Managing Financial Stress to Maintain Mental Wellness

• avoidance of your bills
• physical pain (headaches, stomach pain, etc.) when you think about finances
• rigidity in your budgeting
• trouble sleeping as you worry over expenses

“Financial stress and mental health have a complex relationship because individuals often don't recognize the symptoms of stress such as not sleeping, reduced productivity, anxiety, or relationship problems, with friends, family or coworkers,” wrote Candice Copeland, Acenda’s Associate Vice President of Revenue Cycle Management. “Not addressing these concerns can lead to a further increase in symptoms.”

Steps to Manage Finances Without Feeling Overwhelmed

Assess Your Expenses: This can include determining your fixed and variable costs, as well as acknowledging debt and upcoming expenses. By assessing your finances and where your money is going, you can make adjustments that reduce anxiety and stress around money.

“Once you know these numbers you can plan accordingly for those flat costs and/or have enough left over for variable expenses,” wrote Copeland. “The quickest way to have more cash is to cut expenses, as salary increases are not so immediate and tend to be structured.”

Identifying Needs v. Wants: Differentiating between needs and wants allows you to classify your spending habits and better understand where your money goes each month. After separating your spending into needs and wants, you can work to cut down on your monthly and annual costs with more clarity on how much money you can afford to put towards each category.

Copeland recommends starting with the superfluous spending, like your streaming services. By just reducing which services you subscribe, you could save hundreds of dollars a year.

Prepare for Taxes Early: Begin gathering your tax documents and necessary information early in the new year to prevent the last-minute, stress-induced filing so many people fall into every year. By starting early, you can work through your taxes deliberately, avoiding mistakes and delays. Getting a jump start will also give you plenty of time to seek professional assistance, should you need it.

Building Financial Habits for Long-Term Control

Create a Monthly Budget: Tracking your income and spending through a monthly budget can reduce stress greatly by giving you more control over and knowledge of your finances. By breaking your budget down into categories like necessities, transportation, groceries, subscriptions, and entertainment, you can identify where you enjoy spending your money and how you can cut down on other areas.

Copeland recommends starting out by identifying your pay frequency and net income, followed by using a digital budget or using a budgeting software, like Quicken. While creating a budget may seem intimidating, Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets have pre-formatted budgets to make maintaining your monetary awareness a little easier.

Set Financial Goals: Establishing a savings plan and debt-payment goals are great ways to track and feel in-control of your finances. Identifying savings goals for emergencies and future expenses can make your saving feel purposeful. And by reducing your debts as early as possible you can cut down on your future expenses and the interest you are committed to going forward.

If you feel lost on where to begin with your savings goals, try using a savings calculator to help break down exactly how much you need to put away each month to meet your objectives.

Adopt a Mindful Spending Mindset: Being aware of your expenses is important, but you want to be sure you’re not budgeting yourself to the point of misery. Rather than counting every penny in your account, embrace a mindful spending mindset by avoiding impulse purchases, having healthy conversations about finances with others, and allowing yourself to spend money on self-care. Whether you go to see a movie or get your nails done every other week, be sure to set aside a little money for activities and entertainment that bring you joy without overspending on items that will set you back in your goals.

Conclusion

While financial stress can negatively affect your mental wellness and feel overwhelming, it’s important to address these anxieties head-on rather than push them aside. By incorporating management techniques and healthy money habits into your monthly financial planning, you can feel more in-control and purposeful with your expenses and savings. You don’t have to make all the changes recommended above, but starting with one or two can make a huge difference in managing financial stress in your day-to-day life.

“While it's easy to recommend that an individual stop worrying, it's not that simple,” wrote Copeland. “You must know that you are not alone! We all want to make ends meet, support ourselves, our families and overall wellbeing. And once we recognize there is an issue, we must seek help.”

Contributor Spotlight

Candice Copeland, MSM-HCA, MSM-MIS

Associate Vice President of Revenue Cycle Management

Candice has been a member of Acenda’s finance team since 2021 and serves as the face of Acenda's Revenue Cycle Management area of expertise. Her professional experience spans several industries including agriculture, banking, finance, healthcare and education. She is a graduate of Arcadia University (Beaver College) '03 and Wilmington University, holding a B.A. in Corporate Communications and two master's level degrees with Healthcare Admin and Management Information Systems concentrations. Candice is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in Organizational Leadership in addition to an ACMPE certification from MGMA.

Candice says, “We have so much work to do, and I am ready and willing to push forward so Acenda can continue its emergence as a premier organization in the behavioral health space.”