"BUY ALL THE THINGS" Stress

Can money make you happy? Can finances cause stress? Can money be a factor into mental health?

The thing about money is many people think that it can make you happy. Sure, money can buy things that can contribute to helping you be happy. But you are not happy continuously. Before you know it, you are spending money left and right of things that you THINK make you happy. Which can lead to you over spending, going into debt, and having way too much stuff to fit into your house. That’s when financial stress kicks in. You are in so much debt from buying too much stuff that you cannot pay it back. You stress over how you are going to pay your utility bills, your rent, or even your medical bills. Credit card companies don’t care that you were depressed or sad to cause you go into retail therapy. They want to get paid. If they don’t get paid, they will put you in collections and garnish your wages. It could be to the point where you can’t pay your bills, so your electricity and water are shut off and you can’t pay your rent; so, you are evicted from your house. At this point you are living with your parents working to get out of debt. You have spent so much money that there couldn’t possibly be any way out of that financially hole.

I can tell you, from experience, that you CAN get out of this financial hole. When I moved back home, my mother helped me do a budget to get me out of this hole. What I did was I created an excel spread sheet with all my expenses and how much I pay for each expense. I recorded ALL my expenses and made sure I did not go over my budget. If I went over in one area, I had to take it out of another area. I had to be on a very strict budget to get me out of this hole. As much as I hated doing this strict budget. I knew it HAD to be done.

I paid off all 6 maxed out credit cards in 3 years. I continued with the budget even after I paid my debt off to make sure I didn’t fall into another hole. I built up my savings, so I would have a backup in case of an emergency. I made sure I contributed to that account each pay check. Knowing I had that cushion in place helped with my financial stress.

When I knew I was financially stable, I took a risk and got a credit card to help build my credit back up. My goal was and still is to use the credit card for “emergencies”. Getting my hair and nails done count as emergencies, right? My cat was getting a little heavy so buying her a cat exercise wheel counts as an emergency, right? I TRY to not overspend. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. If it does happen, I spend less in one area the next week or I just don’t put as much money in my savings from the next paycheck. I also TRY to pay off the credit card right away or when I can. But having a credit card and keeping up with it financially helps tremendously with my credit and my financial stress.

Everyone goes through financial hardships. It’s up to you how you handle it. Doesn’t mean you will get out of the hardship. But you can always help your financial stress. The fact I learned how to handle my finances in an effective way not only helped me financially, but it helped with the financial stress and helped me grow into more of a mature stable adult. I like to call that “adulting”. If I can “adultify”, so can you.