4 Ways to Reduce Money Stress by Aisha Taylor


According to CNBC 30% of Americans are “constantly” stressed out about money.  The same article reports that need to tap into savings to make it to the next payday and the fear of “unexpected expenses” are large sources of stress.  Not having enough money to cover your expenses or knowing that an unexpected expense could derail your finances is extremely stressful. Fortunately, there are things you can do right now to reduce your stress and put yourself in a healthier financial position.

Create Your Budget And Stick To It
Once you understand your goals and financial priorities then you must understand how to free up or find the money to allocate to those goals. This is where budgeting comes in. When you budget, review your take-home pay, the money that you have after taxes and payroll deductions. Divide your take-home pay according to the 50/30/20 rule: 50% for your needs, 30% for wants, and 20% for financial goals.  This allows you to cover the things that are necessary to your survival, it allows you to have money to do fun things, and have money to make progress on your financial goals.
Start And Grow Your Emergency Fund
An emergency fund is critical because this is the money that you will use in case of an emergency. This would include things like a job loss, medical leave, or a major unexpected expense. An emergency fund will help you to continue to pay the bills while you are looking for a new job or a way out of the situation that caused the emergency. In absence of this fund, you would need to borrow the money, take out credit card debt, or do without.


Pay Off Debt
I used to be a person who felt like, “I will make the minimum payments on my debt until it is paid off.”   However, when I started working in my first job after grad school that I fully understood what debt was. I learned that so much of my current earnings were going to pay back money that I borrowed in the past. Once I had a new perspective on debt, got aggressive with paying down debt and was vigilant about charging new debt. Therefore, rethink how you feel about debt because it will help you make better spending decisions going forward.
Commit To Refusing To Quit
This one is really important because at the beginning of each year many people are so excited about their new goals. This excitement and passion is genuine at the time, but unfortunately not lasting. Therefore, when you are tempted to quit, you must push through. You will fall off the wagon because you are human, but the key is how you respond. New beginnings aren’t always for the New Year. Every day and every moment is an opportunity to do begin again. Therefore, when you make a mistake, forgive yourself and get back up.

Learn more about Aisha Taylor at

www.FNPhenomenal.comTwitter: @FNPhenomenal

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