You’ve checked your bank account and found you have only $76 left in savings and about the same in checking. You’ve gotten phone calls from creditors who are wondering why your payments are later than usual. Your car payment is due in three days and you’re not sure how you’ll pay the bill. Last month, your landlord threatened to evict you when your rent check did not arrive on the first of the month.
If this scenario is familiar, you may be experiencing finance induced stress. In these times when our economy is suffering and unemployment is high, the number of people affected by financial difficulties rises significantly. From time to time, all of us suffer from it, to one degree or another. Economic stress is simply a fact of modern life. No matter how hard we labor, no matter how diligent we are at saving money, we may find that we have intense difficulty paying all of our bills. This can be particularly true if we’ve been hit with a major traumatic event, such as the death of a partner, a divorce, or a serious illness.
Financial stress can be felt in a number of ways. For example, you might have problems sleeping at night because you are worrying about your finances. You might notice yourself short-tempered and, as a result, you might be experiencing conflict with your spouse. You may find yourself yelling at your kids for minor infractions, or you may even experience panic attacks.
The truth is, financial stress can cause you tremendous bodily and psychological distress. It can lead to anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, and stroke. As a result, financial stress is actually a serious, though often unrecognized, health matter. In essence, your financial problems can make you ill.
Your problems may seem too big to handle, but there are steps you can take to get back in control. The main thing is to create a plan of action. First, it is important that you go to your doctor and have a complete physical. Your health is the first priority. Be honest about your symptoms and your financial situation.
Then, consider consulting a certified financial planner. He or she can help you talk through your current situation and discuss short-term and long-term financial goals. Don’t be embarrassed to let the planner know the extent of your financial problems. Remember that the only way to really attack finance-induced stress is to meet the difficulty head-on. Trying to sidestep the problem…pretending that things are not as bad as they are…will only increase your troubles in the outcome.
Your financial planner will probably want you to come up with a workable budget. It is foremost to be realistic when crunching numbers. It does little good for you to come up with a plan that looks fine on paper, but that doesn’t really work. Make sure that you budget for all the things you must have such as food, shelter, clothing, medical care. And also try to budget for long-term priorities, such as college savings or retirement. Don’t leave out at least a small portion of your budget to recreation and entertainment. You’ll need a few diversions in order to be a less stressed person.
In the beginning, you might want to track each expenditure that you make. This can be tough, especially if you’re not used to that kind of documentation. But it can be quite useful. You might not realize, for instance, just how much money you’re spending each month on lattes, or how much you’re devoting to the daily lottery drawing. By doing the record keeping, you might discover ways that you can trim your budget without really feeling the pinch.
Part of your long term plan and budget should include savings. It is difficult to start saving if you have never done it, but having a little money set aside for emergencies will help during difficult periods. From time to time, all of us are hit with bills that seem to approach out of the blue. Your savings will play a role as a kind of insurance plan against catastrophe. Even if you can’t start this right away, at least consider getting a savings plan put in place as soon as possible.
In summary, take care of your health first during a financial crisis. See a financial advisor to help with a plan and a budget. Pay attention to what you’re spending and trim where possible. Start building up a savings fund for future unexpected expenses. These steps are simple, but important in managing stress and anxiety in difficult financial times.
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Leigh Charles has first hand knowledge of anxiety, panic, and phobias. She has become an advocate of solutions that don't involve medications.
