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We all love good metaphors. She wrote the lyrics for ~deep~ on LiveJournal Ask me 14 years old (and no, no links included…for all of you). But if getting financially healthy is your New Year’s goal, you’re likely to come across a metaphor comparing financial fitness to physical fitness.
Physical health parallels are everywhere in personal finances.For example I have both financial parliament (Money Scoop favorite) and financial gym (Dear writer’s former employer).
But there’s also a “financial cleanse” that compares putting away credit cards to cleaning the refrigerator. Or our “Financial Detox” guide, which features photos of green smoothies and likens sugar consumption to a waste of money. These metaphors utilize body-shaming to, in theory, promote positive economic outcomes. But shame is neither motivating nor effective.
Landon Tan, a certified financial planner, suggested that all this imagery should be left out of the financial planning industry. JeezHowever, both food and money are necessary for survival, so it makes sense that even imperfect ways of dealing with them would overlap.
These comparisons, taken carelessly, mean that all health outcomes (financial and physical) are based solely on individual choices. But what is beyond your control, genetics Also wealth of generations, play a big role. Without pointing out the limits of individual choice, lead to shame.
But insulting people doesn’t help anyone achieve their goals—Physical Also FinanceAnd avoiding so-called fatphobia in your personal financial goals isn’t just about semantics.
anti fat bias Employment and wage decline For large individuals, and in most cases in the United States, this form of employer discrimination is perfectly legal. this is,”fat taxfinancially punishing fat people.
Health is complicated. So is money. And when the two collide, it’s hard to draw the line between fatphobia and beneficial.If we mandate it here at Moneyscoop all Much of the world of personal finance will have to change overnight.
And hey! Maybe it’s not so bad. But this newsletter doesn’t use the Infinity Gauntlet (thankfully that’s a lot of pressure 😓). So in the meantime, be critical of the metaphors out there and be prepared to summon your financial her advisor (or trainer).Miriam
