financial anxiety / how to deal with financial anxiety / what is financial anxiety / how to overcome financial anxiety

Finances scare me! Your guide to beating financial anxiety

. 4 min read . Written by Vanshika Goenka
Finances scare me! 
Your guide to beating financial anxiety

Ever had one of those weeks where every swipe of your credit card is accompanied by a looming sense of dread? Or days where you actively avoid checking your bank balance, because you’re too scared of what you’d find.

Trust us, you’re not alone. While financial independence may be one of the best parts of growing up, it is also the scariest. Life gets serious real quick when you’re the one calling the shots on every monetary decision.

Making this transition to financial independence can be difficult, especially considering that financial education is often overlooked in schools and at home. Fortunately, this lack of financial knowledge can be remedied with a little bit of effort in the right direction, such as investing in PowerPass. PowerPass is an e-learning subscription that gives you access to a range of courses, including hands-on guidance in planning your finances. It also imparts necessary skills in the evolving fields of digital marketing, content creation, and social media. Come learn skills you never learned in class, get job ready and build a career you love.

Of course, one very important aspect of building your career is knowing how to manage your finances, and financial anxiety can often get in the way of this. If you’ve ever found yourself hyperventilating over your bank balance, or brought to tears while drawing up a budget, then this read is for you.

Let’s take a look at the nuances of independent living and how one can overcome financial anxiety.

Index:

  • What is financial anxiety
  • Causes of financial anxiety
  • Financial problems
  • Unstable income and rising expenses
  • Lack of financial literacy
  • How to overcome financial anxiety
  • Confront negative thoughts
  • Plan ahead
  • Financial literacy

What is financial anxiety?

If social anxiety wasn’t enough, growing up means having to deal with career anxiety and financial anxiety as well. Even if you haven’t heard the term before, you’ve probably felt it at some point in your life. Financial anxiety can look like constant stress over one’s financial situation, accompanied by negative thoughts or spirals. It manifests in different ways for different people. Let’s look at some of the common culprits that cause financial anxiety.

Causes of financial anxiety

1. Financial problems

Naturally, the more strapped for cash you are, the higher your anxiety will be. Perhaps you’re struggling to cover the EMI on your latest phone, or worried about defaulting on your loan payment. Such tricky financial situations can give rise to a wave of financial anxiety, which may get the best of you if you don’t learn to manage it in a healthy way.

2. Unstable income and rising expenses

Maybe your career is characterized by inconsistent income flows, or maybe you’re still finding your footing in the junior league of the business world. Whatever the reason may be, living pay cheque to pay cheque is a harrowing experience. Not to mention that the cost of living is rising exponentially around the world. This may lead to a feeling that you are falling behind, which turns into a constant source of stress and financial anxiety over time.

3. Lack of financial literacy

Unsurprisingly, the uncertainty that comes with a lack of financial knowledge is one of the major causes of financial anxiety. If you think about it, finances are inherently patriarchal. Bringing in the income was traditionally considered to be the man’s job, which means a lot of us grew up without ever having ‘money talks’ with our parents. Since we were not taught to be financially independent as kids, this translates into under-confidence when dealing with money as adults.

How to overcome financial anxiety

In your journey to being comfortable around money, knowing how to deal with financial anxiety can go a long way. Let’s take a look at some tips that can help you overcome it

1. Confront negative thoughts

The first step to dealing with financial anxiety is to confront negative thoughts head-on. The next time you think along the lines of:

  • “I’m horrible with money, I’ve made all the wrong investments”,
  • I’ve been reckless this month, I’ll never hit my saving goals”

Think to yourself, does this thought benefit me? Does it better the situation in any way?

If you find yourself overcome with counterintuitive thoughts, try to take deep breaths, remain calm, and focus on solutions. Challenging and rationalising intrusive thoughts is a hard task, but the pay-off will be worth it.

2. Plan ahead

The easiest way to ensure your financial security, even in difficult situations, is to plan ahead. So grab that yearly planner you bought for the aesthetic and never really used, and get to drafting. Mapping out your monthly expenses will give you a good idea of the areas where you can improve. You can also focus on planning out your budget, savings, and investments. As a wise man once said, “an hour of planning can save you 10 hours of doing”.

3. Financial literacy

One surefire way to deal with financial anxiety is to gather as much relevant information as you can. Keep up with the news and educate yourself on important subjects such as investments, taxation, insurance, and so on. Ensure that you are getting your financial guidance from the right sources. When you have a credible pool of knowledge to back up your financial decisions, you will automatically feel secure about your finances.

If you’re ready to start your financial planning off on the right foot, we have just what you need. Kool Kanya’s Finance Pass is an in-depth journey into the world of personal finance, it can teach you everything, from tax planning tips to investment 101. So quit stressing over your bank balance and sign up now!

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Knowledge is power. At Kool Kanya, we urge you to Raise Your Power by learning things you never learnt in classroom. Get your PowerPass now, and build a career you love.