by Guest | Jun 1, 2022 | Work Well
Don’t know where or how to start with planning your financial future? You are not alone. This is the most common email request I receive so I thought it warranted a blog post. To create a Financial Dream Plan, you need to know what you want. This can be a difficult exercise. We are often challenged with verbalizing our desires or imagining our future self. We have a notion of what we want but when asked we can’t provide specific details. And for dreams to come true, they need to be specific.
Here are two fun ways to start dreaming about your future:
1.Plan a Dream Vacation completely budgeted on paper.
Go all out. Where do you want to go? How long will you be gone? Alone or does someone go with you? Pick a time of year, research flight routes and costs. Plan the itinerary. Where will you stay? Accommodations vary based on your dream (i.e. Backpacking, Airbnb or Luxury Resort). What kind of activities will you do? Are you going for adventure or relaxation? What kind of food will you eat? Who will you meet? What kind of memories will you make?
2. Plan your Perfect Day by the hour starting when you wake to when you fall asleep.
Would you wake automatically or to an alarm? Would you have a morning routine?
How about exercise, meditation or gratitude? What about journaling? Would you eat breakfast? If yes to breakfast, what would you eat? Be specific!
What time would you arrive to work? Do you have a commute or work from home? What kind of meetings do you attend? Or do you volunteer? Plan it all out…snacks, meals, cocktails or not. Do you meet up with friends? Play sports? Watch TV? Take a walk or have sex with your partner? You decide. It’s totally your Perfect Day.
This exercise works best the more specific you can be. You may want to create a Pinterest Board for visual representation of your Dream Vacation or write out your entire Perfect Day in your journal. I encourage doodling in the margins of your journal since doodling activates big picture thinking.
Your Dream Vacation and Perfect Day will be as unique as you are. When you start this process, it engages your planning brain (and you’ll need it firing on all cylinders to create your Financial Dream Plan). Most days we live our day the same way we did the day before, almost in default. This is common as our primitive brain likes consistency.
That consistency can make us feel stuck though, especially around our finances. How are we growing in knowledge and wealth if we are following the same process as the prior day, week after week?
This is where activating your planning brain with a fun exercise like a Dream Vacation or Perfect Day starts to get you to think about the future and what do you really want. Your brain can then move onto your finances.
After the Dream Vacation or Dream Day exercise, now write out three financial goals:
- this month, I will:
- this year, I will:
- within the next five years, I will:
How much money do you want to earn? How are you going to provide value to earn that amount? How will you mindfully spend your money? How much will you intentionally save and invest? What kind of financial life do you want to live? Do you want to leave a legacy or are you all about YOLO (you only live once)?
There is no right answer. There is YOUR answer. Write it out. I read that you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. Just think, you may get that Dream Vacation and Perfect Day after all.
If you need assistance with your Financial Dream Plan, keep an eye out for the Financial Wellness Workshops provided by Tillamook County Wellness coming this fall 2022. A written plan will save you hours of worry and thousands of dollars over your lifetime. Plus, you’ll be 42 percent more likely to achieve it and that is good for your health!
AUTHOR: Liz Carroll, Financial Life Coach
Other wellness questions? Email us at info@tillamookcountywellness.org. For more local health and wellness information, visit www.tillamookcountywellness.org or follow Tillamook County Wellness on Facebook and Instagram.
by Guest | Apr 27, 2022 | Work Well
Where we live, work, play, learn, and age has a significant impact on our health. Most Americans spend more than one third of their day, five days per week at their workplace, making this environment inherently tied to our daily routines and overall health. Our workplace can influence our physical well-being, social relationships, and mental health, either positively or negatively depending on the environment. Although employers have the responsibility of providing a safe and hazard-free workplace, they also have the opportunity to promote and prioritize individual employee health. As pointed out by Justin Aufdemauer, the Tillamook Chamber of Commerce President, “Creating a culture of health in our workplaces is important. When the work environment is motivating and fun, there is a greater sense of community. Employees who feel supported are more productive, happier, and healthier.”
