Three-quarters of employees are now cutting back on routine healthcare because of the cost of living.
That should stop us in our tracks.
This is not just about people delaying a dental appointment, skipping an eye test, or putting off physiotherapy. It is a warning sign that financial pressure is spreading into every area of life.
When people cannot afford to look after their health, money has already crossed a dangerous line.
It is no longer simply a bank-account issue. It has become a whole-person wellbeing issue.
The hidden cost of income insecurity
The latest research from Health Shield Friendly Society found that many employees are cutting back on healthcare, skipping meals, worrying about money every week, and struggling to do their jobs because of financial pressure.
This is what income insecurity looks like in real life.
It is not always dramatic.
It may look like:
Not booking the dental appointment.
Ignoring the pain in your back.
Going without proper food.
Losing concentration at work.
Feeling tired before the day has properly begun.
Avoiding letters, bills, and bank statements.
Telling yourself you will deal with it next month.
But these small compromises compound.
A delayed health check can become a bigger health problem. A skipped meal can become lower energy. Lower energy can affect work performance. Poor work performance can increase job insecurity. Job insecurity increases stress. Stress affects sleep, relationships, confidence, and decision-making.
This is the cycle many people are living inside.
And it is why income security cannot be treated as a narrow financial issue.
Wealth is not only money
At Get Secure, we believe wealth is not just what sits in your bank account.
Real wealth includes your health, confidence, relationships, skills, time, energy, options, and sense of purpose.
It is wealth in every area of your life.
Your mind.
Your body.
Your heart.
Your spirit.
And yes, your money too.
A person may have a small amount of money but strong relationships, useful skills, good health, and clear direction. Another person may have a decent income but feel exhausted, isolated, anxious, and trapped.
That is why we need a broader conversation.
Financial wellbeing matters. But it cannot be separated from mental wellbeing, physical wellbeing, emotional wellbeing, and social wellbeing.
When people are financially insecure, the damage rarely stays financial.
Human capital: the wealth already within you
One of the most overlooked forms of wealth is human capital.
Human capital means the skills, strengths, experience, knowledge, relationships, creativity, resilience, and practical capacity you already carry.
It is the part of your wealth that is not stored in a pension, house, savings account, or investment portfolio.
It is stored in you.
For someone under financial pressure, human capital strategies may help them ask a different question.
Not only:
“How do I cut back?”
But also:
“What do I already have that could help me move forward?”
That might include:
A skill that could become paid work.
A hobby that could become a side income.
Experience that could support someone else.
A local network that could open a door.
A qualification that could be refreshed.
A problem they have solved that others need help with.
A few spare hours that could be used differently.
An idea that could become a small service.
This does not mean pretending that poverty is solved by positive thinking. It is not.
Many people face structural barriers, low pay, poor health, caring responsibilities, debt, discrimination, housing insecurity, or a lack of opportunity.
But it does mean refusing to define people only by what they lack.
All planning begins with what is already present.
From survival to security
Get Secure is designed to help people take a first structured step towards income security.
It does not give financial advice. It does not sell products. It does not promise easy answers.
It helps people think.
It helps them organise what is going on.
It helps them explore their strengths, needs, options, and possible routes forward.
A Get Secure plan begins with the person, not the product.
It asks:
What is happening now?
What pressure are you under?
What do you need to feel safer?
What skills, strengths, relationships, and resources are already present?
What small step could improve income, stability, health, or confidence?
What support might help?
What options are worth exploring?
The aim is not to tell people what to do.
The aim is to help people recover agency.
Agency means the ability to think clearly, make choices, take action, and feel some authorship over your own life again.
That matters deeply when people feel stuck.
Income security protects whole-person wellbeing
When income is insecure, people often start cutting back in areas that sustain them.
Food.
Healthcare.
Rest.
Transport.
Social connection.
Training.
Exercise.
Time with family.
That is why income security matters.
It is not just about having more money for its own sake. It is about creating enough stability to protect the foundations of life.
Enough to eat properly.
Enough to attend essential appointments.
Enough to sleep without constant panic.
Enough to think beyond the next bill.
Enough to participate.
Enough to rebuild confidence.
Enough to make better choices.
Enough to live, not merely cope.
This is where whole-person planning becomes essential.
A person is not a spreadsheet. A life is not a portfolio. Wellbeing is not built by money alone.
But without enough income security, every other part of life becomes harder to sustain.
A practical first step
Get Secure has been created as a free app for people who want to begin this process.
It helps users explore income security through a whole-person lens, looking not only at money but also at the human capital that may already be present in their life.
It can be used by individuals, parents, mentors, youth workers, community groups, planners, coaches, and anyone supporting someone who feels financially stuck.
The invitation is simple.
Before someone gives up, ask:
What is already within you?
What is already around you?
What could be strengthened?
What could be turned into income, confidence, support, or opportunity?
What is the next safe step?
Get Secure does not replace human support, healthcare, employment services, benefits guidance, debt help, or regulated financial advice where those are needed.
But it can help start the conversation.
And for many people, starting safely is the hardest part.
Wealth in every area of life
The Health Shield findings show something important.
People are not just short of money.
They are short of margin.
Short of breathing room.
Short of health capacity.
Short of confidence.
Short of options.
That is why the response must be bigger than budgeting alone.
We need to help people build wealth in every area of life.
Mind: clearer thinking, confidence, learning, and decision-making.
Body: health, energy, food, movement, rest, and access to care.
Heart: relationships, belonging, emotional support, and self-worth.
Spirit: purpose, meaning, hope, values, and direction.
Bank account: income, stability, resilience, and practical financial security.
This is the work Get Secure exists to support.
Not wealth as accumulation.
Wealth as enough.
Enough stability to breathe.
Enough clarity to choose.
Enough confidence to act.
Enough support to keep going.
Enough human agency to begin again.
The free Get Secure app is available at:
Academy of Life Planning 