Coping with Financial Stress

Coping with financial stress is a problem facing many families. Financial stress begins and ends with the basic needs for survival. In a consumer world, it’s not enough to just have a roof over the head and food on the table. It’s expensive to buy clothes, repair vehicles, and cover utility expenses.

Money isn't everything, but it can be stressful.

Coping with Financial Stress Anytime

The source of most marital arguments is financial stress. Poor management of finances can force companies out of business and drive husbands and wives to divorce court over job-loss stress. When societies struggle with bad economies, they can collapse. Financial stress affects everyone from students struggling to find college loans to parents trying to pay the mortgage to retirees taking jobs into their golden years because retirement funds and social security don’t make ends meet.

Coping with financial stress means taking charge of the finances and focusing on specific, goal-oriented plans to keep money troubles under control and prevent problems from occurring. While many of the techniques used to manage money may seem traditional or based on common sense, they can make the difference between ripping hair out over paying the bills and feeling confident that financial issues will be resolved.

Be Aware of Your Money

Being aware of the money means more than just balancing the checkbook. It means recognizing that certain amounts of money come in on certain days of the month. It means planning a budget and sticking to it. It means packing away the credit cards that will bill you next month for the satisfaction you get today.

In some cases, taking out a petty cash fund from each paycheck and putting that cash in your wallet gives you the freedom to spend that money on what you want without damaging your ability to pay your bills. Some people actually take cash out and put it in envelopes, marking the envelopes for necessary expenses such as petty cash, grocery money, gas money, and lunch money. Those envelopes control their spending and allow them to be aware of the physical money. The danger of credit cards is that the money on them isn’t tangible and can stack up very quickly.

Budget, Budget, Budget

Whether you make $10,000 a year or $100,000 a year, don’t live beyond your means. Budget your money so that you know what is being spent where. Avoid excesses that you don’t need or can live without. You have to pay your utility bills. You have to buy food. You do not have to have a $60 purse or $500 cell phone that is the latest fashion. When you budget your money, you can project your needs for one month into the next. You can set aside funds each month to afford holidays, birthdays, and special occasions.

By acknowledging that money is a necessity, but is not necessarily evil, you take control of your financial future. People stress about finances because they feel their money out of control. Take a hard honest look at what you spend your money on, make notations when you spend money, and consider cutting back about 10 to 15 percent of the extra cost that you don’t need to be spending.

Develop a Savings Plan

Bank of America offers a save the change plan that can be useful to employ in your own budgeting and spending concerns. When you use a Bank of America check card to purchase something, the ‘change’ is transferred to a savings account. The pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters begin to add up and soon, there is a small but reasonable savings account growing. People think if they can’t deposit a large chunk into a savings account, what’s the point? The point is even a little bit of savings can add up. If you can only afford five dollars on a pay day to put in the savings account, do it. While the average person is paid twice a month, that’s 24 deposits of five dollars each. At the end of the year, that’s a $120 saved up, and that money will continue to grow.

Stressing about money can have a debilitating effect on your health. Consider financial strategies that put you in charge of your finances and reduce your stress. Review your success in saving and paying off debt, and you will start to feel less stressed about money and coping with financial stress will become easier.

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