It’s been unsettled few months and I don’t know anyone who’s not worried about money or how things will pan out over the next few months. We have been bombarded with practical tips on how to save on heating in the coming weeks and months, how to cook low budget meals and make them stretch as much as possible and how to cut down on shopping or at least make budgeting go further.
Rising prices of everyday items and just general uncertainty can cause lots of anxiety and even for those who boss at budgeting it sometimes becomes too much. Speaking from experience, I budget, and although I’m not a pro at it and feel like I’ve still got a lot to learn I’ve found myself worrying more often about months ahead. When I worry I seem to plan more and do more but in this case I think that instead of acting, I froze at realisation that what if I’m not able to do more, to save money or keep within the budget. Let’s not forget all those unplanned things that also happen and need adressing (namely, money to buy or fix them).
However, I worked out that in order to make things happen and find solutions, apart from applying some of those practical tips we have been reading about everywhere, I also need to work on my mindset and general well – being and thought I would share some of the things I’ve learnt and changed along the way.
Relax
It’s probably hard to do when you have hundred and one things to think about but it is so important to make sure we find time to unwind and switch off. You can practice yoga or meditation – there is tons of free tutorials on You Tube or going for a walk / run is a perfect way to release some endorfins and make you feel like you can tackle everything. Make sure you include any form of activity into your routine at least 3 times per week.
The right amount of sleep also plays an important part in how stressed we feel about things around us and how we tackle them.
Work With Your Worries
Pick 2 or 3 days per week, plan them in your dairy and write down what worries you. Then use a formula
“If X happens…..I will do Y….”
Things sometimes seem so much bigger when we play them out in our heads and I found that when I wrote them down, suddenly in some cases I could find a solution and work out a plan for how to tackle a particular situation.
Gratitude Diary
I know, it’s hard to think about all the good things when I’ve just asked you to wirte down all the things that worry you. But there is a point to this. Every day, I sat down and wrote things I was grateful that day along with my plan for the next day. In that gratitude diary there were also points relating to money and material things. Some days, the list was exactly the same but it didn’t matter. What mattered was that when I sometimes went days & weeks back in my logs I found that there are a lot of things I should be grateful for even though there are some worries, which in most cases can be tackled.
Stop Comparing Yourself – Especially on Line
We know that comparison is thief of joy and these days most of it happens on line on social media. We compare our financial situation to others, people that in most cases, we don’t even know in real life. There is a lot of great communities on line, but I found that the more time you spend on line, the more you make you think less about your own achievements and instead you start to focus on things you don’t have and don’t do.
We don’t know really know what people’s journey has been – especially when we look at financial / debt-free commuities. We mostly see the highlights and all-the-good things , often forgetting that they are just highlights. People will portray the best version of themselves and show only a snippet of their life, without all the nitty-gritty details and in some cases financial difficulties.
The only person that you can change is yourself and that’s what you need to focus on. Instead of pointing all your energy at other people’s successes, create your own targets and financial goals you’d like to achieve.
I hope those little tips will help you along the way the same way they helped me. But also, I am curious whether you already do any of those things or maybe have some other suggestions which work for you when it comes to working with your worries?
Let me know in the comments!
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