WemonAde.com When Life Gives You…

If you are one of those people who consistently are afraid of not being able to take care of yourself financially, there are many others out there who can relate, regardless of the economy.

A fear of spending money can have it’s advantages and disadvantages. The positive?  You save money. You are organized and take care of your personal finances, and your nest egg.

The negatives of having any fear always outweigh the positives. 

Here are some of the cons of having this fear: 

You never give yourself anything nice, you basically treat yourself poorly and refrain from enjoying what money can provide in other realms and not just saving.

You abstain from trips, excursions, social events, or anything that might cost money.  You are stingy,  with both yourself and others, creating a filtered relationship with a bias of you that may not be true.  You have unrest and worry about the future a lot. 

You have anxiety over spending or even the thought of it.  You complain about how much things cost, which puts off a negative energy.

Here are some reasons you might have developed this fear:

Poor (financially or parentally) childhood or you had to take care of yourself most of the time.

You become worried about how you will survive without money, so spending it causes you to become fearful of the future. 

Lack of knowledge about how credit, stock and money actually works.

You have witnessed or experienced financial demise

You don’t budget your money at all

Here are a few tips that you can use to possibly reduce anxiety:

Ask someone you trust for some help. If you are like me, you avoid taking a serious look at your money. Either start with your partner or a family member or a friend you trust. Then, you may want to find a financial advisor.  Interview them as if you are entering a business partnership.  Feel them out and see who fits you best.  After that, have them help you develop a financial plan (for today,  then a goal 1-5 years and retirement age).  This also helps you to open up to learning and dealing with your fear of spending.

Spend less monthly. You can do this by using energy efficient light bulbs, less electricity, turning off or unplugging things when you leave home, turn down the heat, driving a bit less or planning outings instead of fast food every night, or coffee 2x/week instead of every day.  Look online for discounted items that you may enjoy.  Use things like Craigs List for searches.

Automate your billing. Its easy, you can set it up through your bank online and it takes seconds to make payments..you can even get reminders!  This also saves postage money, and late fees!  Most if not all banks make the online billing free.

Have money automatically withdrawn from your paycheck: If you have a bit of $$ to spare from your checking, for sure invest it in 401K. If you don’t have that, have $10-$20 taken out automatically into a CD, Traditional IRA or something that you can’t easily reach. For most people who are afraid of personal-finance management, it’s very hard to actually initiate a plan to save money. It’s much easier to put it off and treat it as a someday thing.

If you need investing help, get a fee-only financial adviser. If you’ve got a substantial amount of money but don’t know what to do about investing it (or you don’t have anyone you can trust with basic financial questions), it’s well worth your while to speak with financial adviser. Get a fee-only adviser — one who does not earn commissions on the investments he or she recommends.

Doing these things will help you become less anxious, nervous or fearful of your money and how to handle it.