24 Secrets and techniques of Individuals Who Don’t Fear About Cash
Unless you’re born into generational wealth, money will likely be a massive element in your life that brings you immense anxiety. Constantly wondering if you’re going to have a streak of bad luck with your finances or if you’re going out of a job is brutal. While you can’t completely stop these deeply rooted fears, there are ways to manage them and begin your journey towards a stress-free life.
1. Turn Worry Into Activity
As surprising as it is, worrying about money can motivate you to get up and change how you go about your finances. If you’re constantly thinking about your increasing expenses, you can take those thoughts and ask for a raise.
Not only will it help you take action, but it will also reduce the anxiety you’re feeling because you did something actionable rather than plummeting into an endless pit of despair.
2. Be More Organized
When you’re not organized, you often feel like you’re not in control. This causes undue stress that’s easily avoidable. There are several tools online that you can use to help you stay on track by keeping you informed about when your bills are due, your monthly budget, and your savings goal.
3. Remove Emotion From Money
For many of us, growing up without a lot of money caused us to miss out on friend get-togethers and vital experiences. This leaves a sense of dread when you’re older because you never want to be stuck in the same situation again.
However, removing emotion from money is the best way to manage this. If you’re not earning what you want right now, it doesn’t automatically mean you’re a failure and won’t get to accomplish all your goals. Money is not the only way to have new experiences.
4. Set Up Monthly Auto Payments
According to Forbes, you can automatically pay your monthly bills from your bank account for mortgage, utility, cell phone bills, and many more. This helps elevate the waves of stress you feel when it’s time to pay your monthly bills. Since we have tons of payments here and there, it gets hard to keep track of due dates, so this is an effective way to combat it.
5. Talk to a Professional About How You’re Feeling
Therapy is often stigmatized in general, but when it comes to anxiety about finances, it’s even harder to convince people to seek professional help. However, if it’s hindering your day-to-day life and taking a massive toll on your mental well-being, a therapist can help provide you with strategies to cope with it better.
6. Focus On Your Financial Goals
According to Business Insider, 27% of the general population experiences tons of fear when it comes to providing for their families; however, setting specific goals can help reduce some of them. If you’re worried about schooling bills, mortgages, retirement, or anything else, establishing goals and sticking with them enables you to stay on track and worry less.
7. Make Peace With the Worst Case Scenario
One of the best strategies when it comes to financial anxiety is to make peace with the worst possible thing that can happen by coming up with an alternate plan. If your expenses increase for any reason in the future, how can you counter that? Similarly, what can be done right now to ensure you can handle your finances if you lose your job in the future?
8. Meditation Really Helps
Experts at UC Davis Health state that meditation can not only reduce stress but it can also reduce anxiety and depression or, at the very least, help you manage it better. This can also be applied when it comes to money management stress. If you feel like the world will end if you mess up your finances, meditation can help you feel calmer about the situation.
9. Make a Plan
Instead of jumping straight into planning five years in the future, start with a monthly planner. What do you hope to do in the next month? What are your financial goals? What is your budget? How much can you spend on leisure, and how much has to go towards your bills? All of this will help you have a game plan to reduce excessive worrying.
10. Understand Your Triggers
If specific scenarios or people are causing you to spiral, identifying them is the first step to combating the problem head-on. There’s no shame in making less money since everyone is on their journey and has had different opportunities in life. This is why it’s imperative to know what triggers your financial anxiety and then try to find solutions to it.
11. Have an Emergency Fund
A survey conducted by Bank Rate concluded that 51% of Americans have less than three months’ expenses covered in their emergency fund, which includes 25% who don’t even have a fund. So, you don’t have a safety net if an unforeseen emergency situation like a global pandemic hits you like a truck. This is why an emergency fund that covers six months is crucial to combat the stress around it.
12. Spend Less Than You Make
While this sounds pretty obvious, many people often succumb to overspending, especially if they have a credit card. Monitoring your finances is essential, but if you continue to splurge mindlessly, there are consequences like unwanted anxiety. So, you need to spend less money than you’re making to have some extra cash in case something comes up.
13. Invest More
If you’re not investing, you’re doing it wrong. In simple terms, investing is just making more money on your money, which can help you feel more at ease since you have a side income coming your way. According to Investopedia, you can invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other options depending on your situation.
14. Talk to a Friend
When you’re going through a rough patch, you feel like you’re all alone, which adds to the stress even more. Chances are the people around you are also experiencing similar problems, and talking to them can also help you and them in the process. There’s no shame in having money problems, nor should we feel embarrassed.
15. Educate Yourself
According to CNBC, several Americans are not financially literate, which impairs their ability to handle unexpected situations. The best way to combat the rising pit in your stomach is to educate yourself on the basics of finances.
The more you know about it, the less likely you feel buried under its weight. There are many resources available online, so it’s super easy to learn more.
16. Add Another Income
A common worry about money is that you’re not earning enough to pay your bills. To counter this, you can add another income to help you manage it better. Whether you choose to get a second job or invest in another company, there are plenty of options depending on the time and effort you want to put in.
17. Read the Fine Print
Reading the fine print is a must to avoid situations that give you anxiety. Some subscriptions have tiny details that can cause you additional fees. Some credit cards promise 0% APR, but the fine print includes things like the ARP increasing after a year, which you fail to read and later have to deal with the repercussions of it.
18. Pay Off Your Debt
Lugging around high-interest debts is poisonous to your overall wealth accumulation. While paying off all the debt in one go is not always feasible, you should at least pay off the debt that is costing you a kidney.
19. Focus on the Facts
Remove all the what-ifs from the equation, and all you’re left with are the facts. By focusing on what is right in front of you instead of constantly thinking about what could happen, you’ll be better equipped to deal with your financial situation. Stop listening to what the world is saying and focus on your situation.
20. Make a Written Budget
If you don’t already have a budget, it can explain the tremendous amount of anxiety you feel when it comes to money. According to Ramsey Solutions, there are several steps to make an adequate budget, starting with listing your income and expenses and then tracking your transactions. It’s also crucial to create a budget before the month begins.
21. Acknowledge the Fear
When we don’t have all the answers, we tend to spiral down a rabbit hole of despair. However, the truth is that you’ll rarely have the solutions to all your money problems. This is why it’s vital to acknowledge your fears and come to terms with them because being aware of what you’re scared about is the only way you’ll ever find an answer to it.
22. Redefine Financial Success
Listening to other people and defining success based on stereotypes and unrealistic expectations causes a lot of mental harm because you’ll never feel like you’re good enough. Success means different things for different people, so you must define what it represents for you personally.
23. Start a Side Hustle
A great way to take an actionable step to help with the stress is to start a side hustle. According to Forbes, you can have a ton of variety when choosing which one works for you. From pet sitting and blogging to tutoring and making online courses, there is so much you can do to ramp up your income and avoid the anxiety of running out of money.
24. Focus on Small Changes
Reducing anxiety is not something that can be done in one day. You’ll need to use multiple strategies for an extended period of time before you can be completely stress-free.
More importantly, you shouldn’t try to flush your system with significant changes altogether. Starting small and slowly integrating ways to restructure the way you think is how you’ll be able to manage your mental health.