Worrying about money is something that almost every single person experiences at some point. Give these 5 awesome ways to banish money worries a try and start living a more relaxed life.
Often in life, you may find yourself with too much month left for the amount of money you have. This can cause massive worrying about money.
While we can’t always control how much money we make or expenses that might crop up during a month, by making a few lifestyle changes, you can eliminate the feeling that you’re on the edge of disaster.
After being over $107,000 in debt and putting living expenses on credit cards for years, I made these changes, and it has made all of the difference in mine and my family’s lives.
This post is all about ways to stop worrying about money and live a more carefree life.
1. Eliminate Debt
We’re just going to start with the big one first. The best way to eliminate worrying about money is to eliminate debt. This may seem like an overwhelming task and miles out of reach, when what you need is to get rid of your money worries today.
Unfortunately, like me, it probably took you years to accumulate the amount of debt that you have, and getting rid of it doesn’t happen overnight.
However, there are some great ways to get out of debt, and most people when they follow a step-by-step plan, eliminate all of their debt within 2 years.
I highly recommend checking out Financial Peace University. This is the plan that enabled me and my family to pay off over $107,000 in debt in less than 2 years. After living debt-free for the last 4 years, I can say that I do not spend my nights awake worrying about money anymore, and have been able to navigate through job losses and changes.
2. Plan, Plan, Plan
One of the biggest factors in getting rid of my worries about money was to start using a daily planner. Planners give you a place to track your plans for the month, and this can have a great impact on your finances.
Here are 4 things you can keep track of in a planner that will help you chase all of that worrying about money away:
1. Meal Plan
Plan out your meals for the week or even the whole month, and avoid not only the money worries with how to have enough money to eat, but also avoid the dreaded debate on what to eat each night.
If things happen like they do in my house, anytime we’re undecided on food, it always spirals down to a horrible back and forth of “What do you want?”.
Meal planning can side-step these dreaded conversations, help save money, and also afford you the opportunity to make healthy meals.
2. Navigate busy evenings
Do you have a night or two where you won’t be home to cook? Writing out your schedule for the week will allow you to identify days or evenings that may be really busy, and might impact your ability to cook dinner or even be home to eat.
Tracking these busy dates in a planner can allow you to identify these hurdles ahead of time, and figure out a way to navigate them.
3. Habit tracking
Your habits have a strong impact on your daily routines, and your routines directly impact your money. Some great habits to track in your planner that can have tremendous benefits include: abstaining from soda, having a no spend day, reading a book, reading the Bible, spending time in prayer or meditation.
Tracking your habits daily is a great way to baby step your way to a happier, healthier life.
4. Identify important dates
Do you have any birthdays, anniversaries, or special occasions coming up? Using a planner to track upcoming special dates can help you to budget more accurately for your month.
3. Get Rid of the Ordinary and Strive for the Extraordinary
Basically, this can change your whole outlook on shopping. Many people have jumped on the Marie Kondo bandwagon, and others have made fun of it. In a nutshell, she urges you to only keep things you love.
While I personally don’t agree with all of her methods, this tip on getting rid of your worrying about money, goes hand-in-hand with this one piece of her philosophy.
Stop buying lots of random things, such as clothes.
I used to go to the outlet malls and discount stores and buy a few new pieces of clothes frequently. This resulted in my closet being stuffed with clothes that I never wanted to wear and that didn’t last.
One day I considered taking a trip out to do some more shopping to add to my already full closet, I just couldn’t find anything in the closet I wanted to wear. Nothing fit correctly. Nothing was really “my style”, and most things were faded or had holes.
If you find yourself in this same position, I recommend you do what I did. Ditch all of the cheap, ill-fitting clothes. For the price of 2 or 3 of those tops, you could have 1 nice top that fits you perfectly and you can’t wait to wear. For the price of 2 pairs of those too-tight, not quite short enough or long enough jeans, you could have 1 pair that you look amazing in.
Choose to pay a little more for 1 of the things that make you feel great, in exchange for 3 of the things that make you feel…ugh. Then, only buy a few items. You don’t need 20 tops. You only need 7.
