Dealing with Financial Anxiety Finances Shouldn't Keep You Awake

reaction, you might be stuck in a very passive mindset when it comes to money. This can lead to increased anxiety and muddled thinking. A healthier approach would be to respect money, not fear it. Respecting money is a more active, incontrol mindset. You work hard to earn it, you want to make sure you are using it mindfully and intentionally. Get Your Head in the Game

So, you’ve thought about all the ways money can stress you out and how you can take an active approach to your mindset to lessen the stress. Before you start dealing with the anxiety, give yourself credit for being anxious about your finances. If you weren’t bothered, you wouldn’t be bothered to look at it critically. A little worry is healthy — it helps keep you sharp and guards against complacency.

Next, focus on the positive and confront the fears. List the positives you have going for you financially. Even if it’s just the idea that you’re willing to work on your situation, it’s still a step in the right direction. Then, go worst case scenario. “What would happen if X came to pass?” What would you do? More importantly, how realistic is it that X happens? Talk yourself through how you could handle your worst fears. There are always more options than you may think. Take control and make a plan. Put a budget down on paper and use it as a guide on how you have spent money. Don’t feel bad when you see spending patterns which are less than ideal. Use your budget as a map and re-route your spending where you can. Are there areas to cut back or swap out? Are subscription TV, unused memberships, grocery bills and food expenses more than they could be? Get creative and shop around. Budgets should be dynamic — sometimes you have to adjust as situations change. Keep evaluating your spending and your budget as time passes.

Get an emergency fund going. Even if it’s just a small amount at first, build savings into your budget so you can see “wins” as you save up. It’ll also take the edge off of some of your worstcase scenarios since you’ll be building a cushion to land on, if needed.

After you see where you’re at financially and where you’re going to, talk it through and ask for help. Educate yourself on areas you are unsure of. Meet with a credit counselor, financial advisor, insurance rep — whoever can help you shore up your knowledge and make you more confident. If you have a partner, share your feelings with them, even if you keep your finances separate. If they don’t know that you’re struggling with this anxiety, they can’t help you though it and assist with your plan to get it under control. Finally, get a little perspective from someone you feel has control over their finances — chances are they’ve struggled in the past and they may have tips to help you.

As you go forward in this process, do not feel guilty or shame yourself. We all are our own worst critics and beating yourself up over money mistakes in the past doesn’t do any good. Continue to learn and measure yourself against your goals. The ultimate way to tame financial anxiety is to challenge yourself to be better than you were before you started on this financial journey, one step at a time. D