16 Simple Things That People Say Helped Them Feel Less Worried About Money

Tue, October 26, 2021, 12:16 PM

Learning to work through the feelings that come up around money can be *quite* the journey. So when a redditor asked the folks at r/PersonalFinance for their tips on dealing with money anxiety, the responses that came in showed a really interesting range of ideas, both financial and psychological.

Here are some of the top comments:

1."Coming from a frugal but financially stable background, what helped me was budgeting and an adequate emergency fund. Once you understand what your life costs, and you have three, six, nine, 12 months or whatever of living expenses saved up, it helps not to worry about the future. If I lose my job, my house, get divorced, whatever, I know I can make it work." —u/meggers26

An emergency fund is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a savings account you can draw on in case of an unexpected bill or loss of income. Personal finance experts often suggest saving three to six months of your basic living expenses in your e-fund.

If you haven't started saving yet and that sounds like a lot of money, don't be discouraged. Start with smaller goals — can you save $5 a week until you reach $100? How about $200 next? Track your progress along the way, save at least a little bit every week, and keep setting new goals as you reach your old ones.

2."Figure out what is causing the fear and address that. For me, it's worrying that another 2008 is going to happen. So I both have a one-year emergency fund saved and I am working on getting in to management in my company. That way, I'm far less likely to be laid off. I already moved to a section of my company that was not hit very hard by 2008, so that helped a bit."  —u/tkdyo

3."I formed a zero-based budget and created savings categories for enough things that only true emergencies feel like an emergency, and there is a fund for that too. r/YNAB completely changed my relationship with money."   —u/nofilternolimits

FYI, a zero-based budget is one that assigns a "job" to every dollar you bring home during the month, with a goal of spending, saving, or investing every last penny.

Never made a budget before? It doesn't have to be painful or restrictive. Check out what one BuzzFeeder learned when she made her first budget ever with help from a financial planner.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/people-talking-deal-money-anxiety-161602171.html