There was a period in my adult life when money controlled everything about me—what I ate, how I lived, what I feared, and how I slept. I wasn’t thinking about wellness back then. I was feeling financial stress and only thinking about survival.
There was the food bank.
Borrowing money from family.
Washing clothes in a bathtub.
Sharing one car with my ex-wife.
Choosing between bills and groceries.
And then, after the divorce, something clicked. My mission was simple and singular: get out of debt and reclaim stability.
I found the cheapest (and sketchiest) apartment I could. I worked three jobs. And somewhere in that chaos, a credit union manager took a chance on me and approved a small loan that helped me take my first real steps out of the hole.
That’s when I started researching—because that’s what I do when I need to rebuild a part of my life. I read everything I could about money. I learned what no one ever taught me growing up:
- how to build credit
- how interest actually works
- what IRAs and Roth accounts are
- how the stock market isn’t just gambling
- why an emergency fund is non-negotiable
- how to see money differently
And in that journey, two books changed the way I think about finances forever:
Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Financial Freedom by Grant Sabatier.
They’re still on my bookshelf today.
Why Financial Stress Belongs in a Conversation About Health
Most people don’t realize how deeply financial strain affects the body.
Stress is the invisible epidemic—I say it often because it’s true—and financial stress is one of the strongest (and most ignored) contributors. You can be eating well, exercising consistently, drinking water, and sleeping decently, yet still feel suffocated because the weight of money is always on your chest.
And this isn’t rare. Not even close.
- Only one quarter of Americans have the bare minimum recommended emergency savings.
- 42% of Americans have no personal savings at all.
- The average credit card debt – as of early 2025 – is about $7,300.
- 11.5% of Americans live under the poverty line, and that number doesn’t include people hovering just above it, people living paycheck to paycheck, or those who don’t realize they’re living outside their means.
This is the environment we’re operating in.
This is the background stress most people carry every day.
And if you’re a health coach—if you care about holistic wellness—you can’t ignore that.
The Books That Helped Me Understand Money on a Human Level
Financial Freedom — Grant Sabatier
If you need clear, actionable steps to change your financial situation, this book delivers.
Sabatier breaks down:
- debt repayment strategies
- types of savings and investment accounts
- the psychology of valuing your dollar
- realistic ways to increase your income
- even creative approaches like renting a room or starting micro side hustles
He writes in a way that makes you feel capable—not behind.
Your Money or Your Life — Vicki Robin
This book is perfect if money overwhelms you or if you’re tired of feeling like finances control your time, energy, and mental bandwidth.
Robin reframes money through the lens of life energy—your most limited and precious resource.
She teaches you to calculate what your dollars really cost in terms of your time, your emotional labor, and your presence in your own life.
What I love most is the lack of judgement.
She doesn’t shame you for what you don’t know.
She gives you tools to understand money without losing your soul in the process.
Why This Matters for Your Health
Financial stress isn’t just a number in your bank account.
It’s:
- tight shoulders
- elevated cortisol
- interrupted sleep
- emotional eating
- chronic fatigue
- irritability
- difficulty making decisions
- lack of motivation
- fear of opening your mail
Money anxiety is body anxiety.
Mental health, physical health, emotional health, financial health—they’re all woven together. If one collapses, it pulls the others down with it.
This is why I talk about money on a health blog.
And why I talk to clients about it when needed.
Not because I’m a financial expert, but because health coaching has to be human.
A Simple Monthly Practice: Start With One Hour
You don’t need a full financial overhaul to start improving financial wellbeing. You just need consistency.
Once a month, set aside one hour to check in:
- Look at your checking and savings balances
- Review credit card usage
- Track recurring subscriptions
- Check your paychecks or income flow
- Move money to savings or investments (once you have the breathing room)
- Chip away at debt, even in small increments
- Write a few notes: what went well, what didn’t, and what needs adjusting
It does not need to be perfect.
It just needs to be one hour.
A single, deliberate step in the right direction.
A Practical 7-Day Challenge: Track Every Penny
This exercise is simple and uncomfortable—and incredibly powerful.
For seven days:
- Keep every receipt
- Log into your bank account
- Write down every digital transaction
- Track every card swipe
- Note every Amazon purchase, every coffee, every snack
At the end of the week, sit with it.
Then next time you do it, set a small challenge:
- How many purchases can you put back?
- How much can you redirect into savings?
- What’s the minimum you can comfortably live on for a week?
- What spending patterns surprise you?
Awareness is the first step toward change.
There Are Plenty of Free Resources Too
If you don’t want to read these books, that’s okay. There’s a massive amount of free content online.
Mr. Money Mustache is a classic starting point (I still need to explore the “Start Here” section myself). The FIRE community is filled with ideas, breakdowns, and real-life examples of people building financial independence.
And none of them will shame you for not knowing something.
We all start somewhere.
Final Thoughts
If finances are part of your daily stressors—or if you suspect they might be—give yourself the gift of attention. Even if you’re not in crisis, it’s worth the time.
Your health rests on a foundation of stability, and while money isn’t the only piece, it’s a significant one. When you bring awareness to your financial life, you reduce a tremendous weight your nervous system carries every day.
Build a foundation.
Make a plan.
Take one small step at a time.
And above all—give yourself grace. You’re not alone in this.