What is personal finance management?
Financial wellness is more than just a buzzword – it’s an attitude. Personal finance management means developing a healthy relationship with your money, so you can have the freedom and opportunities you want. Its key elements are as follows:
Actively make a plan and stick to it. If you can do this and shake off any baggage about money, it’ll feel almost as good as a day at the spa.
- Check your mindset: How do you think about money? Is it your friend or your enemy? Your attitude holds the key to everything else.
- Set goals: Simply living it up won’t cut it. Set yourself specific financial goals and work towards them.
- Create a budget: Get an overview of your income and expenses. Draw up a budget and make sure you earn more than you spend.
- Save and invest wisely: A nest egg is essential, and you can think about investing at the same time.
- Think about the future: The earlier you start, the more relaxed you’ll be as you get older. Invest wisely and benefit from the compound-interest effect.
Actively make a plan and stick to it. If you can do this and shake off any baggage about money, it’ll feel almost as good as a day at the spa.
Wellness? What does that actually mean? Does it mean having a bronzed, toned, vitamin-enriched body, sipping on a matcha latte, and bagging a promo code for the hottest gym in town – as seen on TikTok? While that might be the definition of wellness in 2023, it was originally a holistic concept about achieving harmony between body and soul. And since money matters are never far from any of our minds, financial wellness is more than just a trend.
👀 Personal finance management: look after yourself – and your money
Understandably, the first thing most of us think of when we hear the word «wellness» is a spa visit and everything else to do with our well-being. Your body and soul are like a Ferrari that can be polished up with treats such as sport, superfoods and me time until they sparkle. But did you ever stop to consider that your financial well-being is a big part of your world and deserves just as much attention as a supercar? What follows next might seem impossible, but…
YOUR MONEY NEEDS A SPA DAY TOO!
Think we’re kidding? While we might be getting a little creative, the fact remains that you can only feel truly relaxed and lower your stress levels significantly if you keep an eye on your money and know what your short- and long-term plans for financial freedom look like. When all is said and done, financial wellness simply means having a healthy and organised approach to money. Whether you earn 50’000 CHF or 150’000 CHF, the main point is not to maximise profits, but to make the best of what you’ve got.
YOUR MONEY NEEDS A SPA DAY TOO!
Think we’re kidding? While we might be getting a little creative, the fact remains that you can only feel truly relaxed and lower your stress levels significantly if you keep an eye on your money and know what your short- and long-term plans for financial freedom look like. When all is said and done, financial wellness simply means having a healthy and organised approach to money. Whether you earn 50’000 CHF or 150’000 CHF, the main point is not to maximise profits, but to make the best of what you’ve got.
1. Yuh: your financial wellness coach
Financial wellness doesn’t just happen by chance – you have to actively work at it, take a good look at your mindset and come up with some kind of plan to help you achieve your goals. While this might all sound a little overwhelming and far too much like hard work at first (which, of course, is the opposite of wellness), don’t panic! Fortunately, we’re specialists with a few ideas to help you work out your own personal wellness plan.
2. Work on your relationship to money
As granny always said, a good financial mindset is like a six-pack for your finances. Okay, your granny might not have actually said that, but you know what we mean. Before you do anything else, you need to ask yourself: what is my attitude to money? Do I think of it as my happy place or enemy territory? This depends on how you manage your money.
If you have a positive relationship with it, anything is possible, with nothing stopping you from thinking big and being open to consciously organising your finances. Be curious, keep reading up on your interests (articles, blogs, podcasts etc.) and always remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day. The more you know about money, the more your perspective will change, and you’ll eventually realise that you feel comfortable in your own financial skin.
If you have a positive relationship with it, anything is possible, with nothing stopping you from thinking big and being open to consciously organising your finances. Be curious, keep reading up on your interests (articles, blogs, podcasts etc.) and always remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day. The more you know about money, the more your perspective will change, and you’ll eventually realise that you feel comfortable in your own financial skin.
3. Define your personal finance goals
The German philosopher and dramatist Lessing once said: «The slowest person who never loses sight of their goal is still faster than someone who dashes about without one.» With advice like that, Lessing would make a great financial coach today, as setting goals is vital when it comes to financial planning.
