Being financially mature has a direct impact on your wellness.
I grew up associating maturity with behavior. I remember thinking that those that threw spitballs, made loud noises to upset the teacher, laughed too much, and too loud was so “immature”.
When it comes to money there is a commonality here. Financial maturity also has to do with behavior. Spending more than what you earn, saying yes to things you cannot afford, doing things you don’t enjoy, spending to satisfy a negative emotion.
Different things affect our maturity with money: trauma, childhood, income level, physical health, mental health, and environment. Those things can affect our ability to move forward and build wealth or stay stuck. This can keep us from progressing in our development with handling money. The good thing is that we can overcome these issues by using various resources like therapy, coaching, books, and educational videos.
How do you know when you have reached a level of financial maturity? Just like wealth, financial maturity is a feeling. You feel comfortable looking at your bank account. You feel comfortable with your income. You no longer feel numb when it comes to money.
Ten signs that you are financially mature include:
- Forgiving those that hurt you
- Expressing gratitude toward money when it enters and leaves your life
- You love your job
- Earn enough money to save and invest consistently
- Saying no to things that you cannot afford or won’t add value to your life
- Paying off your credit cards monthly
- Having a liquid emergency fund
- You have health insurance
- Spend at least an hour each month working on your finances and increasing your financial literacy
- Having written financial goals and steps to get there
We are all capable of reaching financial maturity. It comes down to mindset and action. Making decisions that will get us closer to our financial goals. It also includes recovering quickly from setbacks. Understanding that reaching and maintaining financial maturity is a process.
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