Often when we think of “health and wellness,” we think of the goals and intentions we set for ourselves, such as physical exercise after work or packing healthy lunches. Yet, because our workplaces have such a strong impact on our overall well-being, we also included workplace-related activities within our “This Way to Well-Being” map. This activity provides a range of fun, local activities that you can try here in Tillamook County. To learn more about the map and how you can win a prize, visit our website here.
There are several “stops” along the map that serve as starting points for prioritizing workplace wellness:
Take a Stretch or Walk Break:
Sitting or standing for long periods of time can lead to physical imbalances, chronic pain, and illness, but short movement breaks throughout the day can help. To incorporate more movement into your day, try parking a bit farther away from the office, taking the stairs, or scheduling “walking meetings” with your coworkers. You might also find it helpful to set a reminder to stand, stretch and move at your workstation throughout the day. For guidance on a stretching routine you can use at work, visit the Tillamook County Wellness YouTube page for short videos from local YMCA fitness instructors.
Practice Financial Wellness:
Our work and our finances are directly intertwined, and most people report feeling stressed about money at some point in their lives. Thinking about where to start can feel overwhelming, especially when there may be aspects of our finances that we have more or less control over. The first step towards “financial wellness” is taking the time to track monthly spending habits and using that to consciously plan for how much you would like to realistically spend each month. There are many free resources available for creating a budget, including free apps for your phone like Mint (which can also be used in a web browser), or you can find pre-made budgeting templates in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. Check out this recent TCW blog about financial wellness and keep an eye out for more resources coming this summer.
Start a Workplace Wellness Group:
As defined by the World Health Organization, “A healthy workplace is one in which workers and managers collaborate to use a continual improvement process to protect and promote the health, safety, and well-being of all workers.”
Whether you are an employee or an employer, it is worthwhile to take a moment to consider how your work environment can support the wellbeing of you and your coworkers. Are there workplace policies or programs that could support employee physical, mental, social, and emotional wellbeing? Who in your organization would be interested in working towards creating a healthier environment? As a starting point in developing a workplace wellness group, visit the workplace wellness tab on our website.
For more information and resources about the above activities, visit our This Way to Well-Being page and explore our website. By participating in our well-being campaign, you may be eligible to win a prize! See our website or Facebook page for details.
Other wellness questions? Email us at info@tillamookcountywellness.org. For more local health and wellness information, visit www.tillamookcountywellness.org or follow Tillamook County Wellness on Facebook and Instagram.
by Guest | Feb 16, 2022 | Work Well
When we think about our wellness, diet, exercise, and mental health come to mind. In today’s post, we share why your finances should be added to that list – a concept known as “financial wellness.” There is more to cover on this topic than what can fit in a single blog post, so keep an eye out for more information on financial wellness in the future!
A plan for physical wellness might include signing up for a yoga class or doing meal prep on Sundays to make eating healthy easier during the week. A plan for financial wellness includes utilizing tools, as well as developing an understanding of how stress and emotions can play a role in sticking to the plan. Let’s start with one of the most important tools: budgeting. Budgeting keeps track of your income and expenses over a period of time and provides you with information to build long term financial goals, like retirement savings. The elements of a monthly budget include:
- Income (any money coming in, like a paycheck),
- Fixed expenses (things that you need to pay for each month like rent, a mortgage, groceries, credit card bill and the power bill)
- Flexible expenses (things that you don’t have to pay for, but may occur, such as eating out, a Netflix account or buying a ticket to the movies)
- Unplanned expenses (fixing a vehicle or medical bills are examples. You can use past receipts and records to make an estimate of what these expenses might work out to on a monthly timeframe)
- Savings (this includes short term savings that can be used in an emergency, as well as long term savings that might be used to purchase a car, or go towards retirement).
While this can be done easily with pen and paper, using a spreadsheet on a computer makes keeping track and updating your budget much easier. On paper (or the computer), try creating a different column for each category and list all of the items that fall under them. It can be helpful to list items in descending order with the highest dollar items at the top to make it easier to see what is having the greatest impact. Once you have the figures or estimates for these buckets you can put them together to form your budget. First, add up all of your expenses (fixed, flexible, unplanned) with your savings, we will call this Total expenses. Subtract Total expenses from your Income and you are left with what is called Net Income. If you have more money coming in each month than going out, your Net Income will be a positive number. With that number you can estimate what your Net income will be in two months, two years or two decades! The accuracy of that estimate will be less over time, as your income and expenses change, so a monthly budget might be best for estimating up to a few years.
