Are you not getting sleep even if it's late at night? Do you wake up in the middle of the night and think about money? Is the topic of money leaving you in a cold sweat? There may be deeper reasons behind such stress and could be due to financial anxiety.
What is financial anxiety?
Financial anxiety is a feeling of worry, fear or unease about our financial situation. It can be caused due to several reasons, such as lack of funds, unplanned emergencies or not understanding your financial numbers. Not having financial planning can cause financial anxiety. The most common reaction to financial anxiety is avoidance. Physiological definition of financial anxiety is an unhealthy, uneasy attitude towards engaging with and administering personal finance in an effective way. Financial anxiety is not about becoming rich and making more money, it is some sort of different stress caused due to not managing your finances properly and not planning your future..
To overcome this anxiety we should make a plan and increase our exposure to financial information. The fact is that you can absolutely put yourself in control of financial thoughts and actions.
Reasons for financial anxiety:
- Lack of funds, account overdraft
- All of a sudden increase in debt numbers
- No proper plan about finance
- Discomfort with accumulated wealth
- Overspending
How can we cope with financial anxiety?
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Make a Plan: Too much debt or lack of income or worry about the future, makes you mentally disturbed. So first we should identify what we are worried about and then lay out a plan. Planning helps to lessen your anxiety.
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Retool your budget: When your personal budget is out of whack, obviously you will get stressed about your finances. It can be due to overspending in certain categories, not properly planning your purchases. We need to relate to money the way checkout with balance, expenses, overdraft and all.
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Be Positive: First step of solving any problem is to believe that you can actually overcome it. Negative thoughts only add more anxious thoughts and make it worse. Thinking positively won't magically pay your bills or stretch your budget, but definitely, it can calm your fear. When you think positively you can recognize your financial strength and could provide a solution to your anxiety.
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Check items in your todo list:
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Review: Go through your income and expenditure. Things may change. Bills may fluctuate from month to month. So allot a certain amount to an emergency fund for a little more peace of mind.
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Reduce: Growing debt is the greatest cause of stress, so rethink money making and spend carefully. Find a second job to get more money or reduce expenses. Think of cutting down spendings that is not necessary.
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Payoff: Make a plan to pay off debt and stick to it. This helps you to feel a major sign of relief.
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Consider the worst: The fact is that sometimes bad things will happen but by predicting them and knowing how to react can find yourself firmly in control of almost any situation.
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Educate yourself: Find a financial advisor and interact with them. Increase your exposure to financial information. If you want to save/invest in retirement but have no idea where to start you may be worried about the future. By talking to financial advisors you can turn all your confusions, unknown into knowns. Managing money (and there by stress) becomes something you can control and understand.
For some people perhaps having anxiety/fear is actually good. Being anxious about the future is a passive way to deal with finance. Actually, if you have fear you will respect the money and treat it with proper care, it can help you plan for the future and control your cash.
Staying up at night and worrying about money won't magically generate cash. Instead knowing how to calm your fear and feel confident about your financial choices is a matter of education, action and respect. All kinds of anxiety can have both physical and emotional stress. By doing meditation and yoga and trying to lead a simple life makes you reduce stress or any other activities which reduce anxiety and overcome it.