When change happens quickly it’s normal to feel like you’ve lost control and the stress can seem overwhelming.
You are not the only one.
The National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing was released by the Federal Government this week and it’s pretty sombre reading.
It shows that 43 per cent of Australians have experienced a mental health issue at some time in their life.
A fifth (21.5 per cent) experienced a mental health disorder in the past 12 months, with anxiety being the most common (17 per cent).
Younger Australians (aged 16–24 years) were most affected, with 39 per cent experiencing a mental health disorder in the past 12 months, with anxiety (32 per cent) their most common issue.
I quoted the 2019 set of these numbers in the introduction to Bulletproof Investing. Sadly, they’ve gotten worse since then. The fight against anxiety is a tough one.
While there are various causes of mental health conditions, personal finance is cited as the single biggest cause of stress for one in two Australians.
It’s also not surprising that it has become worse in recent years as cost-of-living pressures increase.
We will all experience periods in our life where our budgets are not in good working order, but that stress has been exacerbated in the past two years by rising costs-of-living.
Inflation has driven up the cost of everything, from mortgage repayments, rent and groceries, to petrol and electricity.
While for some of us, our wages have increased at the same time, it is unlikely they have kept up with inflation.
Firstly, let me assure you when things like this happen, it is normal to feel like you’ve lost control and to worry about how you will cope.
In these times, it’s important to take stock and put aside the time to go through your budget and adjust it to account for all the increases or decreases that will happen over time (mainly increases lately!).
Most important is to take back control. Because while it may not feel like it at times, where and how much money we spend is 100 per cent within our control.
I’ve taken stock several times over the years. Often, as a result of, experiencing anxiety over changing circumstances. Here’s the thing: my budget has always turned out better than what I’d imagined it would in my mind. I think that’s normal; when we internalise it, we make problems seem bigger than they are. It’s human nature.
I’ve always been able to find ways to reduce spending if that’s what was required to make sure I was saving 10 per cent of my after-tax pay.
And there are always ways to earn more money if you need (or want) it bad enough.
Because change is not an excuse to let good habits go by the wayside.
Don’t let it get the better of you. You can actively choose to be the victor in your life.
Throughout life, we will all find ourselves in unenviable positions but, in most instances (certainly not all), we have the freedom to go down a different path, to choose to make change. Fight change with change, if you will.
Some relevant bulletproof tips to leave you with:
Pay yourself first
Set up an automatic transfer the day after payday that sends 10 per cent of your after-tax pay into a separate bank account with a different bank. That bank account is for your future self, to be invested and multiplied to grow your wealth.
Spend on what you need, not what you want
Identify all the things you spend money on (expenses) and categorise them as either a ‘need’ or a ‘want’. If the expenses exceed your income, it’s time to get rid of some of the ‘wants’. If you’re struggling, cancel all your cards and order new ones; this will help kick-start the process.
And finally, here is my Budget Tool if you need a hand getting started…
