What does financial wellness mean in 2022? This is a question many people are asking as we approach the end of a tough few years. In short, financial wellness means being able to achieve your financial goals and maintain a certain level of financial stability. It's about being in control of your finances, both today and in the future. 

But achieving this can be tricky, especially if you don't know where to start. So what can you do to get yourself on the path to financial wellness? Working with Wealth Stack is one of the best ways, as we teach you not only how to create wealth for yourself, but also how to sustain it well into the future (especially if you’re a business owner). In fact, it appears that small business owners struggle with this particularly hard. 54% of small business owners worry about money and let it keep them up at night.

However, financial wellness truly is about more than just having money and being able to live comfortably. It’s about building long-term, sustainable wealth that compounds over time. Sure, we can help with that, but you have to understand how important it is first.

What is the Definition of Financial Wellness?

While there’s no one set definition for financial wellness, a good general definition is being able to achieve financial goals that are important to you, now and in the future. 

For instance, if your goal is financial independence, financial wellness will mean not having to rely on others for financial support at any time in your life. If your goal is financial stability or financial security, financial wellness will provide you with the means to feel safe as you live your life in the modern world. 

Why such a vague response? It varies from person to person, just like physical wellness does. Some people feel financially fit and secure when they are financially independent while others feel the same way when they earn a certain dollar amount through their employer each year.

This is why it’s important that you define, for yourself, what financial wellness means to you. Start by identifying your short-term financial goals and then work to define the long-term ones. Once you have a good idea of your goals, think about whether or not actually achieving them would help you feel more secure or stable (or, in essence, financially well).

Experts also have varying definitions of financial wellness. Karen Serna, Director of the Student Money Management Office at Austin Community College, for example, defines financial wellness as “the ability to confidently manage your financial resources to meet your needs and financial goals. It means knowing exactly where your money comes from and goes to each month, having money set aside for the inevitable emergency, and having no debt, or a plan to become debt free within a reasonable timeframe.”

For the majority of Americans, whether they’re business owners or not, this simply means being able to not lose sleep about how they’re going to pay bills or make ends meet.

Benefits of Employee Financial Wellness

If you’re a business owner then you’ll likely know all about financial wellness because it relates to, well, your business. And, you likely know that when you invest in your business, whether that means your operational procedures, your automation, or your employees, it thrives. 

Simply put, investing in your business and the people who make it work day in and day out is a part of financial wellness. And, yes, that includes, first and foremost, investing in the financial wellness of your employees.

The Corporate Wellness Magazine notes that when business owners focus on the financial wellness of their employees, they are often able to reduce unnecessary expenditures due to absenteeism, lost productivity and benefit cost overruns. What does this equate to in terms of offers?

Generally, employees seem to respond well to employer-run or employer-provided programs that enhance money management skills and help them build their wealth. While newsletters can be helpful, most employees are looking for debt-related programs or seminars or programs that can help them learn how to invest for retirement or for their kids’ college and healthcare.

As Kathryn Sweedler, Consumer Economics Educator at the University of Illinois Extension Financial Wellness of College Students Program, notes, this is different from simply providing your employees with access to financial literacy programs. “Financial literacy is important in the sense that you have an understanding of terminology and concepts in personal finance,” she says. “But it’s sort of like the first step towards financial wellness.”

Invest in Your Employees’ Financial Wellness

Investing in your own financial wellness might seem easy as long as you have access to the financial literacy tools and resources you need to help you learn how to budget, invest, and grow your wealth long-term. However, what about investing in your employees’ financial wellness? That might seem a lot harder, particularly because your employees are likely from a variety of backgrounds.

That’s where we come in. We’ve created the Wealth Stack Growth Pack to help make it easier for small business owners to not only invest in their employees’ futures but also to invest in their business. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s included in the Growth Pack:

• We set up IRA accounts for all of your employees and handle the payroll accounting for you.
• Employees receive high-quality investment and financial education. This helps them learn how to grow their wealth long-term.
• Every retirement account overseen by an experienced, highly-qualified investment profession. Don't worry, he has invested over $1 billion of capital in his career.
• 100+ videos and articles designed to help you and your employees learn how to properly manage finances, invest wisely, and scale your business.
• As the business owner, you get access to alternative sources of non-dilutive capital. This includes easy access to private equity lenders, hedge funds, and family offices via our platform.

Easy, affordable retirement solutions like this don’t exist elsewhere. Ready to increase the value of your business? Join the Wealth Stack Growth Pack today.