Stress, money, stress, money...how to cope

It’s that time of year where just knowing that you need to spend money can make you feel stressed.

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Every person who’s been stressed about money spends differently and reacts differently.

Here’s 5 tips to help relieve stress and another 5 practical ways that may help you feel more in control of your money.

5 tips for managing stress:

1) Exercise is awesome for mental health. For me the brain fog clears and it’s like a weight has lifted from my shoulders. Although I have a gym membership, when I want to clear my head the best results come from a walk, run or simple meander by a river or through some trees.

2) Meditation, Relaxation or whatever you want to call it. Meditation can be as simple as 5 minutes lying down connecting with your breathing or an unlimited amount of time simply being. There are classes, podcasts, and programs available for download sometimes free and sometimes for a cost to help direct you to a mindful state. Otherwise a yoga class may be more up your alley.

3) Eat well and often, body health flows through to mental health. Feeling alert and healthy is a great stress reducer. So many foods that help with great health benefits that keep you feeling good – seeds, nuts, leafy and green vegetables, white meat, oatmeal.

4) Listen to music, play around with styles, volumes and having a little dance as you go. Some days the perfect track will be the one with a backbeat that you can stomp to, other days some pop music where you can swivel your hips, and other days the sounds of birds chirping and waves flowing. Nothing like some tunes to chase away the stress.

5) Get a massage, or ask your partner for a foot rub. Touch is a great stress reliever. Some days it can be as simple as a hug from your mate, or your child sitting on your lap while you read a book or watch a movie.

5 tips for feeling more in control of your money:

1) Know exactly where it goes, there are lots of amazing apps out there now which show you exactly where you are spending. Like the MoneyBrilliant app which I love. I can tag transactions, which is awesome for me, I can see how much I spend on each kid, myself and how much my husband spends.

2) Understand your bills, have a bills calendar. Know your monthly, quarterly and annual bills. Equate bills to your pay period and ensure that this much money is set aside after paying your rent/mortgage. Make sure you negotiate/check how much your services cost you at least annually.

3) Are you taking a holiday or trying to repay a debt? Take that money out as soon as you have paid your rent/mortgage and set aside your bill money. What you have left at this point is your discretionary spending.

4) Safe spending, this is the amount that you can spend without impacting your ability to meet your financial commitments. You need to understand this figure to understand what you can commit to. Prioritise everything you want to do and see if there’s anything you need to drop off the bottom.

5) Say no, you have spent time and worked to earn your money. If you want to spend it in a certain way and agreeing to something else will put that at risk you are well within your rights to say no. Set your money boundaries. Stick to them. Recognise where you are at risk of caving in and learn strategies to negate this.

Do you have any tips to add that work for you? Please SHARE in the comments below.

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19 Comments

- - meedee said
  - 23 Nov 2021
    1:05 pm
Most important thing is to live within your means.
If you cant afford to pay for it then you dont get it.

- - Melissa89 said
  - 26 Jul 2016
    9:03 pm
These are such fantastic tips. I am so stressed over money lately

- - jodiev1980 said
  - 13 Jun 2016
    7:55 pm
Holidays are a crazy time and budgets can blow out so much. I suggest trying to put a little bit away each pay packet to ease the burden at Christmas.

- - mom71820 said
  - 24 Feb 2016
    1:00 pm
It’s so easy to lose control of the budget, thanks for the helpful reminders.

- - mom70799 said
  - 17 Jan 2016
    9:37 pm
this is really good advice, as we all know money just seems to slip through our fingers, and all we seem to do is work.

- - ella12 said
  - 06 Jan 2016
    12:00 pm
Such wise tips. Thank you so much for the article.

- - Kasey said
  - 31 Dec 2015
    10:31 pm
Some fantastic tips in this article.

- - mom93821 said
  - 30 Dec 2015
    6:31 pm
Good and sensible tips -thanks for sharing them. Living within your means eliminates a lot of stress.

- - rachelvk said
  - 26 Dec 2015
    10:52 am
There are some fantastic tips in this article. Money in particular can be a stressful topic and I find understanding where all the money goes is a great tool to determining where savings can be made.

- - mom94125 said
  - 19 Dec 2015
    5:25 pm
definately keep a record! keep all the reciepts, write down every expense and see in black and white where it all goes!

- - mom134803 said
  - 18 Dec 2015
    2:52 am
Some good advice here, most of which we already do.

- - mom101628 said
  - 17 Dec 2015
    9:26 pm
Great tips and just keep following your budget and update it every time a bill goes up.

- - mum888 said
  - 17 Dec 2015
    5:32 pm
This is so true and I believe money is one of the main factors that contribute to mental illness. It is important to make sure your necessities such as bulls, insurance , loans etc are taken into account first before we even think about buying a new pair of shoes or top . I have seen people spend hundreds of dollars on designer brands , but can you afford it . Seeing my parents struggle as a child has really scared us , and we are always careful about being in bad debt .

- - mum4107 said
  - 17 Dec 2015
    5:32 am
I definitely agree with exercise to help with stress

- - mom90758 said
  - 16 Dec 2015
    5:40 pm
Great article!
For more ways to relax I would add play some board games with the family. Enjoy the small things in life!
And then, yes, keep a budget and stick to it. Don’t buy what you can’t afford, check all the bills and bank statements. Check the supermarket receipt too before going home after shopping. Errors happen!
- mom162548 replied
  
  17 Dec 2015 , 8:49 am
  Great ideas, I keep such an eagle eye on the poor checkout people at the shops – too many times things have gone through at the wrong price!! Boardgames aren’t my go to stress reliever these days, a couple of 6 hour Monopoly marathons in our house have reduced the relaxation factor for me….!! Jen
- - mom112217 said
  - 16 Dec 2015
    1:31 pm
I like tip 4 safe spending,stay within that amount and it won’t affect your budget!
- mom93821 replied
  
  31 Dec 2015 , 6:00 am
  It does take discipline – but it just has to be done.
- - mom165081 said
  - 16 Dec 2015
    11:53 am
Sometimes these things are easier said than done. Don’t expect perfect or instant results – everyone’s circumstances are different.