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Is Money Stressing You Out? Here’s how to tackle financial planning and keep your mental health in check. by LISA BLAKE
Your relationship with money is very personal. And complicated. Easy access to credit cards, lingering college debts, rising inflation costs and volatile markets can eat away at your emotional, physical and fiscal health. Harmful behaviors can often show up as focusing on regret— regret of not starting to save sooner, of a bad purchase or investment decision and shoddy financial relationships. That pit of regret may leave you frozen and unable to make decisions and move forward. When financial stress starts to disrupt your ability to enjoy life and causes anxiety, depression or even headaches and stomachaches, it’s time to talk to a financial professional. “Often financial stress comes from the shame of thinking you ‘should’ be better off or further along, regretting decisions you made or debt you’ve accumulated,” says hemming& Wealth Management certified financial planner Autumn Chalker Soltysiak. In addition to mental anguish, money-related stress can begin to manifest in the body as physical ailments and self-harming habits. Overeating or stress eating, insomnia, weakened immune systems and unhealthy behaviors such as alcohol and drug use can crop up when stress about money elevates to an unmanageable level. HOW TO COPE?
process: embrace, educate, empower. This progression helps clients learn how to think about money, communicate about money with the right people, and to feel confident in their financial plan. “How you spend your money is intrinsic and affects your health, your experiences and your relationships,” Soltysiak says. “We are intentional in developing a comprehensive plan for every family we serve.” Takeaway Tip: Experts recommend spending money on healthy activities or experiences, versus purchases that leave you wanting the next big thing. Financial planning isn’t about accumulating a magic dollar amount, Soltysiak says. How much you should save and for how long is different for everyone. As a certified financial planner, she has seen young families in well-paying high-stress jobs save aggressively and live modestly to have the ability to retire early and live simply. At the same time, she sees aging couples with a desire to make their money last beyond their years, taking care of their children and grandchildren. “Their investment and saving strategies look very different,” she says. New clients preparing for retirement will often joke, asking, “Where were you twenty years ago?” There is a cost to waiting to take control of financial stress, Soltysiak adds. The anxiety can cause desperation and a lack of focus on long-term goals. Takeaway Tip: By addressing the issue that brings you the most stress and building a team of support to guide and educate, the burden can be lifted. “With our financial guidance, we encourage clients to go after the things that will make them happy, now and later in life,” Soltysiak says. “Money is a resource or a tool to obtain fulfillment and joy in all phases of life—it’s not the end goal.”
How you spend your money is intrinsic and affects your health, your experiences and your relationships.
Finding a holistic-minded financial expert allows you to start with understanding your current situation and finding out what’s important to you. Takeaway Tip: The first step is to track your spending and outline a spending plan—one you’ll actually follow. After that, building an emergency fund will put you in control of your finances. “If you’re in a relationship, this is also a time where open communication between partners and an understanding about a strategy for the future is necessary,” Soltysiak says. To build financial confidence, hemming& uses a three-step
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