You should bear the following in mind: Be as specific as possible and think about what you need to do to achieve your precise goal and how you can manage your finances accordingly. You might want to have 30’000 CHF in your account three years from now, buy a house in the country, invest a little in charitable projects, or travel around the world. Of course, getting filthy rich quick might be your top priority. To achieve this, you either need to have the iron will and discipline of an Arnold Schwarzenegger, or love taking risks – or both.
After all, the bigger the returns you want, the bigger the risks you need to take. Bear in mind that anyone who wants to get rich quick can become poor just as fast. The more realistic your goals are, the more motivated you’ll be to stay on the ball. Don’t forget to check your progress regularly, and don’t let yourself be discouraged by little setbacks along the way.
You should bear the following in mind: Be as specific as possible and think about what you need to do to achieve your precise goal and how you can manage your finances accordingly. You might want to have 30’000 CHF in your account three years from now, buy a house in the country, invest a little in charitable projects, or travel around the world. Of course, getting filthy rich quick might be your top priority. To achieve this, you either need to have the iron will and discipline of an Arnold Schwarzenegger, or love taking risks – or both.
After all, the bigger the returns you want, the bigger the risks you need to take. Bear in mind that anyone who wants to get rich quick can become poor just as fast. The more realistic your goals are, the more motivated you’ll be to stay on the ball. Don’t forget to check your progress regularly, and don’t let yourself be discouraged by little setbacks along the way.
4. Create a budget
Anyone who thinks wellness simply means chilling out and lazing around is doomed – no pain, no gain! It’s essential if you want to manage your finances. It’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty, so roll up your sleeves and take a deep breath, as you might need to jot a few things down. First, have a look at all of your sources of income (and yes, that includes your pocket money from granny). Next, look at what you spend your money on (and how much) – from standard things such as utility bills and food, to nice-to-haves like clothes, Starbucks, streaming services, fitness apps and so on.
While all your essential outgoings are obviously not up for discussion, take a moment to think about which of the «treats» you could go without to save money. Calculate the difference between your income and expenses. If the number that comes out is positive, you can put some money aside (with Yuh, you can invest in saving projects, for example, and save in a targeted way). If it’s negative, you need to think hard about where you can cut back.
Set yourself regular reminders to review your budget and adjust it where necessary. At the end of the day, life is all about flow – of money, in this case – and standing still is never an option.
While all your essential outgoings are obviously not up for discussion, take a moment to think about which of the «treats» you could go without to save money. Calculate the difference between your income and expenses. If the number that comes out is positive, you can put some money aside (with Yuh, you can invest in saving projects, for example, and save in a targeted way). If it’s negative, you need to think hard about where you can cut back.
Set yourself regular reminders to review your budget and adjust it where necessary. At the end of the day, life is all about flow – of money, in this case – and standing still is never an option.
5. Save yourself happy
The purpose of a budget (see above) is to get to grips with your short-term finances – and in doing so, make sure you can save and invest in your long-term goals. Truly smart savers start by building up a buffer (three to six months’ salary is a good benchmark here) to keep fear and worry to a minimum. This automatically improves your financial well-being.
Another strategy is to set aside a specific percentage of your salary (excluding taxes and Pillar 3a savings) every month. While the specific percentage depends heavily on your salary and expenses, a rough rule of thumb is around 10 percent. The best way to do this is by setting up a standing order to your savings account that is ideally scheduled to go out whenever your wages land in your account. This «out of sight, out of mind» approach works extremely well with Yuh’s autosaving function.
Tip: Depositing small amounts regularly gives you more in the long run than sporadically putting aside larger amounts.
Another strategy is to set aside a specific percentage of your salary (excluding taxes and Pillar 3a savings) every month. While the specific percentage depends heavily on your salary and expenses, a rough rule of thumb is around 10 percent. The best way to do this is by setting up a standing order to your savings account that is ideally scheduled to go out whenever your wages land in your account. This «out of sight, out of mind» approach works extremely well with Yuh’s autosaving function.
Tip: Depositing small amounts regularly gives you more in the long run than sporadically putting aside larger amounts.
6. Invest in your happiness
If you’ve been following Yuh for a while now, you’ll know what we always preach: saving is good (we even offer 0.75% interest without an upper limit) but investing wisely is better, as it gives you the opportunity to generate higher returns than savings accounts whose value can fall due to inflation alone. Despite this, many still dismiss or reject the idea of investing – unjustly, we believe, as there is a suitable investment to meet every need and risk appetite.
