‘Planning is key’: Managing financial stress begins with strategy
By Kyle Schmidt
Money can’t always buy happiness, but navigating the high costs of bills, groceries and more can take a serious toll on mental health.
Drew Fisher with Fisher Counseling Services said he recognizes the stress that money can bring to people’s lives.
“What I will say is that’s one of the top five most common conflicts in relationships is finances,” Fisher said. “Finances is just like, how do you raise a kid so many different ways? There’s never the right way.”
Financial stress can come from many different directions, but sometimes people slip and end up in debt.
“It’s okay to make mistakes. We all do, as long as we learn from them,” Fisher said. “Just because you go through it doesn’t mean you are broke or a pauper, it just means you made a mistake and it is an opportunity to grow from it.”
Getting mental health help to stay calm in these situations is important, but seeking financial help is valuable, too.
Associate wealth adviser Hunter Rich with Nold Bryant Planning & Investments said it all starts with a plan.
“I think the way to remove that stress from your life is the plan,” Rich said. “That’s why we’ve made such an emphasis of our business in planning to take away that stress from someone.”
It can start with budgeting, having hard conversations, working through spreadsheets and more.
“You can only control the controllable,” Rich said. “The way we look at it is planning is key. We can look into the future, we can really plan out someone’s life so you know what’s in the future and you don’t, you’re not worried about (it).”
While feelings of anxiety can be difficult in the moment, the adage “time heals all wounds” can actually relate to money issues.
“It’s a long game. It’s not a short game, And day in and day out is how are you able to finance is a big week-by-week, month-by-month type of deal,” Rich said. “Clear your head to keep it like a long-term idea.”
It’s important to remain as positive as possible while working through financial mistakes to not let them bring you down into a dark place.
“It’s really fast to get in a financial pickle and unfortunately, it’s really slow to dig yourself out, give yourself grace after you’ve made mistakes,” Fisher said. “Try to find … lessons to learn, find areas to cut, to really kind of help alleviate some of the anxiety.”
