Sometimes stress is caused by expectations not met. We think things should go one way with our finances and they go the other. When this happens, when financial reality does not line up with our expectations, we sometimes become disappointed, and stress results. Use the following tips to help you avoid money stress and lower financial stressors.
Plan to Spend your Money
Using time to think and plan is using time wisely. In fact, if you fail to take time for planning, you are, in effect, planning to fail.
As I have written before, managing money is a job, and it takes time, so plan accordingly.
Set Financial Goals
Financial goals should provide direction to your life and determine how you spend your time and money. When setting goals, decide what you want, where you want to be, and what you want your money to do. Further, when you set goals, set goals that are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and have a time constraint.)
The best goals are those that cause you to “stretch” as you do your best to reach them.
Prioritize
Use the “80-20 Rule” originated by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. The 80-20 rule says that “80 percent of the reward comes from 20 percent of the effort.” The key to prioritizing is to identify the valuable 20 percent.
Once identified, prioritize your time to work on those items with the greatest reward. If you value managing money better, prioritize the time it takes to manage it better.
Be Flexible
According to Peter Drucker, a management consultant, author, educator, and the described founder of modern management, “Doing the right thing is more important than doing things right.” Doing the right thing is effectiveness; doing things right is efficiency.
Be flexible when working your money, focus first on the urgent, effective task, then concentrate on the important, efficient task.
The tips above can help you eliminate or reduce money stress in your life. Be careful with stress it can cause mental, emotional, and physical health issues. How do you reduce financial stress? I would love to hear from you.