Long-term strategies that work
Financial stress can take a huge toll on your mental and emotional wellbeing if you’re not sure how to cope with it. Fortunately, there are effective strategies you can use to manage the stress you’re experiencing while working towards financial stability.
Tips to manage stress
Not only can stress impact our energy levels and ability to do everyday tasks, but long-term stress can also impact our physical health and lead to other mental health issues, like anxiety and depression. Here are some ways that can help you manage your stress long-term:
- Practice self-care
Self-care is any action you take to preserve your own mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical wellbeing.
When you’re financially stressed out, self-care might be the last thing on your mind. However, it’s important to prioritise self-care because it can help reduce stress and anxiety and make it easier for you to cope. It can also help you be in a better emotional space to make financial decisions.
Some examples of self-care include eating a healthy diet; exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, socialising, engaging in hobbies, and making time to relax, such as through meditation.
- Explore strategies to manage anxiety
Tips to improve your finances
When you’re experiencing financial stress, it can seem hard to regain financial stability in the long-term. Here are some tips that can help you help you manage your finances better and improve your financial situation:
- Save a portion of your salary each month
Financial experts suggest that, if you’re able to, you should try to save some of your income each month. However, depending on how much you earn and what your expenses are, you might not be able to save as much as you want, and that’s okay. Even saving a small amount of money each month can help you create a more stable financial future. If you have a hard time being disciplined when it comes to saving money, you can set up a recurring transfer to your savings account. This way, a portion of your income goes straight into your savings account at the beginning of each month before you can even think about spending it.
- Examine your relationship with money
- Try and delay your urge to spend
- Identify your triggers for spending and try out healthier ways to cope
- Set a limit on your discretionary spending
