How to not worry about money

| Filed under: Personal Finance | Author: Editor

One of the great side benefit of not being a salesperson who is on the plane way too often is that I have more time to talk to my parents over the phone. Yesterday, a question came up that affects almost all of us who weren’t born into eventually inheriting Exxon Mobil – How to not worry about money?

Under all guidelines and measures, my finances are very solid. I’m debt free, I live below my means, my emergency fund is already set-up and in some respects, my business is actually more stable than most people’s jobs. Furthermore, Emma’s salary more than covers for the family’s monthly expenses. Pretty fail-proof it seems.

Yet, I still sometimes worry about money.

I’m concerned that having kids (something my wife and I definitely want to do) will increase our living costs, and I worry that the house we buy will likely add financial stress in our lives (remember, we are in an one-bedroom apartment right now so the house we purchase will likely be bigger).

After a lengthy discussion and some more thoughts into the matter, below are a couple of areas that can help me (and possibly you) reduce the worry for money.

Realise that it’s exaggerated – Worry is a funny feeling – it seems to exaggerate any problem. While there are certainly many people who actually run out of money, those are usually not the people that tend to worry.

Spend the same time making money instead – If you are going to spend time worrying about money, why not use that time and get a side job instead? Maybe start a website (or two, or three). I know it’s easier said than done, but the more you work at it, the easier it gets.

Confidence – Part of the reason why we worry about money is because of the lack of confidence in our own abilities to earn an income. How can we boost our confidence you ask? Confidence comes from success, and success starts from taking action. So try a few things. Learn from it and try again.

The workplace plays a big role in all this as well. Are your colleagues encouraging? Is your boss supportive? If not, then do something about it. Don’t get into the thinking of “I can’t find another job”. Yes you can. If you got this job, you can get another one.

Worrying is actually good – A little worrying is actually healthy for us. It’s what drives us to be better. It’s what turns our energy switch to the on position. The right way to deal with it is to channel it into your work ethic, and your desire to be better.

How do you deal with it?

Of course, what I listed are just a tip of the iceberg. How do you deal with worrying about the lack of money? Or do you? What has worked for you? Let us know.