Say Goodbye to Financial Anxiety: 10 Tips to Stop Worrying About Money
Americans are feeling the pinch in their wallets between inflation, shrinkflation, price-gauging, and financing war; it’s no wonder so many are suffering from financial anxiety. But constantly stressing and worrying over money is not good for your health. So, it’s necessary to find ways to overcome it and prevent it from doing real damage.
What Is Financial Anxiety?

Financial anxiety is the feeling of extreme worry or existential financial dread that takes over when your finances become stressed. This anxiety can manifest from a lack of job security, mountains of debts, the need to make more money, and the inability to pay for basic needs such as food and hygiene care. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to alleviate the pressure.
1. Shift Your Mindset to Gratitude

Part of having a positive money mindset is cultivating an attitude of gratitude. Don’t talk about what you don’t have; thank God for what you do. Acknowledge your blessings and practice gratitude in various ways until gratitude becomes the core of your being.
Start your morning with a big stretch. Then, as your feet hit the floor, pause for a moment of gratitude. Thank God for waking you up another day and speaking out loud; say three things you are grateful for in life. You’ll be amazed how starting your morning by vocalizing the good things in your life will change you.
Stop being afraid of losing what you have or not having enough, and start telling yourself you have everything you need and how grateful you are to have it.
Gratitude affirmations such as “Thank you for my hot shower, thank you for my warm bed, thank you for the food in my belly, thank you for my health, thank you for my many blessings, Lord, and thank you for many more,” genuinely change your mindset.
2. Follow a Budget

Find a way to create and keep a budget. It is the foundation of mastering your finances and achieving financial freedom. If downloading a printable budget binder to input numbers manually works for you, do it. If you prefer a classic budgeting spreadsheet, that’s fine.
Many people have great success using You Need a Budget (YNAB). Their website alleges the average person using their software saves $600 within their first two months and $6,000 their first year.
The best part is that they offer a 34-day free trial without requiring a credit card. So, there is no need to remember to cancel if it doesn’t work for you.
3. Have Multiple Bank Accounts

Some people experience relief from financial anxiety by having multiple bank accounts. It operates similarly to the cash envelope system, which allows bills to be paid from different accounts (envelopes). This strategy can help you separate spending funds from savings and household cash from individual earnings.
4. Build an Emergency Fund

Building an emergency fund is the first financial goal you should set if you’ve not already established one with three to six months of your expenses. Remember to budget some for unforeseen circumstances, as we know life is full of them.
Knowing that if something drastic were to happen, you would be financially alright for a few months is one of the most considerable stress and financial anxiety relievers you can experience.
5. Automate Your Savings

Another massive money-making move that will reduce financial anxiety is automating your savings. You should always pay yourself first, so set up automatic deposits to your savings account from each paycheck.
If you do not implement savings methods, you’ll never save a dime. Automatic deposits are the first step to watching money build up, getting excited, and working harder to make that number grow.
6. Educate Yourself About Personal Finance

People who constantly stress and worry about money are often less educated about finances than those who don’t seem to sweat it all. There is a double-edged sword to blame: one side is a failing public school system, and the other is a society failing to educate itself to escape the debt cycle.
Grab a top money book! Start reading the leading finance blogs, and if you’re a beginner, find the blogs that simplify it — hey, friend. Everybody has to start somewhere.
There’s no shame in discovering podcasts or YouTube channels that explain complex things like taxes, compound interest, real estate investing, business write-offs, investments, etc. A mind need not worry about something it’s fully educated about.
7. Reduce Your Spending

The first step to reducing your spending is tracking your expenses. Do you know what you spend and where? If not, you might be surprised to discover where your money goes each month. From inflated coffee budgets to excessive service and delivery fees, there are numerous ways to reduce your spending, sometimes drastically.
8. Prioritize Paying Debt

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reports Americans owe a staggering $1.12 trillion in credit card debt. So, if you’re experiencing the weight of financial anxiety on your chest, it makes sense.
Prioritize paying off your debt immediately. Start with your highest-interest card. Make minimums on your other cards while maximizing what you can budget to pay toward the high-interest nightmare. Rinse and repeat until you can breathe again.
9. Improve Your Credit Score

Having a poor credit score is one of the more soul-crushing stressors that keep people in a constant debt cycle and state of financial anxiety. Everything becomes harder and more expensive. Interest rates jump to absurd highs designed never to let you breathe again, but you can do it.
Start by paying your bills on time, disputing credit errors on your reports, dealing with collection accounts, and rebuilding credit with a secured credit card.
10. Focus On What You Can Control

Something you may need to give grace and remind yourself about is focusing only on what you control. So often, people get wrapped up in all the things outside of their control. This behavior can cause you to shut down and give up on working toward your financial goals.
Read More: Former Wireless Store Manager: 12 Tips to Save Money on Smartphones

Have you ever felt like you were being finessed when buying a cell phone or signing up for free phones at a new cellular service carrier? It’s because you are. Most cell phone representatives work for commission, are force-fed a script to regurgitate to unsuspecting customers and have an agenda when you come through the door. Don’t fret, I have some legit tips to save money on smartphones.
Former Wireless Store Manager: 12 Tips to Save Money on Smartphones
Elizabeth Ervin helps people embrace a change in money mindset to achieve their financial goals. After struggling for a decade as a single mother, consumed by the American debt cycle, she recognizes the value of financial education and lifestyle changes and aspires to motivate others to make those changes to obtain financial freedom. She heavily advocates for praying about and over your finances and speaking positive money affirmations to manifest abundance.