Why your budget affects your job

Written by
Peter Dunn

Your budget—or lack thereof—affects your job in more ways than you can imagine. If you have no control of your household budget, you become more and more dependent on your salary as a financial savior. In the process, you surrender the last and greatest financial power you possess—the control of your personal spending—to your employer and the market forces that it operates within.

How often have you heard of a person who has taken an unsatisfactory job at a higher salary in an attempt to alleviate financial stress at home? Everyone knows a person in this situation. If that same person put as much effort into mastering their budget, they would save more each year than their additional salary could provide. But not only would they save more money, they would save the mental, emotional and physical toll that an unrewarding job can take on an employee.

Let’s say that same person could budget so well that they could quit their unsatisfactory job and seek out a lower-paying job that was more rewarding, less stressful and more in line with their true passions.

Most people have it all backwards. They believe that they need to make more money in order to help their household. In fact, more often that not, people should fix their household finances so that they can improve their performance and experience in the workplace. When you spend the majority of your waking hours at work, wouldn’t you want to spend them in a position in which you felt fulfilled? And if you felt fulfilled at work, wouldn’t some of that positive energy start to seep into other areas of your life? Yes. The answer is yes.

When you take control of your budget, you can take the financial power back. Your salary will no longer be your financial savior and work will be a place you enjoy rather than endure.

Step up your financial wellness game.

Stay up-to-date with the latest in employee wellbeing from the desk of Pete the Planner®. Subscribe to the monthly newsletter to get industry insights and proven strategies on how to be the wellness champion your team wants you to be.