hey say that money can’t buy happiness but I beg to differ. Obviously there are lots of miserable millionaires but on a basic level people who can pay their rent, buy food and not freak out when they open their gas bill are generally happier than people who don’t have those things. I know I sleep a lot easier at night when I have extra cash in the bank and I know a lot of other people feel the same way too. When I’m feeling crap about my financial situation I find these tips help a lot…
1. Be proactive
The reason why people feel so awful when they’re worried about money is because they feel like they’re out of control. One of the first steps to combating this, is to get back in control. It could be as simple as unsubscribing from that TV streaming service you signed up to a few months ago and never use or cancelling your ongoing delivery of the newspaper, if you only read it once a week. You could also set a budget and by that I mean actually sitting down and setting a budget. If you put it down on paper, it makes it real. Even just a few small changes like skipping your cafe coffee for a week can make you feel a lot more in control of your money and ease a little bit of the stress that’s worrying you.
2. Be realistic
Everyone has a different financial situation but whether you’re on government benefits or earning 6-figures as a corporate high flyer, it’s important to be realistic about what is financially viable for you. If you earn a minimum wage, you can probably budget for a holiday or a big ticket item purchase within the financial year but you might not be able to afford both. You also need to look at the reliability of your income. If you’re a casual worker it’s less likely that you can pay off a longer term loan than someone who is in a permanent position in their job. Ignoring money problems and debt won’t make them disappear, so get on board with your current financial situation and be realistic about fixing it.
3. Own your money stress
It can be really easy to play the blame game when you’ve got money issues like complaining that your boss doesn’t pay you enough, your partner spends too much money or have a whinge that restaurants are so expensive. Being a low income earner is no excuse to not have your finances in order. I went to school with a girl who went straight from year 12 into managing a fast food restaurant. She had no qualifications or training and totally bombed on her university entrance score. She bought a house as soon as humanly possible at the age of 19 without help from her parents. She now owns 3 houses and has worked her way up in the fast food industry and is earning four times more than me, and I have two bachelors degrees. Some circumstances do prevent people from becoming financially stable but lots of circumstances only masquerade as obstacles.
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Do you have money stresses? What’s your biggest issue with your finances right now?
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