Advice for people who often stress about money

Money or the lack of it; can cause many people a great deal of stress.

People often play mind games with themselves by worrying about certain situations. How will I be able to pay if my car breaks down? How will I cope if I lose my job?

Worrying about money is especially true for people who are self-employed.

They worry about what might happen if business becomes slow and fear that they will not be able to their mortgage etc.

Most businesses go through peaks and troughs and it is of course during the lean times when people start to stress.

Even though the peaks are possibly just around the corner it becomes very hard to remain positive.

In this situation I would advise people who are self-employed to build up a financial safety net.

This money can be saved when they are having a good period and can then be spent when things are not going so well.

How will I pay for the mortgage if business falls?

Answer, by the money you have saved up, so calm down, you will be fine.

The periods when business is slow can be used to re-charge the batteries and can also be used to think up fresh ideas, of the direction you want the business to go in.

For all people it is important to know how much money is likely to be coming in per month and how much money is likely to be going out.

In business this is not all that easy to do, however in family life it should not be too difficult to predict.

If the amount that is seemingly going out is more than what is likely to be coming in, we then need to look at what we are spending.

This next idea might seem a little sad but can actually be quite fun. I would advise people to keep a record during one month, of everything they spend.

It is not as hard as it may sound and will give you an insight on how much money you actually waste.

For example, how many people are members of a gym, but never actually go there?

How much money do you spend on take-away food per month?

Do you always need to use the car, is it not possible to walk a little more often, therefore saving on petrol costs?

How much money do you spend on cigarettes? Do you really need the latest flat screen television?

During the good times we can afford to waste money, however if you are worrying about money, it is time to tighten your belt.

I myself try to save a certain amount of money per month and invest it in a unit trust.

Over time the fund value builds up and if I ever need a lump sum, for example car repairs, I just cash in some of the units.

I also allow myself to take out a certain amount of money at the start of each year.

This helps me to pay for my car insurance, road tax and to book a family holiday.

This has been working well for me for the last five years and is something I plan to continue.

It is always worth planning for the future in this way, not just to cover you if your car breaks down but also for many other reasons.

You may want to build up a little nest egg to:
Pay for your daughter’s potential wedding
Buy the car of your dreams
Have the holiday of a lifetime
Buy a house
Re-locate abroad
Buy a business
Fund your retirement
Fund your children’s university fees

I am now aware of how much money I am likely to spend per month.

I like to have treats and waste money as much as the next man.

I am more than happy when money is tight to give up these treats and see it as a battle of wills.

Occupational stress management

There are many people in the world who can not stand where they work.

Their occupation causes them no end of stress and can leave them struggling to get to sleep at night.

There are also many days taken off sick through stress related illnesses.

It is now time for people to deal with these issues and to start to react in a more positive and proactive way.

In the past I have worked for companies whose employees have made my life unbearable.

These so called colleagues were very bitchy, hanged around in various clans and would stab people in the back at regular intervals.

At times I would even dread going to work and would feel sick whilst driving to the office.

I would return home feeling very drained and would have little energy to do anything in the evenings.

I would then decide to go to bed early but would basically just lay their worrying about the next day. This could last for hours on end and at times would last all of the night.

I have read that plenty of sleep is a good way at reducing levels of stress, the question is, how does one get to sleep in the first place?

When I did have the energy to socialise with family or friends, the fear of going to work would end up ruining the night and would stop me from enjoying myself.

I felt sorry for the people I was with and hoped that I had not ruined their night as well.

For whatever reason I did not have the confidence to tell people about the problems I had and kept it bottled up to myself.

This I now realise was a mistake and I have since learnt to talk about any issues that I have.

For all the stress I had to endure, I certainly was not paid enough.

The people who I worked with, including the team leaders, did not treat me with as much respect as I felt I deserved.

This period was a very unhappy stage of my life and my health started to become affected.

I wanted to leave this company a lot earlier than the time that I eventually did, the problem was that I did not feel that I could afford to.

I decided to save up enough money over a period of about six months so that I could then make my escape.

At the same time I started to look at finding alternative work and thought long and hard about which career path I wanted to take.

On the day that I left this job, I will never forget my journey home.

I could not stop smiling; I was so relieved that this nightmare was over once and for all.

I am happy to let you know that I have not found myself in a similar situation since.

There may well be a time in the future of course when I do and if this ever happens to me again, I am determined to leave a lot quicker than I did before.

Life is too short to spend living in the way that I had.

gain more confidence page 9