Worrying about money and paying bills can be very stressful and may affect your mental health. Existing mental health issues can also make it difficult to manage your finances; you may be overwhelmed or find it difficult to make financial decisions, which lead to a loss of the control of your money.
If this happens, you might want to ignore the problem and bury your head in the sand. But avoiding the problem will not help. It will create a vicious cycle, where worrying about money makes it hard to manage money and vice versa.
Facing any financial issues you may have is the only way of dealing with this, and Trivallis is here to help.
Our Money Advice Team can offer support if you are struggling with your finances, so don’t hesitate to contact them if you need help.
If you are struggling to manage your finances, there are so many ways that you can take back control. In the wake of Time to Talk Day 2022, we want to offer you advice and tips on how to manage your mental wellbeing and financial worries.
Advice and Tips
- Budgeting can help you to keep a track of your money, and allows you to see what you have left over after you have paid bills, rent etc.
- Use a bank account that has a ‘Jam Jar’ feature. This allows you to separate your money into different types of spending. So you could have one ‘jar’ for bills, one for weekly spending, and one for cash withdrawals (if you like!). It means you don’t accidentally spend money that is intended to cover essential bills, and you won’t be left trying to find money (you can also do this with actual jars, like a piggy bank!)
- Meal plan before you do your food shop – this helps for you to budget what you are buying and avoid getting distracted by the supermarket bargains.
- When shopping, write a list and try to stick to it. We are all guilty of adding things to the basket that we don’t need.
- If you are struggling to open your post or avoid letters relating to money, try opening your post with a trusted friend or family member who can help ease any anxiety you might be feeling.
- Similarly, if you find phone calls difficult, especially when it involves money, be sure to tell the person you are speaking to about your mental health and that this is making money management hard. They should have guidelines to help you out and offer you support.
- If you struggle with impulse spending, try and give your cards to someone who you trust – this will make it harder for you to access and give yourself more time to calmly decide if it is a sensible purchase.
If you are having a hard time managing your money and mental wellbeing, don’t be afraid to ask for help. It is out there and happens to more people than you may think.
The Mental Health & Money Advice service helps you to understand, manage and improve your mental health and money issues. They have loads of free resources and tips to help you tackle any issues you are facing. Head over to their website for more information.
Mind also offer advice for people who are struggling to manage their money and mental wellbeing. Check out their website to find out more.