I'm Always Worried About Money: Tips to Ease Your Financial Anxiety

Money worries can affect anyone, regardless of financial situation. If you find yourself continually thinking, "I'm always worried about money," you may be experiencing an issue known as financial or money anxiety. In this article, we'll explore the root causes of money anxiety, how it can affect mental health, and some strategies to stop worrying about money in a way that has you losing sleep.

Understanding Financial Anxiety

While general anxiety and social anxiety are fairly well-known disorders, few tend to talk about money anxiety. And yet it is a common anxiety for many people.

What is Financial Anxiety?

Financial anxiety is a persistent fear of not having enough money to meet basic needs or secure the future. It can lead to constant stress over financial decisions, savings, and debt, impacting the ability to enjoy life and make confident financial decisions.

Financial anxiety stems from an uncertainty of what the future holds and can be caused by a lack of income, debt, or financial setbacks. It can also be triggered by various factors, not just a lack of money, and can lead to unhealthy habits and relationships.

Recognizing the Effects of Financial Stress

While not recognized as a clinical mental health disorder, stress levels over your bank account can lead to a variety of impacts on both mental and physical health.

Physical and Mental Health Effects

Money anxiety or financial anxiety can contribute to clinical mental health issues such as depression or anxiety disorders, as well as high levels of stress. Chronic stress, including that caused by financial worries, can bring physical symptoms such as headaches, muscle tension, stomachaches, or chronic pain. It can also eventually lead to physical health issues like diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease.

Financial anxiety can lead to insomnia, loss of appetite, and an inability to focus—a vicious cycle of symptoms that make it difficult to find even temporary relief.

Relationship and Lifestyle Effects

Financial stress can affect relationships and overall well-being. Money anxiety can lead to conflicts with family and friends and impact daily decisions, leading to decision paralysis and avoidance behaviors.

Financial anxiety can also cause a compulsion to work excessively to earn more or be secure in a job, which may lead to neglecting hobbies and relationships and even health problems down the line.

Managing Money Anxiety

The best way to begin managing money anxiety is to address any existing practical spending or saving issues that may be impacting your finances.

Understanding Your Financial Values

Understanding your financial values and priorities can help you make financial decisions that align with your goals, while building financial stability and security can help you feel more in control of your finances. Create a long-term financial plan to help you achieve financial peace of mind.

Building Financial Stability

Creating an atmosphere of financial stability in your life can take some of the worry out of finances. Start by building an emergency fund and paying off what debt you can. Next, create a savings account and start retirement planning to help build financial stability and help you reach financial goals.

Understanding your bank statements and how to promote financial health can help you make informed financial decisions, as well as take some of the guesswork out of paying bills and help establish solid spending habits into your daily routine.

Creating a Financial Plan to Address Money Anxiety

Creating a budget can help alleviate financial anxiety by providing a sense of control and security. Unlike some types of anxiety, which may arise from unfounded fears, personal finance can be challenging in that there can often be cause for concern. Housing prices, high interest rates, the gig economy, and increased cost of living are very real problems.

You may want to take steps to guard your financial security, especially if you or your spouse have an unsteady income. Learn to understand financial contracts and agreements, such as credit card terms and loan agreements, to help reduce financial stress.

Building a savings account as well as an emergency fund can provide a safety net and reduce financial anxiety.

Getting Professional Help

If you have difficulty understanding how to reduce debt and trouble dealing with your finances, you may want to seek help from a financial advisor or credit counseling organization who can provide personalized advice and support.

Getting professional help can help you take control of your finances and alleviate financial anxiety. When you create a solid understanding of spending, debt, paying bills, and dealing with creditors, it takes some of the worry out of your financial situation. Creating a plan to improve it can help you feel more in control and may help alleviate some of your money anxiety.

Staying on Track

Regularly reviewing your budget and financial progress can help you stay on track and help you find more money for necessities and treats. You may work with a financial advisor or even learn how to set up a budget from a book. If you create a simple spreadsheet to track your debt, savings, and spending habits, you'll end up spending less time worrying over paying your bills and experience less stress around the unknown.

Overcoming Money Worries

Personal finance may seem daunting at first, but the principles can be simple and lead to smarter money decisions and cut down on your time worrying over money problems. In addition, you can add some helpful stress management techniques that are proven to help minimize overall anxiety.

Focusing on the Facts

Most people worry about money. However, by focusing on the facts and making a plan to achieve financial freedom, you can help alleviate financial anxiety in your own life.

Educate yourself on managing money, create a realistic budget, and set specific financial goals to help you. Understanding your financial values and building financial stability can help you feel more in control of your finances.

Practicing Relaxation Techniques

Practice mindfulness to improve your overall mental health. Deep breathing exercises and meditation can increase mindfulness, helping you stay present and reduce worries about future financial uncertainties.

Practicing regular relaxation techniques can help you live in the present moment and take some of the focus off of debt, bills, and finances. Alongside healthy lifestyle habits such as regular exercise and healthy eating, these techniques can also help reduce stress and anxiety overall.

Building a Support Network

Seeking social support from friends, family, or a therapist can help alleviate financial anxiety. When you feel a part of a community, money anxiety and fears around personal finance don't loom as large in your life. You can also lean on practical support: joining a union or seeking help from financial advisors can provide financial security and stability.

Building a solid social and practical financial support network can help you feel less alone in your financial struggles.

Breaking Free from Financial Anxiety in Austin, TX

Money can make us anxious, especially if we have difficulty staying within our budget or haven't acquired wealth in savings. Understanding your financial values and building financial stability in your bank account can help you achieve financial peace of mind and stop worrying about money. However, sometimes we need a bit of emotional support as well.

At Williamsburg Therapy Group, our team of doctoral-level Austin psychotherapists offers both online and in-person sessions to accommodate a busy life and allow you to work with a provider that can facilitate healing, offering a variety of practical strategies, healthy coping skills, and relaxation techniques that will allow you to reduce the emotional and physical symptoms of anxiety and experience a greater quality of life.

Don’t hesitate to seek help if you’re struggling with anxious thoughts or depression around money. With the right treatment and support, it’s possible to treat money anxiety. Stress around spending may not disappear altogether, but you can learn to manage it. Reach out to our customer service coordinator to get matched with a professional who can offer tools and strategies to manage symptoms and reduce anxiety in a way that allows you live a more fulfilling life.