The Habit of Taking Care of YOU!

    Happy Thursday SWARM Moms!

     As we learned in a previous post: Your independence is dependent upon you having control over your finances!   Have you taken any steps to improve the quality of your financial life?  If yes, please consider sharing what you have learned with us.  After all, this is the goal of the SWARM community!

     SWARM is always thinking about what single moms can do to move forward into a more financially secure future.  Today we share some thoughts on different ways to improve your physical sense of well being while improving your chances for a better financial future.  It's begins with developing the habit of taking care of you.

     If you are not already in the habit of taking care of yourself, this could be very challenging. After all, we are supposed to nurture those around us.  Sometimes it is hard to find time for ourselves.  The truth is, we can't take care of others unless we are also take care of ourselves.

Are you wondering how  this is going to relate to your finances?

     Simple.  If you don't take care of yourself, your health suffers, your family suffers and your finances suffer.  It is expensive to be sick in this country.  Even if you have insurance, chances are good that it does not pay for everything.  Most insured Americans have some sort of co-pay, a healthy size deductible and a limited amount of paid sick days.  This means that if you get sick enough you will end up taking money out of your savings plan (if you have one) and re-directing that money to pay your bills.

     You can be proactive with your health and incorporate some preventative measures to ease the financial burden of illnesses that may come your way.  Yes, there are some real steps you can take to help keep you up and running.

     Start with healthy eating.  It seems as though we hear of new 'super foods' on a fairly regular basis and just as common are the updated lists of foods we need to limit or avoid, (i.e. eggs). Then inevitably, the findings are reversed and it appears that foods, once thought to be unhealthy (eggs),  aren't really that bad for you (in moderation).

      In Moderation.
When we are told that eggs (or anything else) are ok in moderation, it simply means that moderate quantities are fine. This is reasonable advice and it holds true for almost everything in life.  Moderation.  Nothing in excess. Balanced.

     Common Knowledge...fruits, veggies, lean meats, fish, low-fat dairy, plenty of water...
For most people these are the foods you should be eating.  Limit or avoid junk food, alcohol and soda pop. These are money wasters.  Consuming these products is equivalent to throwing your money away.  There are no benefits to junk food, including alcohol.  I know there are lots of stories and studies about red wine,  You can get the same benefit of red wine from grape juice.

***  Try this experiment.  Add up the receipts from the junk food you have purchased for the previous month and multiply that number by 12.  This is money you could use for something else.  Something of value; a life experience perhaps.

     Please note, SWARM  info sharing is not meant to replace the advice of a doctor, you will need to find out from your physician what your body needs to maintain or attain optimal health. You may be someone who must avoid certain foods. Do yourself a favor and find out.

Exercise
     Healthy eating is good, but, it is not the only part of this 'self-loving' habit that you need to incorporate into your life.

     'A body in motion, tends to stay in motion...'  (Isaac Newton)  And a body that stops moving gets very comfortable in its inactivity (SWARM).  Don't be that single mom!  Get up off that couch, get out of that driver seat, (you are more than a chauffeur!) and lace up those sneakers. Get moving! Never let an opportunity to exercise pass you by. It is not selfish to take a 30 minute walk, go for a bike ride or learn to play golf. Our bodies need to move in order to stay fit, so the next time you drop your child off at a school function, go out to the track and walk a couple of miles.

     *** Get with your physician to find out if you have any health issues that may prevent you from beginning an exercise routine.  This really is necessary in order to start any sort of rigorous exercising program and if you are a beginner, you don't know what is rigorous for your body.  Your doctor can tell you.  Once you have your doctors ok to begin or increase your level of activity, it is imperative that you begin right away.  Why? Because you will reap the rewards the first day, (even if you are a bit sore the next morning).  You will be building strength and endurance, increasing your energy level, releasing hormones that help reduce stress. Best of all, exercise will help you look and feel better. A huge psychological lift!

Quiet  Reflection
    Working in tandem with exercise and healthy eating is prayer and meditation.  There are many health benefits associated with removing yourself from the chaos that is life, if only for a few moments, and taking some tine to pray or meditate.  This may be the point where you asked incredulously, 'how is quiet time ever going to happen?'  If your children are young and take naps, make this your personal quiet time.  If you have older children and they participate in activities that involve you driving them to or from said activity, arrive early and pray/meditate while you wait.  Otherwise, you can always get up early, stay up late or, if you work, make lunch time your reflective time.  You will notice an improved difference in your ability to focus and concentrate and you might have a bit more patience for those temper tantrums, the teen angst or those annoying co-workers. Less stress and a more peaceful psyche... not a bad investment of your time.  Try to do this for 15-20 minutes a day. Seriously!

Social Life
     It is really important to have a social life.  As single moms, this can be very challenging.  You might think, ok, I understand the need for a healthy diet and exercise, prayer and meditation, but really, a social life?  Single moms need to maintain healthy relationships outside of the family.  It doesn't matter if you have 1 good friend or 20, you must maintain and make time  for your social relationships.  The benefit to having a social life away from the family is maintaining your personal identity.  This is really important because you are really important and who you are matters.  If you were married your social life would revolve around you and your partner, as well as your family. As a single mom, however, your time is rarely your own, and you might not be focused on making it so.

Spending time with friends allows us freedoms that you can not always get with your family.   This is not selfish. This is necessary.

      Healthy body. . . Healthy mind. . .Healthy relationships . . .

I hope this post has served as a reminder of how important it is to take care of yourself and the benefits associated with doing so. It's not just about peace of mind and looking better, it's about the potential to create and have the life you want to have.  Each moment is precious.  Every moment matters.  Spend your time wisely!