Anxiety about money is one of the biggest culprits that can keep you stuck in a negative financial situation.
You have plans to budget, save money and pay down your debts but you don’t do it. This happens to all of us at some point. The trick is to notice when you have anxiety about money and then do something to resolve it.
Money anxiety often results in ignoring the issue. The problem with this is that if you ignore it, it does not go away. In fact, your anxiety gets worse.
Here are a few things that can cause anxiety about money and what you can do to help.
Money management tasks
The tasks of paying bills, maintaining a check register and balancing your checkbook may be overwhelming leaving you feeling anxious. The time and work involved may leave you feeling frantic and unmotivated. Or, maybe you just don’t know where to start.
What you can do:
Start by breathing and telling yourself that you can do this. That is always a good first place to start. Now….close your eyes, visualize your success, take another deep breath and believe it.
More than likely you are either very behind in your tasks or you have never done them at all. It will help if you just dig right in and start working on them one by one.
If you are feeling anxious then break the tasks down into smaller steps and congratulate yourself each time you finish one. Try not to focus on all the tasks that need to be done at one time. Keep your mind on the current task at hand and just plug away. Mindfulness and meditation practices can help if you find it difficult to focus.
Once all your money management tasks are complete you will only need to maintain them. Creating a maintenance schedule for your finances will help you feel less overwhelmed, reducing some anxiety.
Ignoring your money management tasks does not make them go away. Remind yourself often that completing these tasks will help reduce your anxiety in the long run.
Afraid of what you might see
So, maybe you made a few purchases that you regret and you don’t want to see how that affects your bank account. Honestly, who has never done that? You are human and it happens. However, not facing up to it will not reverse the purchase and will only cause you more anxiety.
What you can do:
Take another deep breath, forgive yourself for your lavish purchase, suck it up, and move forward. Open up those banking documents, perform your tasks, revise your budget and carry on!
There is no point in punishing yourself with anxiety over an impulse buy. Yes, it was probably not the best choice but it happened and hopefully, you enjoyed whatever it was. It would be really terrible to feel so guilty you cannot even enjoy what you spent the money on.
This is a good opportunity to reflect on how overspending or not following your budget can trigger your anxiety about money and affect your overall financial goals. Instead of beating yourself up, notice how it makes you feel and resolve to be more mindful of your spending.
You are not getting any closer to your goals
Impatience can cause some anxiety. When you are not seeing the results that you are hoping you might continue to focus on what you don’t have instead of what you do have. It can be especially discouraging if you have been very diligent with your money management and you are not seeing the benefits and rewards.
What you can do:
Don’t give up! If you are performing your regular money management tasks, sticking to your budget, and following your plans then you are on the right track. Give yourself a pat on the back for that. It’s huge!!
Are you still feel discouraged then take a look at where you were when you started this journey and where you are now. Hopefully, you will see there was some progress. Remember, this is a process. All of the small achievements add up to help you reach the larger ones.
If you are not progressing as quickly as you want then take a look at your budget and spending and see if there are any changes you can make to accelerate the process. Maybe you can reduce some spending in certain categories and increase the amount that you are contributing toward your goals.
Keep your vision and goals in front of you in order to motivate yourself or to help you decide if you want to make adjustments. Whether you are using a vision board, journaling, or reciting affirmations, focus on the excitement you feel about your vision. So, if you find yourself feeling anxious and impatient about your visions, chill out a bit and just revel in being excited and enjoying the process of getting there. Another thing to keep in mind is that excitement and anxiety can sometimes be confused. The physical symptoms sometimes can feel the same. If you are feeling anxious, check in with yourself to see if maybe it is the excitement you are feeling.
There is not enough money to pay your bills
If you are worried about not being able to pay your bills, let alone get ahead then anxiety may definitely come into play.
It can be very discouraging to feel that you cannot get out of the situation you are in. You work hard but there just does not ever seem to be enough coming in. Although it will be much harder to curb anxiety about money if you are in this situation, it is very possible. It takes mindset adjustments and action and although it might feel like a lot of work it will be worth it.
What you can do:
Start by breathing and telling yourself that you can do this. That is always a good first place to start. Now….close your eyes, visualize your success, take another deep breath and believe it. Yes, I copied and pasted this from above because I feel it is a very important place to start. Your mindset is yours. Unless you allow them to, nobody can control your thoughts so be sure yours are positive and motivating. It starts with breathing.
Now create your vision, determine your values, and decide what it is you really want. What excites you and how do you want your financial life to be? Take the time to do this. This is your motivator and without motivation, you will find it more difficult to set appropriate goals and remain focused.
Next, get to work and dig through your current finances. Evaluate your spending, create your budgets, set up your money management task list, and if you need to, find some side hustles to increase your income. It won’t be easy so keep your vision in front of you at all times. Seriously, put it everywhere.
When you feel the anxiety about money
When you feel anxious, remind yourself that you have a plan and you are working on it every day. Make your spending choices complement your plan and congratulate yourself when you do.
Maybe you forego dining out and choose instead to make a small inexpensive meal at home. Instead of feeling doomed because you “cannot afford” to go out to eat be excited that the choice you made brings you one step closer to reaching your vision.
Final words about anxiety about money
Anxiety about money is a real thing and we all have it at one time or another. If we can shift our energy from money worries to money excitement it might help.
Admit it, we need money. Money is necessary for living. It is true that money isn’t everything but that does not mean that money is nothing. It is very necessary. However, we don’t want money to be the key to our emotional health.
I strongly suggest trying meditation. I was surprised at how well meditation worked for me when it came to reducing anxiety. Quieting the mind intentionally can easily shift your energy and it is amazing how it can actually help your financial situation.
If you have any comments or questions, please reach out to me. I’d love to hear them. I wish you well on your journey to handling anxiety about money.
Thanks for reading!
Stay balanced,
Jill