What Financial Health Means to Me

Financial Health Is a Team Sport

Not all rich people are selfish. Not all poor people are slackers. Sounds reasonable, right? Well, maybe not to some. In my experience, I’ve found many seemingly reasonable people to have some surprisingly polarized viewpoints regarding economic status. And to me, our extreme persuasions impede the realization of optimal financial health for all of us. I believe bridging our ideological gaps is imperative for achieving greater financial health for everyone across the globe.

As a lifelong athlete, I’ve learned that we earn the most rewards when everyone on the team supports each other and works in harmony. The reality is that not everyone’s going to be LeBron or Steph, but strong bench players can make the difference in a team’s success. And, given the right support, sometimes the bench players become the superstars.

This sports analogy is similar to how I view financial health. While there has always been economic inequality, and likely always will be, I believe we can minimize the gap considerably. By doing so, social and economic benefits proliferate for everyone. Innovations in the financial technology space seem like especially promising remedies, such as Meed, the fintech company where I work. First, however, we must disarm ourselves of overgeneralizations, absolute ideologies, and assumptions.

How to Bridge the Gap

We have to accept that things are not always the reality they may seem in our theoretical minds. In fact, many people would probably describe themselves differently than the “rich” or “poor” labels we project on them. And often their own categorizations may be valid considering outward appearances often belie the true state of one’s financial health.

Impactful social change requires us to work together, and stereotypes don’t help. We’ll start with the backlash against the “rich” I hear so often. Yes, some people with a lot of money are selfish and egotistical. But guess what, so are some people without a lot of money. Many so-called rich people are some of the most generous and humble people I’ve ever known. In fact, many of my former nonprofit jobs and the social programs we ran were funded by them. Yet we rarely hear about these people publicly because their names aren’t on plaques or buildings.

Now let’s talk about the stereotypes we project on so-called “poor” people. Yes, some people in dire straits game the system. But guess what, so do some people at the top of the ladder. The systems may be different, but the gaming is the same. Working with homeless youth for several years, I met some of the most hardworking, resilient teenagers you can imagine. But we rarely hear about these people publicly because the media apparently thinks crime in low-income communities makes for better stories.

Financial health and wealth undeniably bring peace-of-mind and pleasure for ourselves and our families. Therefore, it is an injustice when so few have the opportunity to experience these things. To progress, we have to start developing meaningful relationships with multiple people outside our comfort zones and learning from them as individuals. Otherwise, financial health can never be maximized for the whole team. So, let’s get to it.