Is your financial situation causing you stress? You’re not alone. Quite a few Americans worry about money on a consistent basis. Unfortunately, worrying about your financial problems won’t actually fix them. You can’t go back in time and erase the bad decisions you’ve made, however there are things you can do moving forward to help prevent your financial situation from overwhelming you with unnecessary stress. The CGS Team is sharing a few ways to help you stop worrying about your financial situation and work towards the right financial path.
Truly Understand Your Financial Situation
This is a two-part process. The first part involves you figuring out your net worth – what assets do you have? What liabilities and debts do you have? Once you see what is encompassed in your financial situation, you can make a plan to increase your net worth. Check out the Finance 101: Calculating and Understanding Your Net Worth article for a breakdown of your net worth and how to determine yours.
Once you have an understanding of your overall situation, you can get into the specifics. Create a budget plan for yourself that shows you your current income, current expenses, and current debts. Once you see where your money is going every month, you will be able to create and adjust your budget to help your overall net worth.
If the thought of a budget scares you, join over 275 other women and get a CGS Personalized Budget Plan. We’ll lay out your finances in an easy-to-understand format, as well as set you up on a spending plan that makes the best financial sense. You’ll feel so much better once you have some clarity around your finances.
Create a Plan for Your Debt
Debt is a huge stressor for people. Not only does it cost you more money in interest, it can cost you your health and well-being from so much worry. Since you now fully understand your financial situation, and you have created a budget that allocates your income appropriately, you need to create a plan for your debt.
There are certain debt repayment strategies that can help you make the quickest progress. However, before you knock out your debt, it’s best to understand how you got it in the first place. Were you simply overindulging? Did you have to take care of medical expenses? Whatever got you into debt, understand what it was and do your best to avoid that feeling or situation. Some things can’t be avoided, but that’s where the next tip can help.
Have Some Emergency Funds
Even if it’s not much, you can take some weight off your shoulders by having funds set aside for financial emergencies or unexpected expenses. Just knowing that the money you have saved for such events can help reduce your worry. More importantly, it can fuel you to keep making financial progress.
Emergencies and unexpected expenses ALWAYS come up, so take advantage of the time you have in between each occurrence. Make the best financial decisions you can and put more money away. This will make your life easier when the next mishap comes around.
Set Your Financial Goals
To stop worrying about your financial situation, you need to do more than know where your money is going or has gone. You need to give your future funds a place to go. Setting financial goals and having a plan in place for reaching those goals can help you focus on where you are headed, as opposed to worrying about where you are.
Once you’ve set your goals, evaluate how to get there. Will your current job and income get you there? Do you need to increase your income or decrease your expenses? Any time you spend your money, ask yourself if that purchase is getting you closer to or further from your financial goals. Learn about effective goal saving in 8 Ways to Save for Your Next Goal.
Don’t Worry About Other People’s Money
One of the main reasons people worry about money is because they are comparing their situation to someone else’s. When you stop worrying about what other people are doing with their money, you can focus on what you are doing with your money.
You never really know what a person is going through or what their financial situation is, regardless of what they say or show on social media. When you shift your focus from what other people are doing, it frees up your attention to get working on your financial goals.
Educate Yourself
You don’t need a degree in finance to be knowledgeable about your personal finances. City Girl Savings was created to provide you with financial knowledge-building resources, articles, and strategies to help educate you on the subject. When you take the time to learn about finances and what options you have, you can make the best financial decisions, eliminate worry or fear of the unknown, and ultimately see progress on your financial goals.
Instead of creating negative energy by worrying about your financial situation, shift your mindset. Let your current situation propel you to do better and be better with your money. Invest in your financial well-being and don’t be afraid to seek help if you need it. What is a major money worry for you? How do you deal with worry when it comes to your finances? Post a comment below to share your thoughts.