(Total Income) – (Total Expenses) = Net Income
With a positive Net income, you can imagine a future of taking family vacations, going to college, or getting a drift boat. This can make you feel more secure, optimistic, and motivated to reach those goals. Unfortunately, many Americans are finding that at the end of the month more money has gone out than has come in, leaving their budget with a negative Net income. This can happen for a number of reasons including paying a disproportionate amount of your monthly income for things like rent, unexpected expenses, loss of income, or more recently, increasing inflation can play a role. In our next post, we will explore how financial uncertainty can cause stress (impacting your overall health), and what you can do to manage it and take steps toward improving your financial wellness.
AUTHOR: Brett Buesnel, AmeriCorps VISTA at Tillamook County Community Health Center
Other wellness questions? Email us at info@tillamookcountywellness.org. For more local health and wellness information, visit www.tillamookcountywellness.org or follow Tillamook County Wellness on Facebook and Instagram
by Michelle | Dec 23, 2020 | Being Well, Move Well, Work Well
Much love has been poured out in recent months; people supporting local businesses, delivering food boxes and reaching out to others. As we step into a new year, we are reminded that we need to show love to ourselves as well. One way we can do that is by taking steps to care for our own mind, body and spirit at the most fundamental levels.
A friend recently shared a story about her visit with someone who had been struggling mentally, emotionally and physically. When asked to explore what he was really missing and needed more than anything else to get better, it came down to three things: Restoration, Hope and Progress. What this man discovered is truly at the core of what each one of us needs to be well.
Restoration – Our bodies have a built-in mechanism for that. It’s called sleep. If you’ve ever been to Disneyland, it’s amazing to see how clean the park is. Despite thousands of people, including children with ice cream cones, overtaking the park each day, it looks immaculate. For that to happen, a whole crew works all night long to make it look perfect for each new day. Believe it or not, you have a whole Disneyland crew working in your body while you sleep, making necessary repairs, sprucing things up and even helping you retain what you learned during the previous day. We need to give that crew eight hours of quality time each night to get that job done. Setting a regular bedtime, and sticking closely to it on weekends, is important for restoration.
Hope – Remember the TV show, Cheers? Or how about Friends or The Big Bang Theory? What each of these has in common is a sense of belonging among the show’s characters. It sounds cliché but it really is true that sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name. That’s because having a sense of connection with others is vital to our well-being. Belonging to a faith community, support group or fitness class is a great way to build connection; as is joining a club with a shared interest, be it quilting, books, dungeons or dragons. Just getting together regularly with a friend for coffee can fill this need. Even in our current, virtual world, there are ways to gather and share a common experience.
Progress – To move forward. To have a sense of accomplishment is critical for our well-being. The two most important ingredients for making progress are what we eat and how we move. Wait, what? It’s true. Because food and activity are how we derive our energy, these are the two most fundamental things we need to progress toward any goal. Making small steps to our daily habits is progress in and of itself. When we eat healthier foods and exercise regularly, we have more energy, think more clearly, and are more productive.
As you ease into 2021, what small changes will you make to bring Restoration, Hope and Progress into your life?
by Guest | Apr 30, 2020 | Being Well, Work Well
May is Mental Health Awareness month, which is very timely considering the added stress, anxiety and uncertainty caused by COVID-19. Generally speaking, stress isn’t all bad. It drives us to perform well in certain situations such as meeting deadlines and delivering public speeches. The challenge with stress is when it becomes chronic. Constant stress and anxiety can cause increased levels of certain hormones, such as cortisol, which can cause systems of our body to react in ways that negatively affect our health.
