Are You Financially Stressed?

Correspondent | Monday November 9, 2015 12:45

If we don’t deal with the stresses in our lives and the causes of them, they will start affecting our health. One of the main causes of stress in our lives today is financial stress.

A recent study revealed that Borrowing to Pay Debt was the largest cause of financial stress, followed by Lack of Money Skills and Living Beyond Ones Means. The High Costs of Living came at the bottom of the list, below having Too Many Dependents.

 

What is Financial Stress?

Financial Stress is feelings of being Overwhelmed; Confused; Out of Control; No Way Out; Afraid; Desperate; Harassed by Creditors; Having No Money for Basics

 

Do you recognise these feelings?

Do you experience stress when you think about money?

The reason we feel like this is we haven’t been taught how to manage our money.

We don’t know how to deal with stress in our lives; especially financial stress. Culturally, we don’t speak to each other about our personal money, it is not appropriate.

As a result, we tend to handle our stress badly. We just hope it will get better - maybe next week, next month or next year.

Ask yourself, How Do I Cope with Stress?          

1.         Should I rely on hope, or should I make a plan?

2.         Should I get further into debt, or live within my means?

3.         Should I resort to stealing or own-up to my mistakes?

4.         Should I run away and hide or face my fears?

5.         Should I pray for a miracle, or plan to help myself?

 

You know that in reality, hoping, praying, running away, borrowing more or stealing are not solutions to the underlying problem. They just make things worse later down the road.

 

How Should We Cope With Financial Stress?

1.         Firstly we need to understand money, learn as much as we can about how it works, how debt works, interest rates and inflation.

If we understand the terminology of money and how it works, we can be more in control of it in day-to-day negotiations of our financial lives.

2.         Secondly, we need to know what our own financial situation is today. We cannot control what we do not know.

3.         Thirdly, we need to learn how to manage our money. Why do companies need managers? A company needs managers to run its business, likewise, we need to manage our own lives.

It is the same thing; we must learn how to manage our money and keep managing it, as our situations keep changing.

It’s an on-going commitment you must make to your future, you must keep on managing your money, all of the time.

4.         Lastly, we need to plan our financial futures.

Plan the stepping stones that you are going to follow to get you from where we are today, to the financial freedom you long for in your future.

 

Learn to Manage your Money

It doesn’t matter how much you earn, until you have learned to manage your money, you’ll never be without financial stress. You’ll never earn enough money to live on, regardless of how much you are earning, even if you are the boss!

Once you have learned how to manage your money, you will realise that it doesn’t matter how much you earn, you can always afford to live your life.

 If you take the time to learn how to manage your money, your life will change will forever.

How does it feel not to be Financially Stressed?

“Financial Wellness is the absence of Financial Stress. It is not dependent on Wealth or Earnings.”  As you can see, there is a very big difference between how we Should Cope with Financial Stress and How we Do Cope with Financial Stress. You must choose which life you want to lead.

Do you want to be scared and worried all of your life, or do you want to empower yourself to be Financially Fit?

You MUST Plan – how else is your life going to get better?

“People don’t Plan to Fail”

“They Just Fail to Plan”

 

S.C.I. Training run financial wellness programmes, and offer financial education and debt counselling in Botswana. For help and information contact them on 3180111 or money@wellness.co.bw