[Music] well hey you guys so I want to talk about how to deal with one of the most common money problems that I hear about and that is financial stress so if you've ever felt anxious or stressed about your money you are not a loan and you would be shocked at how many people feel the same way really at any income level so today I'm going to be sharing eight ways to deal with your money stress now obviously we can't wave a magic wand and get rid of that feeling overnight but there are some really simple practical things you can start doing to move in that right direction and be sure to stick around till the end of the list so you can drop any tips that I may have left out in the comments All right so the backstory of this topic I was thinking about is when I actually saw inside out to that movie if y'all have not seen it oh my gosh it's like therapy in an hour and a half like it is so good and one of the new characters is anxiety and there was this moment where she comes to the group of the other emotions and she's like introducing herself and she's like hi I'm I'm anxiety and she's explaining like how anxious she is and all the things and fear that emotion was like oh we're going to be best friends and she looked at fear and she said well you have to worry about what Riley's dealing with today right now what she's facing I worry about what's going to happen to her in the future things that haven't even happened yet that's my job to worry about those that oh my gosh kids are yall taking notes like like does everyone know how profound that is cuz it is so true so listen anxiety can happen Fear Can Happen around money so you may be feeling fear about your present situation and like oh my gosh today I have a bill due and do I have enough money for it or maybe it is this level of just anxiety about the future of thinking okay are we going to be okay if we keep going down this path you know what's going to happen so when people feel stressed about money again it's usually related to that idea of a fear or a goal they want to achieve so if that sounds like you and maybe you are feeling a little hopeless or just Frozen here's where I would start okay you ready number one take inventory of where you stand with your finances right now so an easy way to pinpoint where you are in terms of financial priorities is to figure out where you fall on the baby steps because a lot of people that are starting off are like I don't know am I doing okay am I not so you can kind of figure out okay do you have an emergency fund you know are you working your way out of debt how much debt do you have you know what do you have in retirement if you've opened up any type of retirement investing so actually knowing where you're at because what we do find too is that some anxiety and fear with money is creeped up just in our heads because you don't even know really what's going on and the old joke back in the day was like the bill drawer that when the bills come in you just put them in a drawer and close it it's like I don't even want to look at it well now a lot of things are online and so the idea of logging on to your accounts and knowing where you actually are may actually decrease increase some of that fear and anxiety because you have logic going in which is huge all right number two create a monthly budget and start tracking your expenses so this is one of the best ways to get in control of your money when your income comes in knowing where it's going and every single dollar is has a plan has somewhere where it's going I mean I want you to be that exact because there is something powerful about taking control over things you can control now I love the every dollar app so if you go to everydollar.com Rachel you can actually create a budget for free you can download the app and do that but but really getting into this process and this rhythm of budgeting and then having that app connect to your bank account I think is a really crucial step because your transactions then will come in and you'll be able to track your transactions throughout the month so when you swipe your debit card you know where it's going because you can drag and drop those transa transactions in the app and again it's this idea that you are on top of your budget on top of your income knowing what is going on all right number three if you have debt start paying it off so not having payments will lower your stress that has been proven time and time again when you don't owe anyone anything you have a lot of options and freedom on what to do with your income and your life so if you do have debt I recommend paying it off using the debt snowball method where you list out all of your debts smallest to largest regardless of the interest rate pay minimum payments on everything and attack that smallest debt first and this is going to cause a lot of momentum to them because you're going to get those quick wins which is huge number four I would encourage you to work with a financial coach so handling money should never just be a oneman job so if you are married you obviously want to handle money with your spouse but I would have somebody else in your corner too if you have a great financial coach make sure to reach out to them or even you know if you're single having somebody that does this and to be able to say hey will you look at these numbers and again that can be a good friend um or a family member but having somebody with you but then you can go a step further and getting someone that actually is really professional at this when it comes to investing and having an investment professional on your side but the idea is kind of getting some experts around you I think is really really important all right number five get a side hustle to earn extra cash so you can do things like grab a local retail job you know if you know guitar teach guitar lessons my girls are doing piano and so we have someone coming