Do you spend too much time worrying about your finances?
You’re not alone. Personal finance tops the list of a source of stress for more than two thirds of Americans. The most common finance worries include credit card debt, paying for college, budgeting, saving, market volatility and retirement savings.
The problem with worrying about finances
Worrying tends to lead to unproductive time and more worry, because you are spinning your wheels and not taking any set action.
“Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but gets you nowhere.”
How to stop worrying
From How To Stop Worrying & Start Living by Dale Carnegie:
Ninety percent of worry can be relieved by writing out a descriptive and specific account of what is worrying you.
Next, write out potential things that you can do, to solve the problem. Once you have the list, pick the option that has the highest probability of success and do it. The act of doing something immediately relieves the pain of worrying. And begins the process of solving the problem.
Example:
I am worried about saving enough money to put my kid through college.
Things I could do:
Start setting aside $200 a month for college.
Do nothing.
Open a 529 and contribute $200 a month for the future.
Go tiger mom on my kids so they will get all “A’s” which will lead to a scholarship.
Likely best outcome: #3. Start doing it.
Ten percent of worry can be relieved by understanding the worst case scenario of what might happen were your worst worry to come true.
Once you understand the worst possible outcome, it frees you up to think about solutions. That is the key issue with “worry” it keeps you from taking action by causing you to jump between too many options, without taking any action.
Worst case scenario: Doing nothing.
If I do nothing, my kids will likely need college loans and start off their adult life with lots of debt or perhaps, they won’t be able to go to college at all.
3. In order to stop worry from creeping back into your life, you need to compartmentalize your days.
Wake up each day as if you died at the end of yesterday, and today you were reborn. You have any options at your disposal to accomplish what you can. And if you do your best today, your tomorrow will be a positive foregone conclusion.
what is The best financial option?
Often you won’t know the best outcome to your finance worries. Stop worrying, I am here to help you explore and solve those problems. Drop me an email, let’s talk.