The number one rule of investment is probably «only invest as much as you are prepared to lose». While only you know how much that is, you should never dip into your nest egg to find it. Diversifying your portfolio – that is, spreading your risk across different asset classes – is every bit as important. At Yuh, you will find a large selection of the most popular assets, including equities, ETFs, trending themes and crypto, and you can even trade in the Rolls-Royces of investment products from as little as 25 CHF.
Another tip: If you are looking to take a slow and steady approach, you can also invest a fixed amount each month via Yuh’s savings plan (recurring investment). You can also read our article Investment 101.
The number one rule of investment is probably «only invest as much as you are prepared to lose». While only you know how much that is, you should never dip into your nest egg to find it. Diversifying your portfolio – that is, spreading your risk across different asset classes – is every bit as important. At Yuh, you will find a large selection of the most popular assets, including equities, ETFs, trending themes and crypto, and you can even trade in the Rolls-Royces of investment products from as little as 25 CHF.
Another tip: If you are looking to take a slow and steady approach, you can also invest a fixed amount each month via Yuh’s savings plan (recurring investment). You can also read our article Investment 101.
7. Preparing for retirement
Finances management has a lot to do with financial freedom – the luxury of creating some breathing space without having to check your account balance every five minutes. Of course, each of us has a different definition of this luxury, but in principle, the idea is to make sure that your money works independently for you and that your assets generate sufficient returns to cover your expenses later in life.
At this point, you will no doubt be asking yourself how you can catapult yourself into this financial nirvana, to which we say: it all starts with the right pension scheme. The younger you start and the more you stick at it, the better the results will be.
When it comes to investing, the results speak for themselves, with the equity market generating returns of between 6 and 9 percent over the years. According to Forbes Advisor, you can invest up to 80% of your pension assets in equities if you are between 20 and 30 years old, as you still have half your life ahead of you to offset (and withstand) any fluctuations in the market.
The older you are, the more experts advise you to shift your focus towards funds and bonds, as these offer greater security. It is always a good idea not to put all your eggs in one basket when investing, and instead diversify your portfolio with a wide range of different investment products.
With Yuh 3a, we have created a Pillar 3a pension product that you can use to tick all these boxes. Last but not least, don’t forget about the compound interest effect. As invested assets grow exponentially, even small yet regular amounts can grow to become a small fortune over the years.
At this point, you will no doubt be asking yourself how you can catapult yourself into this financial nirvana, to which we say: it all starts with the right pension scheme. The younger you start and the more you stick at it, the better the results will be.
When it comes to investing, the results speak for themselves, with the equity market generating returns of between 6 and 9 percent over the years. According to Forbes Advisor, you can invest up to 80% of your pension assets in equities if you are between 20 and 30 years old, as you still have half your life ahead of you to offset (and withstand) any fluctuations in the market.
The older you are, the more experts advise you to shift your focus towards funds and bonds, as these offer greater security. It is always a good idea not to put all your eggs in one basket when investing, and instead diversify your portfolio with a wide range of different investment products.
With Yuh 3a, we have created a Pillar 3a pension product that you can use to tick all these boxes. Last but not least, don’t forget about the compound interest effect. As invested assets grow exponentially, even small yet regular amounts can grow to become a small fortune over the years.
Active finance management is key to financial wellness
Here’s the bottom line: financial well-being is not so much a luxury as a necessity.
Unfortunately, doing a David Copperfield and just waiting to see what happens is not enough. Instead, you need to read up on every possible option and be proactive, as only you can discover how you can strengthen your personal relationship with money, come up with a suitable plan and then put it into practice.
Though none of us like to admit it, you can only feel good if your money is in good shape – in a way, financial well-being also means emotional stability. Your mindset plays a crucial role here. If you have a positive attitude, you can develop your skills, think big, consciously tailor your finances to suit your preferences – and start playing “I Feel Good” by James Brown at full volume!
Unfortunately, doing a David Copperfield and just waiting to see what happens is not enough. Instead, you need to read up on every possible option and be proactive, as only you can discover how you can strengthen your personal relationship with money, come up with a suitable plan and then put it into practice.
Though none of us like to admit it, you can only feel good if your money is in good shape – in a way, financial well-being also means emotional stability. Your mindset plays a crucial role here. If you have a positive attitude, you can develop your skills, think big, consciously tailor your finances to suit your preferences – and start playing “I Feel Good” by James Brown at full volume!