How To Take Control Of Your Money To Eradicate Financial Anxiety  (Part 1)

Financial anxiety is when you feel stressed or worried about dealing with money itself and sorting out your financial affairs. It is normal to feel anxious about money when things are not going well, but financial anxiety is not just a condition inflicted on those lacking wealth.  You can be wealthy and still feel anxious about dealing with money and finances.  

Are You Suffering from Financial Anxiety?

Please take a moment to consider the following questions. If you answer ‘yes’ to any of these questions, the chances are that you are suffering from some level of financial anxiety.  

1. When you think about the subject of money, are you overwhelmed, panicked or confused? 
2. Are you concerned about your job security and/or business income levels? 
3. Do you have sleepless nights worrying about how you might pay your bills or how you’ll manage your finances in the future? 

How to cope with financial anxiety

If you answered yes to any of the three questions, here are some practical tips that can help you get yourself organised and to alleviate some of your worries: 

• Begin by decluttering your financial paperwork.  You don’t need a fancy filing system or expensive cabinet to do this. It’s possible to regain control by implementing just a few simple steps.  First, throw away anything no longer relevant. For example, you don’t need the last gas bill from your previous home from four years ago!   
• Categorize any letters or paperwork and file them away in a labelled drawer or box. It is good practice to implement your filing in date order. 
• Make sure that you open all letters as soon as they arrive. Please don’t throw letters into the 'deal with later' pile (or in the bin…).  If any correspondence requires immediate attention, then don’t procrastinate. Take the necessary action. 
• Set a weekly date to manage your paperwork. This might include simple tasks such as filing away all new paperwork or paying your latest bills. 
• Create a simple budget. Calculate what you can sensibly afford to spend each week/month on all the main expenditure categories, such as rent/mortgage, food, car, and kid’s activities. When you have set the budget, adhere to it. Each payday, examine the budget and remind yourself how you plan to spend your money. 
• It’s good practice to set some financial goals. This might include paying off a certain amount of debt in the next six months or saving up a set amount by a certain date. Write these financial objectives down and review them at least once weekly. 

There are loads of actions that you can take in the above steps.  Take one step at a time to avoid adding to your overwhelm.  A simple plan to tackle each step in short bursts of, say, fifteen or thirty minutes is all you need to get started.  So go ahead and schedule some time in your diary to deal with your finances.

If you are ready to give your money a detox, to get to grips with what is happening with your finances, try my 30-day money detox program. I’ll send you short video instructions with a daily task every day for 30 days. At the end of the 30 days, or however long it takes to complete the tasks, you’ll better understand how your finances work. Click on the purple button below to find out more.

Learn More: 30-Day Money Detox