Money Disorders
Have you ever been too scared to check your bank balance? Perhaps you’ve been worried about debt or repayments and couldn’t bear to look at the reality of the situation. If you have ever got a bill through the mail and not even looked at it but rather thrown it in the trash — you might be dealing with what some are calling a “money disorder.”
Allowing your finances to get away from you is sadly a common affliction among Americans and a real problem in today's modern world. Technology has boosted the possibility of instant spending and impulse buying. The average American has increased their debt threshold – now at $38,000 in debt. In December 2018, overall consumer debt was at an all-time high of $4 trillion.
It’s true that in America, the average income has grown faster than the cost of living over the past 10 years. However, our consumer debt, which includes student loans, credit card debt, as well as auto loans, keeps going up. Credit card balances carried from one month to the next hit $443.96 billion in September 2019, according to NerdWallet’s annual analysis of U.S. household debt. Credit card debt has increased by a whopping amount. It has gone up by more than 34% in the past half-decade.
So-called money disorders are thought to be connected to potentially deeper psychological issues like anxiety, depression, or trauma. Brad Klontz, the co-founder of the Financial Psychology Institute, found that these issues can be broken into three categories:
Money avoidance
These involve some sort of anxiety around money and can lead to not wanting to confront any issues surrounding finances. It can lead to absolute catastrophe because folks spend without knowing what they actually have and causes even more stress over time.
Money worshipping
This comes about through a different form of anxiety and that is to try to fill a hole or gap in your life by purchasing things. This can lead to spiraling credit card debt and worse. Overspending is not just about breaking the bank; it can ruin your life. Another form of money worship is that some folks have grown up in poor backgrounds and are never able to relax and spend any of the money they have hoarded but rather are in a constant state of unease when it comes to money.
Relational money disorders
20 percent of American couples are committing financial infidelity. Around 30 million of us in America are hiding a savings account, credit card, or checking account from our partner. Money causes the biggest stress in relationships and secrets whether financial in nature or otherwise can cause breakups and divorce.
The fact that money issues are a real problem for many Americans should give you pause for thought when you think about your financial wellbeing. Are you successfully able to navigate your financial life without anxiety? Use this time to sort out your finances. Perhaps it's time to get some help if you aren’t confident enough to do it on your own.
The good news is that you won’t necessarily need to see a therapist. A good financial advisor may be able to provide all the help you need.
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