Financial Stress

Thinking About Money Everyday

It’s not just young people who experience financial stress. Middle-aged folks as well as the elderly experience worries and concerns regarding their financial situations. Even the wealthy are concerned about making more money, but we’ll leave them out of this one for now. Thinking about money everyday is something that most people do, whether rich or poor.

There are more people who experience financial stress than people who just think about making more money on top of their fat bank accounts. Many college or postgraduate students have loans ranging anywhere from 50K to 500K. The expectation of having to pay back these loans is frightening and even distressing to their mental health.

People who choose to live in Manhattan or San Francisco know very well what it feels like to experience financial stress. Expensive apartments, groceries, car insurance, gas and paying the bills leave us wondering, “how much longer can I go on like this?” Many people live paycheck to paycheck, and not everyone has the opportunity to leave these expensive cities, because of their jobs.

One can always pack up and ship out, but it’s not that easy to just leave your family and friends behind and go job-hunting in a different state; this is especially true as one gets older. In addition, the uncomfortable feeling of waiting for your bank webpage to load so that you can see your account balance, becomes very stressful over time.

But is there a way to handle financial stress without continuing to sacrifice your mental health? Of course there is. You should try to incorporate the following on a daily basis:

• Practice mindfulness
• Exercise at least 2-3 times per week
• Socialize and go out to places
• Manage your budget and don’t overspend on unnecessary items
• Keep track of your bills and spendings each month
• Try to work your way up in your job field in order to make more money
• Remain positive

The most important factor mentioned above is remaining positive. It’s so easy to become bitter and negative when experiencing financial stress. When this happens, everything slowly starts to crumble in your life, including your relationships and hope for the future. The reality is that you’re most likely not going to get rid of your financial stress within the next couple of years, so why sacrifice your mental health and risk losing it all?

No matter the hardships that you are going through, always remember that you are not alone! There is always someone in your exact situation or even worse. So rather than stressing yourself out over your current financial situation, do your best to maintain a positive outlook on life.

Financial stress is something that we all have to deal with, but poor mental health should not be.

Are you Ready? (This is Defeating Stigma Mindfully)