One of the great side benefit of not being a salesperson who is on the plane way too often is that I have more time to talk to my parents over the phone. Yesterday, a question came up that affects almost all of us who weren’t born into eventually inheriting Exxon Mobil – How to not worry about money?
Under all guidelines and measures, my finances are very solid. I’m debt free, I live below my means, my emergency fund is already setup and in some respects, my business is actually more stable than most people’s jobs. Furthermore, Emma’s salary more than covers for the family’s monthly expenses. Pretty fail proof it seems.
Yet, I still sometimes worry about money.
I’m concerned that having kids (something my wife and I definitely want to do) will increase our living costs, and I worry that the house we buy will likely add financial stress in our lives (remember, we are in an one-bedroom apartment right now so the house we purchase will likely be bigger).
After a lengthy discussion and some more thoughts into the matter, below are a couple areas that can help me (and possibly you) reduce the worry for money.
- Realize that It’s Exaggerated – Worry is a funny feeling – it seems to exaggerate any problem. While there are certainly many people who actually run out of money, those are usually not the people that tend to worry.
Spend the Same Time Making Money Instead – If you are going to spend time worrying about money, why not use that time and get a side job instead? Maybe start a website (or two, or three). I know it’s easier said than done, but the more you work at it, the easier it gets.
- Confidence – Part of the reason why we worry about money is because of the lack of confidence in our own abilities to earn an income. How can we boost our confidence you ask? Confidence comes from success, and success starts from taking action. So try a few things. Learn from it and try again.
- The workplace plays a big role in all this as well. Are your colleagues encouraging? Is your boss supportive? If not, then do something about it. Don’t get into the thinking of “I can’t find another job”. Yes you can. If you got this job, you can get another one.
- Worrying is Actually Good – A little worrying is actually healthy for us. It’s what drives us to be better. It’s what turns our energy switch to the on position. The right way to deal with it is to channel it into your work ethic, and your desire to be better.
How Do You Deal with It?
Of course, what I listed are just a tip of the iceberg. How do you deal with worrying about the lack of money? Or do you? What has worked for you? Let us know!
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Other ways you can add confidence is also having an emergency fund, knowing that you don’t need to spend much because you live frugally etc.
The other way I not worry is because I focus so much on how to save and make more that I don’t have time to worry. It’s weird but I really don’t worry too much.
I started blogging about my anxiety around money. It gives me an outlet to vent! It also gives me reassuance that I’m on the right track. Sometimes reading all of the PF blogs makes me worry, but other times it teaches me new things and makes me feel better. It’s hard to tell. Right now I feel like I am taking control of my financial destiny and that helps too!
like the song says, don’t worry, be happy.
Keep reading and learning about money and how to make the money you have make more money for you.
I never worry about making more money – nope – don’t want more.
The more I do for myself, the less money I need to spend, therefore the less I need to earn, therefore the less I need to work…. equals a semi-retired life 10 years early 
What I do instead is find creative ways to get by without spending any money…. that’s what jingles my bells
Once your house is paid for it takes very very little to actually get by!
Money comes and goes and in fact my mother-in-law says it best when she says “sometimes you have money, and sometimes you don’t”. I think this is a good way of looking at it and even people who make good money seem to get into situations where money is tight, and even people who don’t have a lot of money seem to happy at times. It’s just means that people who get caught up on money issues all the time are just spinning their wheels and stressing for things that they usually don’t have any control over. As the deceased Christopher Wallace (Notorious BIG) would say, ‘”Mo money, mo problems”.
Hey David
Were you reading my mind last night? This article and the one I just published carry the exact same message (though they are written in a different tone). It’s all about building confidence in yourself.
Cheers,
Steve
You can always meditate if you feel like you’re overwhelmed.
I’ve learned that the more personal power I assert in my relationship with money, the less worry & anxiety I have about my finances. Pinpoint exactly what you’re worrying about and then ask: Is there anything I’m doing or NOT doing that’s contributing to my worries? If so, take one small action step to put yourself in the driver’s seat in a positive way.
Avoidance, denial, inaction… these all feed the worry monster!
It’s comforting to know that I control my finances and they don’t control me.
You have layed a great foundation . . . adding kids into the mix will require adjustments, but you should transition better than most I suspect.
A little worry never hurt anyone– it keeps you on your toes.
The main thing that helps me to stop worrying is to create a budget and track every thing that i spend, including the planned spending events (insurance, tax bill, etc).
Sometimes i worry because i’m speculating about how much money things are costing or how much will be left at the end of the month, but if I can take a solid hour and sit down and look at where our accounts are situated and what we are planning on doing, i feel much better.
having a plan is crucial!
These are all great ways to not worry. Worry only comes when you don’t know what the situation is or when you’re not prepared for it.
So, like Melanie, I track my spending and have made a plan for what I want to do with my money. I use a budgeting program my husband created for this very reason. Money and debt really scared me when we first got married so my husband created CalendarBudget which gave me peace of mind. Now there’s no question of how much money I have and I can see that and plan ahead to avoid debt for bills or big purchases. Now there’s no fear/worries. I can with confidence make a decision on a purchase and know it’s not going to put me in debt or if it is delay it/don’t do it.
Thanks for the ideas David and commenters! I think I need to try the meditation more too.
Another way to look at it is to calculate your expenses and income / bonuses / per month and chart out on a monthly basis how much you have left. that will trigger something in you to see your financial health. And then your internal engines will automatically work at increasing the balance per month figure because you want to be FREE!