Apply this to other items besides clothes, and you can have a simple, elegant home, an organized kitchen, and a clutter-free life filled with only things that are worth your money.
There are so many free resources available now, and most people do not utilize them, or even know they are available. My favorite free resources is the local library.
The library of 2021 is not the library of your childhood. I remember visiting the library when I was a kid. It was a quiet place full of books, but today, you might be surprised at what all your local library has to offer.
1. DVD’s
Most libraries now carry a large selection of current and classic movies across all genres. Not only can you rent them for free, you usually get them for a week or more. So no worries about returning them by the next day, even if you ran out of time to watch it.
2. Events
Many libraries now offer lots of different events for children, adults, seniors, singles and families. From special guest teachers and game nights, to movie nights, you can find all kinds of free entertainment.
3. Technology
Most libraries now provide computers and sometimes tablets for you to use while you’re in the building. Instead of having to buy expensive devices, you can utilize the ones at the library for free or a small daily fee.
By utilizing technology outside of your home, you can lower the amount of time you spend online, which can be beneficial to your health.
4. Books!
Did you know that there are many benefits to reading? Some of my favorite benefits include, lowering stress levels, living longer, and improving your focus.
If you have gotten out of the habit of doing daily reading, today is a great day to pick up the habit. Check out all 10 of these great benefits of reading every day.
5. Do a Monthly Budget
One key to taking control of your money, so as to quit worrying about money, is to start doing a monthly budget. If you’re like me, you probably heard the word “budget” with a negative connotation most of your life. I avoided doing a budget for the first 20 years of my married life….no lie.
Don’t be like me. Start doing a budget today.
First of all, a budget is not negative. It’s one of the most positive things I do every month now. These are the three big reasons to start a budget today:
1. You get to tell your money where to go
Are you tired of wondering every month what happened to all of your money? Where did it all go? Where is the $1000 worth of stuff in my house, since that $1000 isn’t in my account anymore? The truth is, it just gets frittered away.
By doing a budget before you get paid each month, you get to decide where every dollar of your paycheck is going to go before it ever hits your account.
2. Just stick to it
After creating your budget, your job is easy….just stick to it. You have $200 to spend on eating out? Yay! You get to decide which restaurants get blessed with your money this month. When the $200 is gone, then you’re done eating out.
You have $75 to buy that new purse you’ve had you’re eye on? WooHoo! Go get it, then don’t get anything else this month.
Take my word for it, having limits on your spending actually feels very freeing.
3. Set yourself up for success
By creating your budget at the beginning of the month, you are setting yourself up for money success. You will no longer feel the fear of running out of money, or those sleepless nights worrying about money and where it all went.
It seems like everywhere you turn now days, you hear the word “intentional” It’s been so used and overused, a lot of people just tune it out. Really, it’s just a fancy word for paying attention. One of the leading causes of money worries comes from worrying about running out of money or not having enough money each month.
You can remove this aspect of your worry by paying attention.
If you are like I was, you may not know how much money you have each month, how much needs to go out, or what the big picture of your finances actually looks like. Five years ago, I thought ignoring the details would keep the worry away, but it wasn’t until I started looking at the details all the time, that the worry disappeared.
The best way to do this is write down your spending….every….day.
This may seem difficult and like it might make you crazy, but I can attest to the opposite effect. By looking at your spending and writing it down every day, either on a transaction printable or on a spreadsheet, you will know exactly how much money you have at all times.
Another benefit to writing your spending down every day, is that it makes tracking your spending quick and easy. Most days, you won’t have more than 2 or 3 purchases, so it shouldn’t take you more than 3-5 minutes to stay up to date.
You will eliminate any surprise deductions from your account by tracking your spending each day. It’s easy to lose track of receipts and memories of purchases. By writing it down each day, you’re sure to know every expense before it comes out of your account.
7. Be Realistic
This tip has proven to be the hardest one for me to get a grasp on. For the first year that I did a budget, I hardly ever stuck to it. I finally had to come to grips with the fact that my budget was a fantasy.
