5 money management tips for Stress Relief …

Many of us dream to have a lot of it and very few of us have more than we think we need.  It’s one of the 3 main stressors that keep many people awake at night.  Whether you’re living beyond your means or wondering how you’re going to have enough income for retirement all comes down to Money.

When you’re feeling financial pressure it can affect so many other areas of your life.  It can cause stress at work, anxiety attacks, insomnia, arguments, alcoholism, gambling and relationship break-ups just to name a few.

But there has to be something you can do about it, to manage your money and experience real natural stress relief.

With that in mind, here are 5 money management tips for Stress Relief:

—> Understand your worth – before you can live within your means you need to understand what your means are.  Gather a record of all your money, assets, investments and current cash (N.B. although credit cards and lines of credit are additional resources to make purchases, when we tap into them we decrease our spending power over the long haul with bank charges etc.)

—> Track your income – Really take a look at your income.  Measure it over the last 4 weeks or even better the last 13 weeks (the number of weeks in a quarter). Average it out by totaling your overall income and dividing by the number of weeks.  (N.B. Don’t just take 1 weeks wage as an average as you may miss out on overtime, sick days, etc.)

—> Measure your expenses – Once you understand what you are worth and what your income is begin to measure where you money goes.  Carry a small notebook you can pop in your pocket or handbag and make a record of every purchase you make.  Do this for a month to get a real understanding of where you’re spending your money.  Record everything including bills, repayments, where you shopped and the amount you spent.  After the month prioritize your expenses into different categories; essential (food, shelter, rent or mortgage), utilities (heat, water, electricity), loans and leases (car loans), insurances ( home insurance, car insurance, life insurance) and discretionary expenses (other loans, credit card repayments and low priority expenses)

—> Manage Money – Calculating your average monthly income (13 weeks wages divided by 3) and minus your different expenses (if some of your expenses are yearly, then divide the amount by 12 to calculate monthly payments).  This will give you your disposable income.  Use this figure as a baseline for spending.  Ensure you keep at least this much of your wage aside each month (multiply it by 12 and divide by 52 to understand it weekly) and try to put aside a little more each week for that rainy day.

—> Learn to Relax – Financial stress can be a result of the feeling of discomfort over using other people’s money, being in debt, or concerned you may not be able to grow your wealth.  Whatever the case it is important to improve how you can handle money stress.  A good stress relief CD or other relaxation techniques like exercise, relaxation breathing techniques or stress relief programs can help build that threshold and show you how to release and handle unnecessary stress.

Remember, even if you’re stuck in financial stress and your living beyond your means you have the power to change it.  After all, money comes and goes but your health is important.