Money plays a critical role in our lives and not having enough of it impacts health. Financial stress is repeatedly found to be a common source of stress and anxiety. There are several ways you can help reduce financial stress:
- Identify your financial stressors: Take note of all of your expenses and determine where you can make adjustments. Keep an eye on your spending habits and try to make conscious decisions before you make any purchases.
- Create a monthly budget and stick to it. Take a look at all of your income that is regular and consistent. Then take a second look at your expenses to evaluate if you earn enough income to cover the expenses or if you are just breaking even. Create a budget, commit to the plan, and review it regularly.
- Make room for savings. Although it may not seem like a good time to save (or increase savings) if you’re having a hard enough time paying for current bills, you should make this adjustment anyway. If you don’t have “savings’ as an expense, perhaps you can make it part of your budget to ensure you’re saving on a monthly basis.
- Generate an emergency fund. Unexpected expenses come up all of the time. Many people lack the savings needed to cover these expenses. You should have three to six month’s worth of emergency funds for basic expenses. This too can be added as an expense to ensure you are adding towards your emergency fund on a monthly basis.
- Find ways to increase your income. Consider the costs and benefits of increasing your income. You can increase your earnings by taking on a second job, such as something that will generate passive income, changing your job, or asking others in the household to contribute more, You’ll want to be sure to maintain that work-life balance with any of these options.
While issues of money can cause stress and anxiety for many people, it is important to keep an open conversation with your family. Everyone needs to be on the same page about how money is made, spent and saved for the household.