A certain amount of stress is inevitable, so it is important to find ways to successfully manage stress levels to reduce those negative health consequences. In recent years, people have been turning to meditation, yoga, tai chi and qi gong to help manage the effects of stress and improve their overall health. Once considered solely Eastern religious practices, these activities are becoming increasingly popular among the general public and with researchers due to proven benefits to physical and mental health as well as brain function.
Thanks to a growing body of research, we have a better understanding of how these practices help people manage stress levels and improve health. According to a 2018 article published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, the beneficial effects of these activities are well established and share a common foundation. A large-scale review of research studies named in the article states that these types of activities “reduce multiple physiological stress markers” including “heart rate, blood pressure, cortisol levels and inflammatory bodies” (Pascoe et al., 2017). The underlying mechanism associated with these health improvements is tied to the function of a specific nerve, called the Vagus Nerve, and its relationship to breathing.
Contemplative activities like meditation, yoga, tai chi and qi gong all involve paying attention to and modifying breath patterns. Specific breathing techniques shared by these practices include: 1) slowing down breath cycles, reducing the number of breaths per minute, 2) emphasis on slowing exhalations compared to inhalations and 3) shifting from “chest breathing” to “belly breathing,” often referred to as diaphragmatic breathing.
Practical cues for this type of breathing include:
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Relaxing muscles around the face, neck, shoulders, arms, and ribs
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Inhaling and exhaling through the nose with the mouth closed
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Allowing the lungs to fully expand with each inhale and fully “deflate” with each exhale
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Allowing the rib cage to expand and diaphragm to lower with each inhale and then reversing that process with each exhale
Research has consistently supported the benefits of these breathing practices in that they lower heart rate, blood pressure and blood lipid profiles; all factors tied to chronic disease risk (Ospina et al. 2007). More current research involving the vagus nerve is helping to explain why breathing in this way causes these changes. The vagus nerve is a unique part of the nervous system. It has two branches that run from the brainstem throughout the whole body, connecting directly with all organs and systems of the body, including the heart, lungs and digestive system. Simply stated, one branch of the vagus nerve is involved in the flight/flight reaction (sympathetic nervous system) and the other branch involves the rest/digest system (parasympathetic nervous system). Just as the name implies, the parasympathetic system puts the brakes on the sympathetic nervous system, helping the body shift from a fight or flight stress response to a more relaxed state. Slow, relaxed breathing activates the parasympathetic rest and digest system, sending signals of safety and security to the organs of the body, causing physiological changes that support optimal heart, lung and digestive functions.
In a nutshell, breathing activities such as those mentioned here, help reorient the body’s nervous system response. Over time and with consistent practice, we are better able to recognize unhealthy reactions to stress and use breathing techniques to balance the systems of our bodies in ways that improve our health and lower our risk for disease.
In addition to classes offered through the YMCA, NCRD and other local partners, there are many free on-line resources for developing these breathing techniques. Michelle Jenck, who holds a Master of Education in Health and Kinesiology, has created a short video demonstration (https://youtu.be/2Ft1vFiMsV8) of a simple breathing activity. During this time of uncertainty and added stress, consider adding a five-minute breathing practice to your daily routine to help regulate and improve your body’s stress response.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6189422/
AUTHOR: Michelle Jenck, M.Ed. Health & Kinesiology
For more local health and wellness information follow Tillamook County Wellness on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
by Michelle | Apr 10, 2020 | Being Well, Work Well
Staying connected and informed is key to keeping our community strong. In the wake of COVID-19, community partners have banded together to support the health and well-being of local residents. We wanted to shine a light on some of the ways Tillamook County Wellness community partners are taking care of each other and Making Healthy Happen – even during a crisis.
Healthcare Partners are Keeping our Community Safe & Healthy:
- Tillamook County Community Health Centers has set up a drive-up health check point using the mobile clinic van, located on Pacific & 9th Street in Tillamook. They also have a nurse’s line so people can call ahead for guidance and to schedule appointments (503) 842-3940. Visit their website for more information at https://tillamookchc.org/
- Adventist Health has Urgent Care and ER check points where all visitors, employees and patients receive temperature checks and where the best path for care can be determined for those who need it. A virtual chat line for COVID-19 can be found on their website at https://www.adventisthealth.org/tillamook/.
