I often hear people say they wish they’d been taught personal finance in school or that kids today should be required to take such a class to graduate. Honestly, I get it, and I’m actually one of the lucky ones that did - but as good as my teacher was, I’m not sure it helped as much as it should have.
(Not Mrs. Yevak but an image that reminded me of her.)
It was called Consumer Education (Consumer Ed, as we called it), and I took it during the summer so that I didn’t have to “waste” a credit my senior year on taking it during my final two semesters of high school. More than 20 years later, I still remember our teacher, Mrs. Yevak (a fantastic teacher who’s since passed) saying, “Liquidity is great!” and my friends and I repeating it in mockery.
It really was an important class, and I wish I'd internalized the lessons Mrs. Yevak taught earlier in life (and of course, liquidity is great!), but in my view, what’s even greater is knowing how to achieve financial wellness. I wish I’d known more about the "why" behind financial decisions as I went off to start my adult life - and it’s what I hope to instill in my own son.
For too long, most financial institutions would like you to believe they’re helping you achieve “financial wellness,” but if you take a closer look, you’ll see they’re offering products: retirement accounts, credit cards, and mortgages. These are tools, not wellness.
Sure, financial wellness includes foundational elements like the ones you’d find in my Consumer Ed class - budgeting, saving, and investing - but financial education is only one component, and the evidence is actually mixed when it comes to the efficacy of formal financial literacy education. One meta-analysis of 200+ studies noted that it only accounted for 0.1% of downstream behavior change, while another showed more positive effects.1
My takeaway from working in investment management is that if the financial wellness conversation stops at education and products, we’re missing the bigger picture. Financial wellness isn’t just about managing your financial life. Because for those who actually know what they should do, it may not necessarily mean they do it, and even if you’re financially secure, it doesn’t mean you’re happy and flourishing.
For instance:
These behaviors don’t just impact your finances, they affect your mental and emotional health. If you’ve ever felt stressed about money, struggled to talk about finances with a partner, or avoided checking your bank account, you’ve experienced the disconnect between traditional financial advice and real-life financial wellness.
Indeed, financial wellness is knowing more about your personal relationship with money and how it can impact your decisions, your relationships, and your overall well-being. It’s addressing the emotional, psychological, and relational toll that traditional financial systems overlook.
At Personawealth, we believe it’s time to reclaim financial wellness.
I think why people wish they’d been taught personal finance earlier is because at some point, there’s this “a-ha” moment, a recognition that money impacts nearly every part of our lives (good and bad) - from the choices we make about where to live and work to the relationships we cherish. And yet, for many of us, money remains a source of stress, guilt, or frustration.
Your financial habits are often rooted in unconscious beliefs and past experiences, many of which come from your family and childhood, culture, or money challenges (something we measure as part of your SonaType, through a concept we call the financial schema). By uncovering and addressing these patterns, you can take control of your finances so you can live with clarity and intention.
Whether you’re saving for your first big financial goal or managing a steady income, understanding your relationship with money is a key first step to achieving actual wellness.
When you think about financial wellness this way, it goes well beyond budgeting, savings, and investment portfolios. It’s about aligning your financial choices with your values and goals to create a life that supports your well-being. And it’s not something you have to wait for to achieve someday in the future.
Personawealth goes deeper than numbers (what does probability of success mean for financial wellness anyway?) and instead, focuses on the why behind your financial decisions, connecting them to your values and aspirations.
For example, we can help you clarify:
When you understand your motivations, you can align your finances with what matters most to you, no matter whether that’s freedom, connection, or security. If you listened to our HomeEc episodes on goal-setting with performance psychologist, Dr. Lindsay Roberts, you’ll know this is important for sustainable goal achievement too.
A common misconception is that financial wellness is something you’ll achieve “one day.” One day when you’re debt-free. One day when you’ve saved enough for retirement. One day when you finally reach that elusive status symbol. But financial wellness isn’t a destination – it’s a practice. And it can start today.
Of course, it’s a journey - and like any hero's journey, it starts with understanding where you are and where you want to go.
You’re the hero of your own financial wellness story - that’s why we’re focused on helping you:
It’s about bridging the gap between the knowns and the unknowns – where you are and where you want to be – not just in your finances, but in your life.
Here are a few tips to get you started:
When you stop waiting for “someday,” you’ll discover that wellness isn’t about having everything figured out – it’s about aligning your decisions (big and small) today with outcomes that result in activating positive emotions, engaging in activities that bring you joy or put you in a state of flow, improving your relationships, helping you find meaning and purpose, or giving you a sense of accomplishment.
They’re baby steps - building blocks - and they can build momentum.
Financial wellness is for everyone, and it’s not tied to a particular product, service, or even institution (i.e., your bank). At Personawealth, we’re here to help you understand your relationship with money, identify what’s holding you back, and take purposeful steps forward toward greater wellness.
Ready to start your journey? Click here to discover where your financial health and well-being stand, and let’s reclaim financial wellness together.
1. Fernandes, D., Lynch, J. G., Jr., & Netemeyer, R. G. (2014). Financial literacy, financial education, and downstream financial behaviors. Management Science, 60(8), 1861–1883 and Kaiser, T., Lusardi, A., Menkhoff, L. & Urban, C. (2022). Financial education affects financial knowledge and downstream behaviors. Journal of Financial Economics, 145(2), Part A.