Back
davidlerner.com > Budgeting  > Dealing with Financial Stress

Dealing with Financial Stress

Debt, reduced income, children, marriage issues, and the list can go on. There are a lot of things that could cause you to experience some financial stress. It is one of the largest stressors on relationships. Arguments about money can eat away at many marriages. In fact, couples fight about money twice as much as they fight about sex.

When you are stressed out it affects other aspects of your life. You may have a hard time concentrating at work or completing tasks at home or focusing on your relationships because you have the financial stress hanging over you.

According to the American Institute of Stress, over 70% of people experience physical or psychological symptoms caused by stress. The cost of daily living — bills, kids, jobs — this is the stress we tend to ignore or push down. Left uncontrolled this stress affects your health, your body and your immune system, not to mention your ability to perform on the job, and thus your bottom line.

So it would be a logical assumption to say that dealing with stressful elements in one’s life would be a good thing. If you can reduce your worry, you will be able to focus more on your life and relax knowing you have a plan that can help you handle your financial situation. There are a few things you can do to relieve your financial stress and make it easier to function every day.

Understanding stress is key to addressing it. One could argue that stress comes from not living in alignment with your values, and the key to reducing financial stress is to take a look at your financial mindset and strategies and comparing with your values.

Values, as in, “How important is saving to me?” or “I’d like to send the kids to college and still be able to afford a comfortable retirement.”

In that case, a high earning job would help, as well as aligning your goals with your financial strategies and creating a financial plan to achieve those goals.

Setting a budget that allows you to live within your means and still contribute to your financial future (retirement, college savings for the kids, long-term care, or life insurance etc.) is an essential part of living stress free and taking steps towards your goals.

It would be a really good idea to become as financially literate as possible so that you have the knowledge and understanding to back up a smart financial plan.

One could also argue that stress is heavily influenced by the number of incomplete actions one has on their plate. For example, if you have to take a business call and pay a pending bill and your boss is wanting to see you at the same time while the school is calling to let you know that the kids have to be picked up early today, and you have to cancel a business dinner for the evening as a result, plus your babysitter cancelled last minute — this all adds up to a stressful picture.

The trick is, instead of hiding under your desk and crawling into a hole, you take it all on – one thing at a time. Just pick ONE thing to address, and then another, and so on until the stress and confusion are gone.

Similarly in finance, there’s a lot to take in. So start at the beginning, and go from there, taking one step at a time until before you know it, you’re sitting comfortably in retirement, your kids’ college is paid for, and you have a healthy retirement fund you can count on.

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES

Material contained in this article is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to be used in connection with the evaluation of any investments offered by David Lerner Associates, Inc. This material does not constitute an offer or recommendation to buy or sell securities and should not be considered in connection with the purchase or sale of securities.

To the extent that this material concerns tax matters, it is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by a taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed by law.

Each taxpayer should seek independent advice from a tax professional based on his or her individual circumstances.

These materials are provided for general information and educational purposes based upon publicly available information from sources believed to be reliable– we cannot assure the accuracy or completeness of these materials. The information in these materials may change at any time and without notice.

David Lerner Associates does not provide tax or legal advice. The information presented here is not specific to any individual's personal circumstances. Member FINRA & SIPC

Your Investment Counselor

(ICname)
Skip to content