Practical Tips to take Control of Your Finances

Financial well-being is an important dimension in the 8 Dimensions of Wellness particularly since financial stress is linked to poor physical and mental health. If you are worried about finances, you are not alone. It has been reported that up to 72% of Americans worry or feel stress about their finances on a daily basis. They worry about paying their rent/mortgage, feel overwhelmed by their debt, or stressed about their lack of a plan. Ongoing stress about money has been linked to migraines, heart disease, diabetes, sleep problems, and more. In fact, finances are the leading cause of divorce in America, regardless of what is in the couple’s bank accounts. Financial wellness is achieved when you are able to experience a sense of satisfaction about your financial situation. It may surprise you that it has less to do with the number in your bank account and more to do with attitude, understanding, and planning. 

What is Your Attitude about Money?

The way we feel about money affects the way we deal with it. It matters!  Thus the attitude you adopt about finances will set you either on a course to financial success or keep you in a cycle of never mastering your finances. These may be subconscious attitudes that have been passed on down the family line. Our attitudes come from core values and beliefs based on financial experiences. These negative experiences can adversely affect the way we think and deal with money. You will mirror how your parents dealt with money or you will swing in the opposite direction. The reality is, you may have never been taught how to manage your finances. Unhealthy attitudes about money cause you to overspend, hide purchases, react in ways of avoidance, obsession, idolizing, or in vigilance. Listed are four types of attitudes identified to help you evaluate if you have unhealthy attitudes in your money management. 

Unhealthy Attitudes Toward Money

1. Avoidance: You believe money is bad or perhaps you don’t deserve to have money. You have no idea what to do with it or how to handle it. Evokes feelings of fear, anxiety, or disgust. 
2. Obsession:  Believing that money is the answer; it will solve all of your problems. You never feel like you have enough. You probably overspend. 
3. Idolizing: You tie your self-worth to your financial status. 
4. Vigilance: You are miserly and stingy. They may have a lot of money but do not allow themselves to enjoy it (think Scrooge). 

Healthy Attitudes Toward Money

Mastering your finances comes from a healthy attitude about money evidenced by experiencing peace of mind. You are prepared for the future as you have learned tools of perseverance, patience, generosity, and contentment. You feel a sense of satisfaction with your financial situation. You trust God as your provider. Don’t despise small beginnings, any step forward is a step in the right direction even if it seems like a baby step. You are changing old patterns and attitudes so be patient with yourself as it will not be solved overnight. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. 

How Financial Stress Affects Your Health 

Financial stress can feel like a heavyweight that never really goes away. In many instances, the link between mental and financial health is cyclical—poor financial health can lead to poor mental health, which leads to increasingly poor financial health, and so on. For years, studies have shown that people in debt have higher rates of mental health issues like depression and anxiety than those who are debt-free. 

Financial stress also leads to unhealthy coping habits and patterns. In order to deal with mounting debt, many choose to self-medicate with comfort eating, drug misuse, and too much alcohol consumption. Shopping is a way to cope with financial stress as well. When we purchase an item, the reward pathway of our brain lights up and dopamine is released into our system. We feel the euphoria of the purchase and when the feeling leaves we crave it again. Proverbs remind us that a borrower is a slave to the lender. 

Financial woes can also cause you to delay getting the medical attention you need in order to cut costs. This can prove to be detrimental to your health and only make matters worse. As Benjamin Franklins once said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Let’s face it, financial difficulties can also make you cranky, cause you to isolate, and allow yourself to be overrun with shame, fear, and worry that keeps you up or wakes you up in the middle of the night. 

How To Cope with Financial Stress

In the climate we are living in, many of you may be facing financial difficulties in disproportionate amounts. With COVID-19 quarantine your businesses have shut down or you are barely making the bills. For others, you are chronically in financial stress due to living beyond your means, lack of good communication about your finances, hidden debt, and poor planning. We all want to live in financial wellness, to feel content with the situation we are in as well as having a plan to get there. Regardless of how much you make, having realistic financial strategies will help you cope with financial stress. A good offense is the best defense.

Here are offensive strategies that you can implement putting you on the path toward financial well-being. 

1. Take an honest look at your financial situation. Are you worried about what is actually taking place or the “what ifs?”
2. Look at your expenses and set a plan – trim your budget if needed. If you are in the habit of using your credit card, go to the cash envelope system. We used it for years and were able to get out of debt, we were more intentional about purchases and have adopted a healthier attitude about finances. 
3. Focus on what you can control and take action on those things. Let go of what you do not have control over. You can control your attitude, your finances, and your opportunities. 
4. Read a Proverb a day – there are 31; one for each day of the month.  It is full of wisdom, strategy, and helpful tips. 

Achieving Financial Wellness

Achieving financial wellness is important to your overall mental health and wellness. As we have read, troublesome finances permeate people’s lives wreaking havoc if not brought under control. Money is a universal commodity and something we cannot live without. Learning to walk in and achieve financial wellness may be different than you think. It encompasses not only attitude but also some aptitude and you may be closer to financial well-being than you think.

Traits of Financial Well-Being:

1. Has less to do with the amount of money you possess and more about your ability to understand your financial situation.
2. Managing your finances in a way that you are prepared for any financial changes you might encounter. 
3. Maintaining a manageable level of financial stress.
4. Learning to live a lifestyle at or below your means.
5. Strong basics covered: adequate emergency fund, no high-interest debt, sufficient insurance, and estate planning to protect assets, income and loved ones.
6. Continue an ongoing plan to achieve future financial goals. 

A person who experiences financial well-being makes good financial decisions has a higher level of satisfaction with their current financial situation, and a greater level of freedom to pursue life on their own terms. 

How do you rate your financial wellness? Are you satisfied with your current situation as it stands? Remember you won’t always be in this place but if you take appropriate steps (even if they’re baby steps) to consistently manage your finances you will not be the borrower who has become a slave to the lender. 

Food for Thought

Never spend money before you have it – Unknown

Spending is quick; earning is slow – Russian 

Creditors have better memories than debtors – Ben Franklin 

If you buy what you don’t need, you steal from yourself – Swedish

Save for a rainy day – Aesop

Lend your money and lose your friend –William Caxton