Money and Mental Health
Posted on Oct 09, 2024“Money and mental health problems can be a marriage made in hell.” Money is something we all need, think about and for many of us, is a main cause of stress. Whether you’re juggling your bills, saving for the future, or taking your finances day by day, the way we manage our money is directly linked to our mental health. Worries about money can have an impact on your mental health. And your mental health can affect how you manage your money.
Our money and our mental health are often connected. Money worries cause many of us to feel anxious and can lead to feelings of depression. Worrying about finances can lead to anxiety, and can affect our sleep, focus and ability to function in work. Feeling trapped by your finances, and no matter what you do you can’t get ahead, can easily lead to depressive moods. This can then put strain on our relationships and the stigma attached to talking about finances and speaking out about out mental health can make us feel hopeless. This is a vicious cycle, but you are not alone.
Breaking the cycle
Learning how money and mental health are linked could help if you’re struggling.
- Set a realistic budget – take back control and try stick to a realistic budget. Reducing your spending in certain areas, and seeing a little progress, like saving a small amount each month, can have a huge impact on your feelings about money.
- Build an emergency fund / comfort blanket of savings – A quarter of UK adults have less than £100 in savings. This means many adults would struggle to make ends meet if anything was to happen. Saving small amounts regularly soon build up. The “what if’s” and feeling unprepared is one of the leading causes of anxiety around money. Building your emergency fund can give you peace of mind. Knowing you can still support yourself, and your family, if anything was to happen, can help you feel more comfortable around your finances.
- Swap & Save – Around 34% of adults in the UK have no savings, so when it comes to buying larger or everyday items, they may turn to high interest credit cards. If you’ve opted for your credit card, car finance or your overdraft, debt consolidation could be a decent option if you feel trapped but your debts. Whether you have credit cards, personal loans, store cards or overdrafts, a Swap & Save Loan could help you reduce the amount you pay each month towards your debts, tidy up your finances and take back some control.