It’s no surprise that financial stress leads to mental health problems right? The problem is we don’t have a true roadmap for financial success and often our parent’s money stories are passed on to us – good or bad. We also don’t talk to anyone about finances until it’s too late. So it’s an internal journey you try to navigate yourself! If you make the right choices, you will have the time of your life! But what happens if you choose what you shouldn’t?
The Wealth Of Mental Health
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Marlene Dietrich says, ‘There is a gigantic difference between earning a great deal of money and being rich’. She is so right. In the end, it is never about how much money you have in your hands.
It is about what you do with your money and how much it messes with your mind, your peace, your mental health.
Mental health is the only wealth in the world that is very vulnerable and the most precious.
Your financial stress is directly related to your mental health. You’ll need to plan, acquire, earn, save and spend wisely to attain peace of mind. If you are mentally healthy, you live longer, function better and enjoy the bounty of life.
The Financially Influenced Mental Illnesses
Financial stress affect the mental health of people as early as teenage. Youngsters worry about student loans, expenses and finding a job someday.
These worries grow with age. Bad financial decisions throw people into serious concerns like anxiety, depression and substance abuse.
Research by Financial Planning Standards Council shows that ‘48% of Canadians say they’ve lost sleep because of financial worries’.
Dominoes of Financial Decisions
Let’s breakdown this thing called ‘Financial Worries’.
A pile of bills and not enough money to pay them — this is a full-blown panicky situation. When you’re earnings fall short of your spendings, bills begin to thicken.
To combat this, people reach out to loans and lines of credit. This gives a short boost of happiness, as that original pile of bills begins to vanish.
Bills paid = happiness. Is this happiness and shot of endorphin (the happy hormone) perpetual? Nope. You’ll see new papers coming through the mail.
The loan repayment schedule begins and penalties begin to stack if left unpaid. This causes dents in your well being by pushing you to be edgy and constantly freaking out.
Over time these concerns become a part of your mental health.
Common Effects Before Financial Decisions
- Fear of investing your savings
- Thinking way too much each day about how to save.
- Stressing about old age and retirement savings.
- Anxiety because it’s hard to decide on buying real estate or stocks.
- Depression because your income isn’t enough so you’ll be taking a loan.
Notable Effects After Making Financial Decisions
- Emotional havoc caused by bankruptcy, unpaid loan penalties.
- Stress due to decrease in the value of homes.
- Clouded personal judgement and rogue emotional spending.
- Foreclosure notices to business leading to depression and further imbalanced decisions.
The Secret To Combat Financial Woes
‘Two heads are better than one’. This classic adage stands extremely true and crucial in the financial aspect of everyone’s lives. If you’re an entrepreneur, a business owner, a real estate mogul, digital expert or a regular, employed individual, you need an expert to diagnose your financial nuances.
When you are ill physically, you go to a doctor for diagnosis and medication, right? Just like that finance is the core domain of experts like accountants and financial advisors.
They provide professional insights into your financial situations. They give you advice on your viable and profitable options, preventing you from taking the pitfall.
It will also help to learn more about the basics of finance and personal financial literacy.
If you’ve fallen prey to the mental health issues, then you can approach a therapist, while also proactively seeking advice for your finances. If you’re not ready to speak to us, here are 5 tips you can do yourself to help with your financial stress
- Write down your obligations and map them out on a calendar
- Write down your financial goals – prioritize these and also break them out into short-term and long-term goals
- Analyze your obligations from #1 – find a savings of at least 10%
- Set up an auto transfer from your primary bank account to your savings (or directly into an investment vehicle via a PAC!) so it’s out of site
- Track and measure often – apps like MINT are great for keeping you on track!
By having a plan, your financial stress – and therefore mental health – will improve!
Has there been anything worrying you about your finances? Go ahead and let us know or better yet book a call and let’s chat tax and wealth strategies!!
