How is your mental health and wealth connected?
Money cannot bring you happiness every day of your life, but money can make your life much easier. Studies have shown that money struggles can cause mental health issues. You must invest some time learning how to deal with money, how to protect yourself, and how to cope with any stressors that come along. Continue reading as you learn how to manage both your money and your mental health.
Mental Health And Money Often Compete With One Another
Someone who has depression might be so sluggish that they cannot pay their bills on-time. Their mental health then has a big impact on their wealth – Unfortunately, they will be even more depressed when they realize that they are behind on all their bills. People who are depressed might have a hard time keeping a job, and this makes their money struggles even worse. These tips might help those with depression when dealing with money:
Reduce debt where possible. If one account is especially large or overdue, that debt should be reduced first. This little bit of progress helps make people feel better.
Use a savings account where possible. If you can start saving your money, add that money to a separate savings account. The savings account will provide you with interest payments, and you might use a money market account to increase your savings faster.
Focus on short-term goals for improving both your mental health and your wealth. You might know that you have many challenges to face in the future, but you should focus on short-term goals. If that annoying credit card will be paid off in two months, you should be excited about that.
Budget where you can. If you establish a budget and review your budget often, you can reduce your stress by moving money around in your budget. You can also review your income if you want to find more work or a side job that might help with your financial wellness.
Consider therapy or debt counseling. While a licensed therapist cannot solve your debt problems, they can teach you coping techniques. A debt consolidation or counseling company can help you reduce your debts, pay them off, and make the payments simpler.
Spending Offers A Temporary High
When people are anxious or depressed about money, they often spend money they do not have. Retail therapy has a negative impact on our mental health and wealth Shopping as a form of stress relief offers a temporary high that is negated when you get your bills or realize that you do not have much money left. As a result, you need to be careful when you are spending money. You do not want to stress yourself out, and you can use your budget to control spending.
Give yourself a weekly budget. If you have a budget established, it might be easier to reduce impulse spending and improve your financial wellness. You can see your financial situation on paper.
Cooking at home is great for your mental health and wealth. While you might feel better for a little while if you buy a lot of fast food or specialty drinks, you can make those things at home for much less money. At the same time, you will relax by making food and drinks. It takes more time, and you will spend a little extra time that helps you calm down or forget your troubles.
Wait a few days before buying anything. You will likely forget about what you wanted if you wait to make the purchase.
Your wellbeing improves with exercise, reading, or studying a subject that you enjoy. You can meditate to release stress, or you can invite friends over to help you relax. Adding these simple things to your schedule does not cost money, and you can even treat your friends to a new meal.
Spending Issues And Anxiety Impact Mental Health and Wealth
While you are dealing with spending issues, your anxiety might cause you to miss out on the things that are good for you. For example, someone who does not follow their written budget might not want to pay for therapy, the gym, or another enjoyable activity. Your life must be filled with good things, but you cannot afford those things if you are overspending elsewhere.
You need to identify good spending and bad spending. When you spend a lot of money on clothes that you do not need, then you may feel worse. If you are spending money on a therapist or debt consolidation, you are spending your money wisely. You can improve your overall well-being if you have spent your money on the right things.
Where Can You Get Help For Both Mental Health and Wealth?
You should look for a nonprofit debt counseling or credit counseling company that will help you with your financial wellness. You can work with these companies to create a budget, learn how to manage your money, and reduce your debt. These companies work with you to address all the outstanding debts you have, and you might want to ask them to negotiate some of your outstanding debts on your behalf.
If you have anxiety or depression that is exacerbated by your money troubles, you can let the credit counseling or debt consolidation company make the calls for you. You can resolve to handle these debt issues, but it might be too difficult to call and take care of it on your own.
Consider Your Assets
You might own your home, and you can sell the house, move, and make a bit of a profit on the house. You might have old clothes and personal items you no longer use, and you can sell them, too. The idea is to use money to intentionally help you feel better about your financial situation. When your finances are in order, you will feel freer to work hard, make more money, and save for the future.
Look For New Job Opportunities
It is easier than ever to find new jobs because some apps and websites bring employers and employees together. It is not guaranteed that you will get a new job in a few days, but you can search for jobs easily. When you find new work, you can adjust your budget to reflect your increased income. While it can be stressful to look for new jobs, you can take comfort knowing that you might find a side job that will simply add to your income and improve both your mental health and wealth.
Invest In Yourself
While you might feel bad when you spend money, you might consider investing in yourself. If you can get a certification that allows you to start a new job, you can spend that money knowing that you can make much more than that in the future. Take a look at what your current employer offers in terms of benefits too. Many employers offer tuition reimbursement and certification courses that can help you move on in the future.
You might also want to go back to school if you can get a student loan that will be paid off with a brand new career. You are focusing on short-term goals instead of long-term worries. Yes, student loans are expensive. However, a new job can pay you so much money that you can pay off your debts and easily manage your student loan debt.
You Can Take Control of Your Mental Health and Wealth Today
You should take control of your mental and emotional health when you can. Spending money can make you feel anxious or depressed, but you can focus on your budget, finding a side job, or working with a debt counselor. You can add cheap or free activities to your calendar, and you can even invest in yourself. You might take this time to change careers, focus on short-term goals, and avoid the anxiety or depression that money troubles can cause. Your financial wellness can positively impact your emotional state.
Want a good resource? Check out the Mental Health and Wealth Podcast hosted by Melanie Lockert. You can start with my episode, too.
