
Head on a Nature Scavenger Hunt
- Find an insect and watch what it is doing
- Smell something beautiful
- Build a leaf pile
- Find something green
- Find something round
- Find something brown
- Build a house of sticks
- Listen to birds chirping
- Find a bumpy stick
- Find a smooth rock