- Rinehart Clinic is also modifying the way they provide patient care during this time. Be sure to visit their website to learn more and for information on how to get signed up for the Oregon Health Plan. https://www.rinehartclinic.org/
- This group created an opportunity for volunteer efforts to be coordinated and mobilized very quickly. Through their work, individual needs are being met with a rapid response. They have also created a way for those wanting to serve to do so through intake forms found in the group’s Facebook page and on the Tillamook County Pioneer’s website. VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED for local food pantries and meal deliveries. Be sure to sign up for a shift if you are able and at low risk for exposure. There is also a printable, paper form people can fill out and send in for needs requests.
Helping the Helpers
- Many community members have brought food and supplies to show their appreciation for our healthcare providers and other frontline workers, including everyone working at grocery stores and restaurants offering take-out meals. We extend our gratitude for their selfless service.
- A special shout-out to our partners at the Tillamook County Creamery Association for delivering ice cream to our public health and hospital employees! It has been a bright spot for tired workers!
- The YMCA has donated staff and resources to operate a COVID-19 Resource hotline. The hotline is available to all Tillamook County residents, YMCA membership is not needed. In addition to lending a friendly voice to those who are feeling isolated, this service is providing people with information on how to access resources in the county. The hotline is operational from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week by phone: 503-374-0750, or email: help@tillamookymca.org.
Personal Protective Equipment Donation Sites:
- Adventist Health has placed mask donation bins in place at the Adventist Health Tillamook medical center front entrance and the urgent care/emergency department check point, as well as by entrances at the Pacific City and Manzanita medical offices.
- The YMCA has setup a donation site for new, unopened personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks and gloves. A list of needed PPE and supplies is available on Tillamook County Wellness’s COVID-19 Resource page. Donations are to be dropped off at the front door of the YMCA (610 Stillwell Ave) from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Appointments can be scheduled through help@tillamookymca.org.
Food Pantries & Meal Deliveries
- Northwest Senior & Disability “Meals on Wheels” deliveries continue thanks to volunteer drivers. All senior dining centers are offering a “Pick Me Up Café” at the Tillamook, Nehalem and Pacific City dining center locations. People who would normally come to the center for a meal will have the option to come and pick up a hot meal to go during the regularly scheduled time for lunches to be served.
- For a complete list of food pantries, where you can receive or volunteer services, visit our Tillamook County Wellness website. A huge thank you goes out to the Oregon Food Bank Tillamook County branch and all their staff for ensuring access to food to people in need.
- Tillamook School District staff volunteers are delivering meals to students along regular bus routes. Food pantries at the high school and junior high remain open for emergency food pick-up.
Childcare & Schools:
- The Childcare Resource & Referral collaborative is working with local schools and childcare centers to set up emergency childcare for essential workers. Watch Facebook for updates or call 211 for more info.
- Teachers are contacting families and setting up supports for home-based education. Our teachers go above and beyond every day. Our deepest gratitude for everything they do!
Support
- CARE has an emergency Rental Assistance Fund. Applications are available for download on their website. Once complete there will be a secure drop box outside of the CARE office (2310 First St., Tillamook) or you can email them to eskaar@careinc.org. For questions, or to request an application, please call 503-842-5261. You can also donate funds to support this critical program at https://www.careinc.org/donate.
- Tides of Change reminds us that there is often an escalation in violence during times of crisis and financial stress. They are here to support safety concerns related to intimate partner violence, sexual violence, stalking and trafficking. For more information, call (503) 842-9486 or visit their website https://www.tidesofchangenw.org/
For a list of additional community resources, visit Tillamook County Wellness COVID-19 resources page at http://tillamookcountyhealthmatters.org/covid/. Please check in regularly with neighbors and people who live alone. Don’t wait for someone to ask for help. If you can, offer assistance to get them connected to local resources. Let them know you care. We are so grateful to live in this community. Stay Connected – Together we will get through this crisis!
For more local health and wellness information, follow Tillamook County Wellness on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
