by Suzanne E. Sky, MTOM, Life Resilience Coach
I am clearly focused on finances in the context of wellness and resilience. What this means to me is thriving in our life as we are creating and living from our heart. Our money flow of income, spending, and savings reflects our values and supports our life vision and chosen lifestyle. Being resilient at it's most basic is about being able to get through a challenge (surviving) but at it's lushest it's the ability to really bloom and grow forward, perhaps discovering new abilities and possibilities for ourselves in the process (thriving!). Financial wellness and resilience allows us to be creative and gives us more options in life to explore possibilities. In particular, our savings and investments empower us through tangible long-term support and resilience.
In the world of money self-care, you've likely heard advice to have a good "emergency savings". While there are real emergencies in life, I think words are important; they influence our thinking and our emotions and I don't like this type of red-flag, limited emergency thinking. While there are actual emergencies in life, and it's prudent to prepare, I want to expand our concept of this type of savings. Karen McCall, a brilliant pioneer money coach, calls it a "Safety Net" savings because a basic function of this savings to cover unexpected income loss.
Coming from decades in the wellness field, I call this Resilience Savings to reflect the positive dynamics of this essential savings type and to really focus and get my brain and heart on board with a financial view that's about optimal wellness, a cushion of resilience, and a vision of thriving. This engages my values and vision in creating more possibilities.
So my name for "emergency" savings is Resilience Savings because I really want to flip the language switch to connect the brain and heart to this key financial foundation that offers us so much support. It is indeed very wise to have six to nine months of income replacement in our Resilience Savings in case we lose our job, or a worldwide pandemic hits. But this savings may also benefit us in a positive and powerful way by allowing us to take time for ourselves. We may want to take a sabbatical, travel, family time, or reconfigure and transition to a new job or profession. This is the resilience perspective.
Additionally, Resilience Savings empowers us. This is also a great place to save up for a down payment on a home, for your next car purchase, or for your expensive vacation. This is where you could save for home renovations or something as mundane as new tires. Needing new tires is not usually an emergency (hopefully not). We have an idea of how long tires will last on our car and we can approximate when we'll need them again and the cost. You get the idea.
Recently, I was discussing types of savings with a local Financial Advisor. He raised the idea that a person may want to invest some or all of their Resilience savings to maximize earnings rather than having it just sit in a bank with little to no interest gain. I love this idea! A Financial Advisor can review your options with you and create a plan that works best for you, allowing you to grow your Resilience savings while having access to your funds as needed.
There are a few other types of savings I'll discuss in upcoming articles. Meanwhile, I'm here to encourage you to start building your Resilience Savings if you don't have one already. Set your goals, aim high, and save! Set aside a set amount each month. As a Financial Resilience Coach, I can help support you to gaining clarity about your money flow and goals.
What is one step you can take now to empower yourself by creating or upleveling your Resilience Savings as part of your financial wellness journey?
From my heart to yours, Suzanne Sky - Life Resilience Coach
As a Life Resilience Coach, I offer a heart-centered approach to support purpose-driven women in transition in creating the meaningful life they love. We work together in a collaborative coaching process to identify practical steps you can take in alignment with your abilities, core values, and life vision so you can live your heart and create the impact you want. My whole person coaching integrates compassionate awareness, collaborative dialogue, gentle inquiry, and an invitation to engage in journaling and embodied awareness practices.
I offer a free 30-minute Connection Session to discuss the possibility of us working together. I'd love to meet you!