Creating a budget that isn’t realistic will be impossible to keep. So, keep it real.
Here are some hard facts and questions you might need to address:
1. You have to eat.
Don’t budget $200 a month for food, if it really costs you $600 a month. Now, cutting back on snacks and sugary drinks will not only help your budget, but they’ll improve your health.
Some cuts to your food budget can be good, but undercutting your budget in an effort to save money to a point that you can’t actually feed yourself or your family will just cause you to fail that month.
2. Are you really going out to eat?
Here is where I failed most of the time. I’d budget $0 for eating out and say we’re never going into a restaurant this month. However, I knew my daughter and her family were coming to visit at least one weekend that month, and we would want to take them to their favorite restaurant.
Budgeting for this trip out, along with nights that I knew we wouldn’t get home until 9:00, just makes sense.
Avoiding restaurants, again, is not only beneficial to your wallet, but also to your health. However, setting your self up for success with a realistic budget and some self-control will go a long way.
3. Do you have blow money?
Blow money is essentially money you get to blow, or spend on anything you want. It could include entertainment, eating lunch out, or a purse you’ve been eyeing.
Having money budgeted as blow money is important, because being successful at eliminating worrying about money means that you feel like you can spend money on things that are important to you. Feeling constrained by your budget can make you feel more money worries.
Be sure to budget in a reasonable amount of money each month for you (and a spouse, if applicable) to spend the way you want. I also highly recommend making it in cash, so as to keep from overspending.
Being realistic about these aspects of your money can help banish all of that worrying about money each month, because you will have a solid plan.
I personally use these seven steps every day, and I can tell you that my life will never be the same.
I hope this helps you with a few ways to get started in eliminating your worrying about money to begin moving toward a more carefree life.
If you have other methods that you have implemented in your life to eliminate money worries, I’d love for you to share it in a comment below.
Did you know that showing gratitude can be one of the easiest ways to improve your overall health? These five health benefits of gratitude can have a huge impact on your well-being, and one of the best parts is that you can get started right away!
You may have heard about the trend of keeping a gratitude journal and wondered if keeping one would give you any benefit. As you’ll see, there are many health benefits of gratitude, and using a journal can be one great way to start a journey to being more thankful.
Maybe you’re like me and feel like you’re already a grateful person, but have never bothered to write down the things you’re thankful for.
You’ll see how regularly writing down the things you are grateful for each day and expressing gratitude to others can actually improve your health.
After learning these amazing benefits, you’ll be ready to jump in feet first on your gratitude journey.
This post is all about the five life changing health benefits of gratitude and how you can get started today.
1. Experience Less Fatigue
One big health issue that Americans cite as a problem in their everyday lives is feeling fatigued. This can be a big problem for accomplishing tasks throughout the day. Feeling more alert is certainly a goal to accomplish.
According to this study from 2015, researchers found that patients with asymptomatic heart failure who practice spirituality and gratitude reported less fatigue.
This is great news, as being less fatigued can have a direct impact on our success at work and with our families.
2. Better Mental Health
With the rise in reports of mental health concerns since the beginning of the pandemic, seeking a way to improve our mental health has become almost necessary for everyone.
One of the great health benefits of gratitude is an overall more positive outlook and having a lower instance of depressed mood.
Studies have shown that practicing gratitude leads to a more positive mindset, which has shown to lessen depressive moods in subjects.
As we all look for ways to avoid getting sick, boosting our immune systems can offer us many benefits. Adding gratitude to an eating healthy regimen, and getting plenty of sleep, you could potentially increase your immune system response.
I’ve tried adding one to two expressions of gratitude daily to test these effects myself.
4. Improved Sleep
If you’re like me, you might have all the thoughts of everything you forgot to do or how things could go wrong come to your mind right as you lay down to go to sleep. Then dozing off becomes almost impossible.
The age old suggestion was to count sheep, but I suggest that instead of counting sheep, you might try counting blessings.
Try naming off things that you are thankful for, either out loud or in your head. This little trick can help to get your mind off of the negative thoughts (that you can’t do anything about at that moment anyway) and busy with more positive thoughts.
