![](https://static.isu.pub/fe/default-story-images/news.jpg?width=720&quality=85%2C50)
2 minute read
HEALTHY FINANCES = A HEALTHY LIFE
Every year we publish an issue completely dedicated to finances, and every year we hear questions from readers asking, “Why finance? Aren’t you a health magazine?” The answer is twofold. Yes, we are a health magazine, but we are more like a self-help magazine. Our mission is to promote a well-balanced lifestyle, and we feel there are four areas in life everyone should focus on to live in balance.
We emphasize the importance of mental, spiritual, physical, and financial health as the four pillars of the magazine. If you are unhealthy in any of these categories, then you are out of balance. Also, it is a fact that financial issues are one of the leading causes of divorce, stress, and anxiety. So you see, money has a large impact on your health and well-being.
However, this year we decided to change things up a bit and focus more on financial fitness for the entire family. Not enough parents teach their children the value of money, allowance, economics, and how to earn money.
When I was a child, my parents taught me hard work was the only way to earn the money I needed to buy the things I wanted. I never seemed satisfied with the clothing choices my mom made for me; I wanted to have the same clothes as the “cool” kids. So my mom told me I was more than welcome to go out and earn money to buy those clothes myself. So I did. I found babysitting jobs, lawn maintenance jobs, and car washing gigs, just to name a few. I’ve had a steady job since I was 14 years old and I have always enjoyed the ability to earn my own money.
While these lessons have been valuable to me throughout my life, there was one aspect my parents failed to teach me and that was how to manage my money. In fact, I recall when I opened my first checking account at the age of 18, I thought if I had checks that meant I had money. And when I would pull my balance total for my checking account, I thought that was how much money was available for me to spend, not taking into account I had written checks that had not cleared my account yet. Needless to say, I learned the hard way, and very quickly.
In this month’s issue, we offer parents helpful advice on how to teach children the meaning of allowance, when to provide an allowance, and how allowance can and should be earned. We offer helpful advice on budgeting, and how to stretch your dollars and maximize every penny of your paycheck. Also, it is my personal mission to ensure young children do not wait until they are adults to learn how to manage their money. I speak from experience when I say if you wait to learn about finances until you are an adult, it is a hard, painful experience that absolutely can be avoided.
As always, I hope you find value in this month’s issue, and I invite you to offer feedback or ideas for future issues.
Sincerely,
KENDRA AKERS publisher/editor-in-chief kendra@akersmediagroup.com
DOUG AKERS vice president doug@akersmediagroup.com
JAMIE EZRA MARK chief creative officer jamie@akersmediagroup.com
EDITORIAL // DESIGN // PHOTOGRAPHY
JAMES COMBS staff writer james@akersmediagroup.com
LEIGH NEELY staff writer/copy editor leigh@akersmediagroup.com
MICHELLE CLARK staff writer michelle@akersmediagroup.com
SHEMIR WILES staff writer shemir@akersmediagroup.com
JOE DELEON creative director joe@akersmediagroup.com
STEVEN J. CODRARO senior art director steve@akersmediagroup.com
JOSH CLARK senior designer josh@akersmediagroup.com
MICHAEL GAULIN production director michael@akersmediagroup.com
FRED LOPEZ chief photographer fred@akersmediagroup.com
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS//PHOTOGRAPHERS
JAIMIE ALONSO RICHARD BOSSHARDT RACHEL CRUZE
KATHY INGOLD FRED HILTON PAT JOCELYN
SALES // MARKETING
TIM MCRAE vice president of sales tim@akersmediagroup.com
HEIDI RESSLER account representative heidi@akersmediagroup.com
DAVID COTE director of marketing david@akersmediagroup.com
MIKE STEGALL senior account representative mike@akersmediagroup.com
LYNNE KELLEY account representative lynne@akersmediagroup.com
MELANIE MELVIN director of client services melanie@akerscreative.com
ADMINISTRATION
DEB MATLOCK office manager deb@akersmediagroup.com
AUBREY AKERS advertising coordinator aubrey@akersmediagroup.com
SHAENA CHASTAIN receptionist shaena@akersmediagroup.com
DISTRIBUTION
SCOTT HEGG distribution manager scott.hegg@akersmediagroup.com
Kendra Akers Ak
Comments or questions for our publisher?
Our goal is to provide you with the best quality publication, so your feedback is vital.