Money can bring us joy, but as many of us understand, the opposite can also be true.
When we don’t have enough money, we can struggle in all aspects of our lives. When we fall into debt, we can become anxious and depressed. And when we become overwhelmed when trying to manage our financial commitments, we can become confused, frustrated, and stressed.
In fact, stress is the key word here, as you will probably know yourself if you have related to the above.
So, what can you do to reduce your financial stresses? While we can’t go into specifics (we don’t know your personal financial situation), we do have some general advice that might be useful to you.
Expect the unexpected
Many of us become stressed out when we face unexpected financial pressures, such as a larger than expected tax bill, or when we are suddenly faced with car or household repairs. If we don’t have the money to cope with such situations, we can start to panic, and in some cases, might experience debt as a consequence. However, if you can put money into an emergency fund each month, you will have those extra funds to support you in your time of financial peril, and you should face less stress as a consequence.
Deal with your debts
Many of us are in debt in one way or another. It might be a mortgage, a credit card debt, or a store card debt that we are beholden to, as examples. Rather than live with these debts forever, we should find ways to reduce them. For one, it is always important to negotiate better rates of interest with our loan providers if we can. If they won’t budge, we are free to shop around, because as is the case with Altrua who offer lower mortgage rates, we can often find ways to reduce our debts by switching them to another lender. We should pay off more than the minimum each month too, as not only can we sometimes reduce the rates of interest if we do, but we can also pay them off a lot faster. And, of course, we should seek advice from a debt charity, especially if we’re stuck, confused, and overwhelmed.
Earn more money if you can
If you can do so without burning yourself out, find ways to bring in more money, perhaps by taking on a side-hustle or by taking on extra hours at work. There might be things you can sell too, so if there is anything you don’t need, find places to sell them online or off to give you that extra bit of cash to ease your financial stresses. And consider other things you might do to raise extra funds, from taking online paid surveys to renting out your car or driveway if you need to bring in more money and ease your worries.
Talk to somebody
We have already advocated talking to a debt charity, but there are others you could turn to. If you’re struggling to pay your bills, talk to your utility companies, as they should offer you a payment plan to ease your burden. Talk to your bank too, as they might have advice that you can benefit from. And talk to your friends and family, as even if they can’t help you financially, you might still feel better knowing that somebody else is aware of your stressful situation.
We all get stressed about money from time to time, but we shouldn’t have to face too much mental turmoil, as there are ways to ease those stresses. Follow our suggestions then, and research specific ideas for your particular situation.