to the house to to do piano lessons right um if you want a tutor even one of my friends does this she tutors a bunch of kids in our neighborhood which is fantastic I mean babysitting dog sitting like whatever you can do to earn extra money I think is really really key especially if you're really stressed and even underwater when it comes to finances you have to get your income up and remember this will not be forever this additional stream of income it's going to be helpful for you to relieve some of that stress and get on a better plan and again you're not going to do this forever and ever but for a period of time it may be something to really consider all right before I share the rest of this list it is time for a bonus tip to beat Financial stress and it's something that could prevent you from having future Financial struggles online because you guys there are scammers everywhere these days and I'll admit I am one to possibly fall for a scam or two every now and then I hate it but sometimes that happens but listen there is no shame if you've been there too if you have fallen for some of this it is okay because it happens to the best of us which is why I recommend and I use use delete me so delete me gives me so much peace of mind it finds and removes my personal info like my home address my phone number and more from hundreds of data broker websites helping you to get away from spammers scammers and online thieves and potentially saving you a lot of time and money so you guys you need to check it out so go to join delet me.com Rachel for 20% off that's join delet me.com Rachel all right back to this list to lower our financial stress number six on the list which I love is to make a gratitude list and celebrate your wins okay and this isn't just like rah rah we're going to just be cheesy and have positive thinking but honestly you guys I mean Studies have proven that the way we think and what we believe about ourselves and the world around us changes our attitude and our Outlook and ultimately our actions and so there really is something beautiful about thinking okay my mind is powerful and if I sit there and talk about just oh how hard it is how hard it is it's good to do that I want you to be honest about where you are and leaning into those hard emotions is beautiful and great but we don't want to just stay there right you want to move to something better and you want to move not just a plan tactically but also in what you believe about yourself and I would just encourage you that people every day every day from every income level debt level every part of the country even the world now like it is wild people are getting control of their money and it really is a thing and I think part of it is that belief and it's so hard to have hope when you're stressed but again that's why the earlier parts of this list I think are important to get some of that tactical control but then really start believing that gosh I can do this and having that positive thinking and that gratitude and so gratitude is so key so even writing down one or two things you're grateful for every day I even was listening to a podcast and someone said before they go to bed they make themselves think through the day and just pick out two things they're grateful for like these small actions you guys it changes how we believe and what we think about our world and and who we are so it's really really key this is an important step I don't want you to miss all right number seven is always have a future goal that you're working towards so the seven baby steps those are a great guide because it kind of does show you hey here's where you should move on next but always have that goal and even you know maybe it's if you're paying off debt maybe the next goal is that next debt maybe it's not being completely debt free cuz that may feel very overwhelming but it's like okay we you just got to get that next debt paid off or if you're saving up for a fully funded emergency fund maybe it's like okay let's just get first month's emergency fund let's just get a month's worth that's our goal that's our goal right it's these little steps within the steps that are really important but do those and celebrate those wins and number eight is to start giving so giving is something that is going to change your attitude about money there is something beautiful about this generosity piece of money that again some people are like so overwhelmed with their current situation so I'll just say give a little until you can give a lot even just you know paying for someone's order that's behind you in the line you know in the Drive-Thru or like tiny you know acts of kindness or generosity can go a really really long way I mean it's really beautiful what it does to you and your soul and who you are as a person but also for the person you're giving to and so again I think it's really important to be prepared financially um with all of your finances and everything but again like I mentioned earlier one of the best ways to kind of keep a finger and a pulse on what's going on in your life is to know okay how do I feel during all of this and what generosity and giving does is it it just gives you this wholeness of what your money can do and it's really really beautiful well I hope that those eight ways to lower stress help you guys cuz I know a lot of people are just feeling the pinch I mean today's world it's so expensive it is from the grocery store to the housing market like it is it's just it can make you feel behind and you're not behind kind things are just more expensive which means we have to be that much more diligent with our money so do not forget to set up your every doll budget make sure to do that today and if you haven't then you definitely need to check out my episode on six legit ways to earn passive income all right you guys remember to take control of your money and create a life you love