In this 2009 gratitude and sleep study, it was found that gratitude improved both the quality of sleep as well as the amount of sleep of the subjects.
5. Cope with Stress
As we live in a more and more overwhelming world, with work and home life always demanding more, finding ways to lower stress levels is becoming so important.
The great news is that we can quickly banish stress with a simple expression of gratitude.
This study from 2007, found that subjects were able to better cope with stressful situations when they regularly practiced gratitude.
When life is becoming overwhelming, try one of the suggestions below to help lower your stress levels and improve your overall health.
How to Get Started with Expressing Gratitude Today
There are many ways to practice gratitude and begin to experience all of the positive benefits outlined above in your own life.
You can either express your gratitude to others and spread joy, or you can practice gratitude in a more private way. Choose one or two suggestions below to get started today. No prescription needed!
Ways to Express Gratitude and Brighten Someone Else’s Day
Send a thank you note – This could be a paper thank you note or simply an email of thanks.
Tell someone one thing that you appreciate about them
Write down three things you’re grateful for each day on a calendar or planner page
Say a prayer and thank the Lord for three things you’re grateful for
Use glass markers to write three to five things on your mirror as you get ready in the morning
I hope this helps you see the health benefits of gratitude and ways you can get started right away.
Have you had a personal experience with the health benefits of gratitude, and you’d like to contribute your experiences with us? I’d love it if you’d contribute to this list in a comment below.
Today’s world is moving faster and faster, and everyone’s stress levels are rising. Try implementing these 8 simple living ideas to help slow the pace and live a more stress free life.
It seems like at every turn, we’re being increasingly bombarded with ways to improve our life. Hustle and grind are the mantra of many today.
Our work screams out for more and the news demands our attention.
Wouldn’t it be great to just tune out, back up, and get back to a simpler life? Try a few of these simple living ideas and escape from the constant call for more from you.
This post is about simple living ideasand escaping an overwhelming world.
1. Embrace the Less is More Mindset
In this often overstimulating world that we live in, we are constantly being told we need more. Buy more, decorate more, eat more… all so businesses can sell you more.
Often, though, all of that “more” ends up as clutter around the house, debt on a credit card, less money in the bank, and more daily stress.
You don’t have to become a minimalist to embrace having less around your house. One good rule of thumb is for everything to have a place. If you have items lying around that don’t have a place, let them go.
If these random items are necessary, then clean out a place for them and let the items that were in that place go.
Another good tip for having less around the house is to use a rule that realtors often suggest when getting ready to sell your home: eliminate 1/3 of your things. This tip can help to not only get rid of those piles of clutter, but also to identify what items are really important to you.
In order to spend less, I highly recommend the 24 hour rule on purchases. When you see something you want, wait 24 hours and see if you still want it before purchasing.
These quick simple living ideas are a few easy ways to ease into embracing a less is more mindset.
2. Banish the Negative
It is easy to fall into a routine of negativity and tension with so many opportunities to surround yourself with negativity, even in the realm of entertainment.
Many of the best selling books, tv shows and movies are centered around crime, intense drama and suspense. Like me, you may find yourself tensing your body and then replaying those negative scenarios in your head.
Even though I loved those crime novels and forensic shows on tv, I had to stop diving into them every night.
I’ve found that the more I eliminated these optional anxieties and stress, the more relaxed I felt. This simple living idea has definitely made a huge impact on my level of inner peace.
Likewise, if there are things in your home or work that cause you stress daily, make it a point to change that space or environment to make it more peaceful. You can eliminate clutter around your desk or workspace or wear headphones to eliminate negative chatter.
By eliminating those negative things you might unconsciously be choosing, you can free up your mind, body and thoughts for clear, positive thoughts.
Often, we feel so rushed to accomplish everything in the short amount of time that we have in a day; however, it is important that we take time to do something that we love doing.
Perhaps you like to cross-stitch, do DIY projects or play a sport. Regardless of what it is, we usually leave those tasks for any “extra” time that we have in a week. Well, here’s a news flash, there is never “extra” time.
