Financial stress is a situation in which you are unable to bear the stress and pressure of financial burden. This burden can result because of excess loans, excess credit utilization, and mismanagement of borrowed funds. The pressure will increase as the due dates will come nearer. The borrower will feel the stress of repayment and the financial stress will start to build up.
Dealing with financial stress is not easy as the result of this will be difficult to imagine. If the loan is issued with the mortgage then on nonpayment of the loan the mortgage asset will be seized by the financial institution. Payment of EMIs on time and management of money is a very difficult task but if you learn money management then it is stress-free.
What is Financial stress?
Financial stress is an emotional fear and anxiety about money. This increased stress can cause health issues like insomnia, headaches, fatigue, and much more. Different people will experience stress in different ways.
Financial stress can come up on you if you do not have any financial backing or any plan to overcome the situations of life. You can identify if a person is in a stressful situation or not by noticing a few symptoms which are listed below.
- Depression
- Tension
- Worry
- Anxiety
- Sleeplessness
- Losing weight or Gaining weight
- Poor coping skills
- And many psychological problems
It is observed that financial problems are the cause of many other problems but if you can manage money and change your mindset towards money then it will help you overcome this problem. Personal loans, mortgage loans, installment purchases and other consumer debts are mainly observed as the cause of financial burden. The uncalculated debt usage is the result of the financial problems that people face.
Dealing with Financial stress
There are various ways in which you can manage financial stress. Below listed are few ways in which you can manage your financial life and stay away from financial stress.
- Budgeting
- Track your expenses
- Debt management
- Emergency funds
- Cut down emotional spending
1. Budgeting
Budgeting is an art of channelising your money. It is a technique in which you are giving instructions to the money in which way it has to flow. To reduce the financial stress budgeting is a great tool.
- Write down on a piece of paper what is your income
- Write down your monthly expenses
- Deduct your expenses from your income
If you have surplus money after deducting monthly expenses then you can manage finances without stress.
If the figures go down into negative then you have to find ways to reduce your expenses. Not just reducing your expenses but finding ways to increase your income is a great solution. Look out for passive income, go for part-time jobs, go for after-office jobs, start your own part-time business and make your passion into an income-generating source.
2. Track your expenses
Tracking your expenses is one of the traditional ways of money management. When you track your expenses you will identify where your money is coming from and where it is going towards. If an excess amount is going towards unwanted expenses then you can cut down those expenses. You can plan your expenses and manage your money when you have track of expenses.
Once you prepare the budget you are allocating funds toward the expenses. When you are tracking your expenses will help you to know if your budgeted expenses are correctly managed or not. The success of preparing your budget will be shown when you track your expenses.
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3. Debt Management
Debt management is the art of using your income towards the payment of your debts. Paying off all your debts systematically according to the timelines is very important. If you fall short of money then you can convert your expenses into EMIs and also when you are using credit cards you can pay minimum amounts to manage debts for a period of time.
There are many different types of loans a person may have personal loans, student loans, credit card dues, medical debts, and others. Managing all these may be stressful. It is important that you pay off your debts as soon as possible to become stress-free.
4. Emergency funds
Emergency funds will come to rescue your life when you are in dire need of funds. If you have emergency funds then you can reduce your financial stress. This fund will help you to meet any emergency needs. It is a psychological support system that will help you to be stress-free and give you peace of mind.
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5. Cut down your emotional spending
Reduce your emotional spending. It is generally observed that people will tend to buy things that they do not require based on their emotions attached to the objects. This is an unnecessary expense as you tend to buy more that you do not require.
Take away
Savings and emergency funds are the techniques through which you can put your money aside to meet any future expenses. Since this money is not borrowed money there is no stress on repayment. Generating the habits of savings and learning the art of money rotation can help you to avoid financial stress.
About the author
Vinay Kumar Goguru is a finance professional with more than 8 years of diverse experience as a researcher, instructor and Industry work experience with both public and private entities. Prior to MyMoneySouq, he spent 6 years in Berkadia, It's a commercial mortgage banking company. He has a "Doctoral Degree in Commerce" and two master's degrees with a specialization in Finance, one as Master of Commerce and other as Master of Business Administration. He has written several articles on personal finance, published by different International journals. He loves traveling, reading and writing is his passion. He has a dream of writing a book on his favorite finance topics.
