How to Deal With Financial Stress

Financial stress is a problem many adults have to deal with, but there are steps you can take to channel that stress into something productive instead of feeling hopeless. In this article, I'll show you ways you can do this.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. First, recognize that the stress is there to cause you to take action--the more you ignore problems instead of addressing them, the more stress is going to build on you.
   
   Admitting to yourself that you've made mistakes and need a better financial plan is a good start. This is all going to be a process--most likely your financial problems didn't develop overnight, so they're not going to be fixed overnight either. The main thing is to get yourself moving in a correct direction.

2. A lot of financial stress is due to a lack in financial education--there are aspects of personal finance that most people don't get in high school and college.
   
   Below I'm going to link a few books I recommend to help you get started, but it's helpful just to spend time in the personal finance section of your local bookstore or library. You may find that many books go against the grain of what general society teaches you, but keep in mind that financially successful people often do what most people either aren't willing to do or don't have the knowledge to do.

3. Focus your energy on what you can control, not on worrying about what you can't.
   
   In the beginning, you may just have a small amount of leverage where you can change things around--but that minor little area can grow the more effort and time you put into it.

4. Get involved with other people--you're not alone.
   
   When my husband and I were engaged, we attended Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at a local church. We learned a lot, and I enjoyed the interaction with other people as we shared stories and ideas with each other. Finances may seem like a hard topic to talk about at first, but it can be very helpful to meet someone who's been through and overcome the issues you're currently dealing with.

5. When you get traction and start to win, start helping other people.
   
   I'm a big fan of pay-it-forward. There were great people in our lives who got my husband and I started in the right direction when it came to finances, and them taking the time to help us changed our lives. I want to help as many other people as possible, and I think over time that can make a big impact.

Resources

• Free Life Skills/Financial Resources List
• Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover
• 48 Days to the Work You Love by Dan Miller
• Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
• The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkerson
• Patricia Gilliam's Author's Blog
• Patricia Gilliam's Twitter Page
• Books by Patricia Gilliam (Amazon Kindle/Apple iPhone format)
• Books by Patricia Gilliam (Paperback/Adobe .pdf eBook formats)

[MrBB]

on 9/1/2009 Step 5 is great. Its unfortunate when people find success but choose to keep it all to themselves.