Op-Ed: Financial wellbeing is important for teachers

But how do they take care of their wellbeing? Especially their financial wellbeing… This year has been a true challenge for everyone, and teachers have gone through a lot of stress, anxiety, and challenges trying to balance face-to-face learning with home schooling.

Good money habits are often not taught at school as a part of the curriculum and most of us learn from our environment, parents, and friends. It is important for teachers to consider ways they might improve their financial wellbeing. Not only so that they can benefit themselves, but so they can pass on basic understanding to their students and break the pattern.

Here is the CODE of financial wellness for teachers.

C – Consider what you are going to do with your $$$

Teachers work long hours and are true givers. But life extends beyond work – you only have one body, one mind, and one life to live. If this is the case, the money you earn is not just for essentials, but for fun too. With some planning, you can achieve all your goals and dreams. There is no ‘one right way’, but set goals based on what you want (not your friends, family, or anyone else).

O – Organise your spending

Once you’ve identified what truly matters to you, the next step is to allocate funds towards each of these categories. As educators, you plan classwork every single day. When it comes to organising your finances, it does not have to be that hard.

We all have fixed and variable expenses. It is relatively easy to apportion money towards fixed expenses. Create a wish list of your wants and desires and assign a portion of your income for fun experiences.

D – Decide how much you have for spending

This is where a lot of people, including teachers go wrong. When the pay comes into the bank account, most people spend first and save if there is any leftover. Sometimes, if there is not enough, credit cards and/or personal loans seem to be the solution. This is a case of entitled spending. It does not have to be this way! The opposite of entitled spending is called intentional spending. This means being intentional with what you spend, how you save and invest.

E – Engage with your vision/goal to make it happen

If your ‘why’ is not clear or important to you, the how gets harder. With so much happening around you, it can be hard to focus on your goals. As teachers, you are skilled at engaging students in classrooms, so use those skills to help yourself engage with your vision,.

My wish is for every teacher to be a master of their finances and lead a financially successful, happy life.