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Out of all the things you wouldn’t expect to negatively affect someone’s mental health, it’s money. Money plays one of the biggest roles in everyone’s life. However, people aren’t always in the best financial situation, which can have a profound effect on your mental health. No one should have to bear the burden of having enough money. In this article, we’ll be going over how not having enough financial security can impact you and ways you can have a better grasp.
Pay Off Debt as Fast as You Can
If there’s one thing that can make money hard to keep around, it’s having lingering debt. Not only can debt make it hard to save, it also impacts your overall credit. Since the only way out of debt is to pay it, it’s best you aim to pay it off as quickly as you can. There are various ways you can get rid of debt faster including investing more into your monthly payments, shortening the length of it, and even reducing your monthly expenses. Reducing your monthly expenses is a great method to save some extra funds each month. Lowering your grocery bill, refraining from using too much power, and eliminating any unnecessary expenses are just to name a few things.
One expense in particular is student loan debt. Aside from your house, taking out a student loan accrues a lot of debt in such a short amount of time. A great way to pay off this debt quicker is to look into student loan refinancing. This is when you take the loans given and combine them into a single payment. This process is also referred to as consolidation. Refinancing your student loan debt not only gives you a new loan to use, you also lower the interest rates. Interest rates are the reason why student loans can be so demanding at times.
Mental Health Issues Associated with Financial Problems
Unfortunately, despite the simplicity of money issues, the effect they can have on your mental state can be taxing. It can cause or exacerbate things such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and even addictions. But it’s not the money itself that causes it; it’s being stressed about money and the process of trying to maintain it. Stress is the ultimate culprit here and having a lack of financial stability can cause it to spiral out of control.
Focus On the Little Things
Since stress is the main issue here, you need to find ways to alleviate it. Focusing on the little things, for example, can help reduce it. This can include doing your favorite hobby, socializing with friends, using mental health apps, and practicing yoga and meditation are all ways you can keep your stress levels low. When you build solutions that are well rounded and touch multiple areas of your life you increase your chances of successfully and sustainably solving the problem at hand.
Understand That Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness
There’s a saying that goes around from time to time that money doesn’t buy happiness. Although this has been used rather often, it’s true. Having an endless supply of funds doesn’t mean you’re going to be happy the rest of your life. What most people who are struggling with financial issues do wishing for isn’t infinite wealth; it’s financial security. You could have all the money in the world, and it wouldn’t make you happy. It might make you relieved for a time, but it doesn’t solve the recurring problem. If anything, having that much money can make life really boring as there’s no challenge or motivation. In fact, that’s why people are satisfied working toward their goals rather than having the end result handed to them.
