Sometimes reaching the summit of financial wellness can feel nearly impossible and we wind up feeling defeated more often than we feel accomplished.
Changing our lifestyle and habits takes time and patience, we should never underestimate the work involved.
This is where Japanese business philosophy, Kaizen can help.
Kaizen is a method used to continuously improve something using small steps. Large businesses such as Toyota have adopted Kaizen to improve their organisation.
Kaizen can be just as effective when applied to our personal lives, especially when it comes to lifestyle changes. Whatever your goal may be, we hope these tips will help you to achieve them.
The finish line isn’t your goal.
Developing better habits and maintaining them long-term is the goal.
No journey comes without a few bumps in the road.
Before you embark on your journey, accept that some days will be harder than others.
Often things happen that are out of our control, driving over a nail and puncturing the tyre or hitting gridlock traffic for example.
You might lose your way from time to time, and that is fine.
Make time to reflect. If you do lose track, rather than considering it a failure - look at it as an opportunity to learn. What could you do differently next time?
If you have to siphon your savings to cover increased energy costs, remember that is what it was there for - emergencies.
This isn’t a race. You are not competing with anyone, it’s not a race therefore don’t treat it as one.
Break your journey down into smaller achievable milestones.
Think short-term and create a checklist of things you would like to achieve over the next month.
Be realistic, for example, if you want to save money, your goal in April could be to set a budget and save £2.50.
Lastly, your journey, your rules.
You’re in control and you decide what financial wellness looks like to you. There is no right or wrong answer. It’s about finding what works for you.