How Women Can Manage Financial Stress
Only 10% of women say they have their financial stress completely under control. If you’re like the rest, finances can be a source of anxiety. There are always bills to be paid, monthly budgets to be balanced, and a vague picture of a retirement that depends on your savings. The financial tasks can seem never ending, yet it can feel like you aren’t making adequate progress toward long-term goals.
Financial anxiety can impact other aspects of life, from relationships to careers, until it feels like money is the only thing on your mind. But there is an alternative to this constant state of stress. Follow these steps to manage your finances effectively and reduce financial anxiety.
Identify Financial Stressors
Identify the things about your finances that trigger stress and anxiety. These stressors could include paying bills, balancing a monthly budget, or anxiety about reaching long-term goals.
Once you know which activities or thoughts cause anxiety, recognize the triggers as they occur. Sometimes, just knowing that an activity is stressful can reduce the anxiety surrounding it. Other times, you need to take an active role in minimizing stress. Either way, reducing financial anxiety begins with identifying your triggers.
Set A Time to Review Your Finances
Reduce stress by setting a dedicated time to review your financial position. One way to do this is through a “daily money minute.” Each morning, review your bank balances, investment accounts, and credit card transactions. Then, don’t think about your finances for the rest of the day.
If a daily review of finances is too often, consider a weekly or monthly review. If you choose to review finances less often, be sure to allocate adequate time to the task. For example, you may need an hour each month rather than a minute each day to properly review balances, budgets, and spending patterns. By relegating financial review to a specific day or time, you can keep the related stress contained.
Reduce Anxiety with a Financial Plan
One of the best ways to reduce the anxiety surrounding your financial journey is to create a plan and stick to it. An effective financial plan will address the following items:
Your Financial Plan Should Quantify Long-term Goals
Your specific and actionable financial plan should quantify long-term goals. Some common items to keep in mind include retirement, large purchases, and funding education for your children.
Your Financial Plan Should Include Intermediate and Short-Term Goals
Once your long-term goals are established, incorporate smaller steps to help with achieving them. When you complete a goal, you should feel a sense of accomplishment. That’s why setting smaller, incremental goals will lead to “small victories” that can dampen anxiety and help you maintain a positive outlook.
Your Plan Should Be Overseen by an Experienced Financial Planner
A financial plan alone is not enough. Your plan needs to be effective, and a partnership with a trustworthy financial planner can help you get there. An experienced advisor can assist with quantifying goals, crafting a plan for reaching them, and even reducing risk through appropriate investment choices and insurance.
Discuss Your Financial Anxiety with An Experienced Financial Planner
The first step in securing a confident financial future is finding a planner you can trust. If you trust your advisor, it’s easier to discuss financial stressors with them and work together to get anxieties under control.
If you want the best chance for success in your financial plan, be brutally honest with your financial planner. This means you should get ‘financially naked’ for your advisor, so they understand the full – and sometimes messy – details of your financial picture. When they understand your situation and your fears, they can work with you to develop solutions that reduce stress and help you manage financial decisions more effectively.
In summary, it’s important to know where you stand financially, have a plan in place, and partner with an experienced financial planner. Then, you can relax!
Overcome Financial Anxiety with Brookstone Wealth Management
At Brookstone Wealth Management, our focus is on coaching, teaching, and mentoring our clients so they can feel confident in their financial future. We call this philosophy Financial Navigation Made Simple.
Our unique financial planning program, Financial Fingerprint™ is quick to assemble, easy to understand, and simple to modify as your circumstances change. With Financial Fingerprint™, and a partnership with an experienced financial planner, you can quantify goals and feel confident in your plan for reaching them.
Contact us today to get started.
