6 common financial stress triggers and how to manage them

Everyone experiences stress at some point during their lives. That’s because money is one of the most common sources of worry. Luckily, there’s plenty of reason for hope. There are lots of ways you can manage financial stress. 

Many of these stress management skills can help you in other areas of your life, like meditating, getting a good night’s sleep, exercising, or other forms of self care. But you can do many things for specific financial triggers, especially debt stress. Let’s take a look. 

Divorce

Divorce can affect you in so many different ways, depending on your family situation, career status, and support network, among other areas. Take some time to think through your potential financial impacts and make a list so you can better prepare for them. Speak with a financial professional or credit counselor. Sometimes a consultation can really do a lot to ease your financial worry and help you prepare for independence.

Now’s a good time to learn how to budget if you haven’t done it before. Your budget can be your roadmap to building up a savings cushion and learning what kinds of short-term and long-term goals are realistic. You can also lower your debt stress if you focus on building credit. This can help ensure better outcomes if you need to refinance shared debts into your name after the divorce, secure new housing, or borrow money as you rebuild your new life.

Moving

Relocating brings a lot of uncertainty, and that’s always stressful. If you’re planning a move, you can prepare for unknown costs by estimating your moving expenses and saving up in advance. 

You’ll also need a new budget based on your future living expenses. Drafting a new budget in advance could give you the power to make smart financial decisions about where you’ll live and what you’ll do when you get there. In addition, if you focus on the new possibilities (as opposed to what you’ll be losing), it’ll be easier to maintain a positive outlook.

Related: Smooth moves: make relocation a breeze with a moving loan

Job loss

It’s OK to give yourself time to grieve a job loss, especially since you may be giving up more than just income. Turn your attention to other things while you search for a new job, like volunteering or hobbies, so you can relieve stress while regaining a sense of purpose. Spending more time with friends and family could help you uncover networking opportunities while replacing your social interactions. If you can, try to keep a regular daily schedule to keep yourself on track.

Developing a detailed job-search plan could give you some hope, since you have a list of things to do. It could be a good time to refresh your budget, so you can feel more confident about how you’ll cover costs while you’re unemployed. Make sure you check with your lenders, since many offer forbearance plans or other assistance to temporarily lower or postpone your payments until you get back on your feet.

Marriage

Money consistently ranks as one of the top causes of stress in marriage. That’s because we’re not always taught how to talk to our partners about money or compromise. But take heart: anyone can learn the skill of good communication with their partner about difficult topics, and you can use it for other areas of your life, too. 

New research shows that these conversations could be especially difficult if you’re already facing financial stress. But if you think about these problems as fixable (versus hopelessly unsolvable), it’s easier to get those convos started. Zero in on your shared financial goals, which could also show where you can compromise and hold each other accountable for spending decisions. Remember that your goals can change over time, too.  

Related: How debt affects your relationships

Debt

Debt is one of the most common sources of financial stress, and there are so many options for taking care of it. Take credit card debt. Nearly half of households have it. But luckily there are countless credit card debt reduction methods:

• Debt resolution

• Credit counseling

• Debt consolidation loans

• Negotiating more favorable terms

• Debt snowball or debt avalanche methods

There are ways to reduce other types of debt stress, too, such as affordable payment plans for student loans and foreclosure support for VA loans. No matter which method you choose, creating a budget you can stick with could help you get rid of debt even faster. 

Related: Financial hardships that qualify for debt resolution

Unexpected expenses

If there’s anything certain about life, it’s that it’s filled with uncertainties. When you’re armed with that knowledge, you can prepare yourself in advance and reduce a lot of financial anxiety. The biggest thing you can do to prepare for unexpected expenses is to start an emergency fund. That’s scary to many people, but you don’t need thousands of dollars all at once. (After all, there are some things that even the richest people can’t buy.) 

Any amount of money you save today—even $5—could protect you. That’s because it’s better to think of an emergency fund as something that you grow over time—not something you create instantly. It’s the habit of saving that counts more than your ultimate end goal (usually three to six month’s worth of expenses). That $5 you save today helps cement in a habit that’ll carry you throughout your life as you spend from your emergency fund and rebuild it, again and again.  

Money worries aren’t fun, but you can find ways to roll with the punches and ramp down the stress. When you take the leap to start saving for an emergency, or plan in advance, or get rid of debt, give yourself a pat on the back for all your hard work.