Lifestyle

How to Measure Financial Well-Being (and Why It’s Worth It)

Published

4 years ago

August 7, 2020

One of the most challenging aspects of managing money is figuring out where you stand financially. After all, there’s nobody looking over your shoulder telling you whether the decisions you make are right or wrong. It helps to first have a framework for measuring your financial well-being — sort of like a report card.

The point of measuring your financial well-being against benchmarks is to help you get a sense of where you stand — and what actions you could take to bring yourself closer to your goals.

Here’s more on how to evaluate your financial standing and why it’s worth it to do so periodically.

Try the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Well-Being Scale

The CFPB has actually developed a scale to help consumers assess their financial situations. Users answer sets of questions to determine where they fall on the scale, then add up the point values of their responses to get an overall “financial well-being score.” Users can then compare their scores to U.S. averages, as well as access resources on common topics — like tracking expenses, dealing with debt, saving and investing.

From these questions we begin to see some of the categories that define financial well-being, like:

The ability to cover a large unanticipated expense without going into debt.
Having money left over at the end of the month.
The degree to which finances control your life and choices.
Having room in your budget to cover variable expenses (like gifts for special occasions).
Staying on top of bills and financial decisions rather than falling behind.
Planning for the future, as well as managing money in the present.

If you’re short on time, you can fill out an abbreviated version of this scale to get a general feel for where you stand. If you’d like to take a more in-depth look, there’s a standard version with more questions.

According to the CFPB, financial well-being encompasses:

Net Worth: A Broad Look at Financial Well-Being

Perhaps the quickest and most straightforward way to evaluate financial well-being at a glance is calculating your net worth.

1. Tally up the value of your assets — like savings accounts, investments, vehicles, etc.

2. Tally up the total amount of your liabilities — like credit cards, mortgages, other loans, etc.

3. Subtract the liabilities from the assets.

These days, you can even plug these values into a simple net worth calculator rather than doing the math by hand.

Improving Your Financial Well-Being

It can be quite frustrating to find your financial well-being currently falls short of where you’d like it to be. However, getting an honest feel for where you stand today is the first step toward attaining your ideal financial future; it will help you set realistic goals and measure your progress.

Here’s an example: Many people exist in debt denial. They know they owe money, but avoid sitting down and looking at exactly how much — let alone planning how to repay it. Assessing their financial well-being could be the push they need to finally take an honest look at their budget and debts. After figuring out where they stand, someone in this situation may decide to speak with a credit counselor who then helps them get enrolled in debt relief management. Under a debt management plan (DMP), the person is able to consolidate their debts through the agency and pay what they owe over the course of three to five years at reduced interest.

According to Michigan State University, there are four general behaviors which support financial well-being:

Living within your means by actively managing your money.
Conducting research and gaining knowledge about financial decisions.
Setting realistic goals and planning for the future.
Following through on all three aforementioned behaviors over time.

Measuring financial well-being means checking in across various aspects of money management, which is why it’s a good practice for anyone and everyone. Only by understanding where you stand today can you set goals and make effective decisions for tomorrow.

Lifestyle

Helping Women Over 40: Jeanette Fritsch’s Transformational Program

Published

7 hours ago

December 5, 2024

Michelle Langton

Photo credit: Jeanette Fritsch

By: Andi Stark

For many women, the onset of their 40s marks the beginning of a range of physiological changes. Symptoms like insomnia, memory issues, mood swings, and joint pain often arrive years before the commonly recognized signs of menopause.

Jeanette Fritsch, a well-aging expert, believes these issues stem from complex hormonal shifts and lifestyle factors rather than simply aging. Her SRB&B® (Stop, Reset, Build & Balance) method aims to provide solutions by addressing these hormonal interactions holistically. Through years of research, Fritsch has identified a pattern that reshapes common perceptions about midlife health. “The hormonal journey for women is not a disease or a phase to endure; it’s a complex biological transition that requires education and support,” she explains.

Her SRB&B® method is designed to help women understand and manage this transition by balancing hormones naturally rather than solely relying on medication or conventional therapies.

Expanding Competence in Midlife Health

Despite the growth of the wellness industry, many health professionals report feeling unprepared to support clients over 40, especially when it comes to hormonal health. The Global Wellness Institute reports that wellness coaching is expanding by 7.7% annually, but fewer than 10% of coaches feel they have adequate training in hormone-related health. This gap leaves many individuals underserved and often forces them to rely on general advice that may not fully address their needs.

Fritsch’s program fills this void by providing a structured, science-backed curriculum for health professionals, from coaches to medical practitioners. Her certification program equips professionals to understand and work with the hormonal dynamics that influence stress, metabolism, and emotional well-being. It challenges the traditional wellness model, which often assumes all clients can follow the same fitness and nutrition advice regardless of age and hormonal state.

“Many fitness and wellness programs simply don’t consider that women over 40 have different needs,” Fritsch notes. “Ignoring these differences can lead to programs that do more harm than good.”

The Science Behind SRB&B®: How Hormones Influence Health

The SRB&B® method is not a conventional wellness program but a targeted approach Fritsch developed after years of research and personal experience. Her four-step model—Stop, Reset, Build, and Balance—focuses on the HPAT hormonal axis, a network of glands that includes the hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenals, and thyroid. This system is important in maintaining hormonal balance, impacting everything from metabolism and sleep to mood and cognition.

The SRB&B® method aims to “repair” and restore the body’s natural balance by targeting this axis. The process goes beyond addressing individual symptoms; it seeks to improve the hormonal interactions contributing to midlife health challenges. According to journal studies like The Lancet, integrating lifestyle adjustments with hormonal health knowledge can reduce the severity of age-related symptoms. Fritsch’s clients, for instance, report improvements ranging from weight loss and clearer mental function to better sleep.

Fritsch’s certification program for coaches and practitioners provides in-depth education on these biochemical processes, with the goal of creating a network of certified SRB&B® practitioners. “There’s so much to understand about how hormones affect the body,” says Fritsch. “We can’t treat them in isolation without looking at how everything interacts.”

A New Model for Corporate Wellness

Fritsch has also adapted her program for corporate wellness, focusing on the aging workforce and the challenges associated with midlife health issues in high-stress environments. Research from the Harvard Business Review reveals that companies investing in wellness programs see improvements in productivity and employee retention. However, most wellness programs focus on mental resilience, neglecting the physical and hormonal aspects that can impact performance.

Fritsch created a corporate offering that provides companies with resources to support their employees as they navigate these changes. Her program includes targeted support for senior staff, who often experience stress and burnout related to hormonal changes that could be managed with the right knowledge and tools.

“Many executives are under the impression that exhaustion and burnout are just a part of getting older,” Fritsch says. “The truth is, there are underlying hormonal factors that, if addressed, can improve not just quality of life but also work performance.”

Expanding Access to Midlife Wellness

One of Fritsch’s long-term goals is to establish a global network of SRB&B® certified practitioners to provide more accessible, specialized support. Her program is open to many professionals, including fitness trainers, nutritionists, therapists, and even medical doctors. Practitioners who complete the certification gain an understanding of midlife health challenges that they can integrate into their practice.

This approach has already gained traction in Europe, where Fritsch’s certification program has begun to address the rising demand for midlife wellness support. Her next step is to expand to the U.S. and U.K., two markets with increasing awareness of midlife health issues but limited specialized services. A 2023 study indicated a shortage of nearly 170,000 certified health coaches in the U.S., with demand growing as more individuals seek support for age-related health concerns.

“There’s incredible untapped potential here,” Fritsch says. “When women—and men—learn how to work with their bodies instead of against them, the results are transformative.”