You will have the same number of hours this week that you had last week and you’ll have the same next week.
Here are some great ways to make space for doing something you love:
Eliminate or reduce time on social media
Block off the time by actually writing it on your calendar
Prepare a crock-pot meal to freeze while cooking normal meal to free up your cooking time on a different day
Do your grocery shopping online (This can easily save at least an hour a week, especially if you add items to your online cart each day.)
4. Declutter Your Space
I’m not sure what space you might need to declutter. It might be your car, your office, your desk, your closet, or your whole home. I can tell you one thing, though, looking at a pile of things that need to be put away can stress…you…out.
That pile of receipts in your car, the pile of mail on the table, or the stack of random items in the corner… these are all signs that decluttering might be a great idea. You can also eliminate that constant feeling that you always have something to do.
Decluttering can seem like an overwhelming task when thinking of all of the spaces in your home. A great way to start is to pick a small space or a space that generally doesn’t have a lot in it, like your car or living room.
Clear just one space and enjoy it for a few days. This can help keep you motivated to another space without making you feel overwhelmed.
Of all the simple living ideas, this one has probably made the most impact on lowering my stress levels and improving my ability to stay positive.
I used to suffer from great deals of anxiety. One of the ways that I was able to take the teeth out of that anxiety when it would arise was to go for a walk. I found that the more I was outside, the less anxious I felt.
There is a lot of research about how being in nature can help to relieve stress.
Strive to go for a walk or get outside for a little bit each day. Leave your phone off, including music, while you walk and focus on the trees, sky and any greenery around you.
This is also a great time to think about things you’re thankful for and focus on positive thoughts for the day or evening.
6. Spend Less on Stuff
As mentioned before, having less brings great benefits, and one benefit that goes hand in hand with that is spending less.
By spending less, you open up so many opportunities that you may never be able to accomplish without the funding. Through spending less, you could save up the money you aren’t spending and make an impact on your life and others.
Some ways to transform yours :
Retire early
Travel more
Quit a job you hate and change careers
Start your own business
Give more
To make an intentional change in your spending, I highly recommend putting together a monthly budget. You can read about some of the reasons why budgeting is important in my post, The Importance of Budgeting and 7 Surprising Benefits.
7. Simplify Your Wardrobe
Do you ever go to your closet and realize that you have nothing to wear, even though your closet is actually packed with clothes? I have totally been there.
If you’re in this situation, I have one suggestion for you, which I just did myself….get rid of almost all of it.
This could be a quick process or a slow process, depending on how much you can allot to purchasing new items.
These are the steps I took to minimize my closet that I highly recommend:
Remove every piece of clothing from your closet.
Sort them into 4 piles:
I love to wear this (Keep)
I don’t love this, but it is in excellent condition or is a top brand (Sell)
I don’t love this, but it’s still in good condition (Donate)
I don’t love this, but and it has holes, rips, etc (Throw Away)
Do what needs to be done with the clothes based on your sorting.
Make a list of what items you really need for work and what you like to wear around the house. Check out this article on capsule wardrobes for some tips.
Go shopping with a set budget for your spending.
Purchase only the items on your list, and only choose items that you love and are of good quality. (The goal is to find items that you will want to wear for a long time, so they will need to last for a long time.)
This process might take a few months for you to work up to having all of the items that you need, but when you are finished, it’s recommended by most that you have no more than 40 items in your closet.
8. Actively Practice Gratitude
One of the key ingredients to simple living is having a peaceful spirit. Eliminating negative reactions to situations, jumping into panic mode, and always thinking of the worst case scenarios can keep you from feeling that needed peace.
An excellent way to infuse more peace into your life is by practicing gratitude. There are so many benefits to expressing gratitude, both to you and to others.
Start by saying thank you more, and telling people directly that you appreciate something they’ve done. Instead of just leaving a tip for a waiter, tell them how much you enjoyed their service. This will brighten their day, and also keeps you in a positive frame of mind.
Research shows that expressing gratitude increases your happiness by 25%, and reduces stress related illness by 10%.
In addition to expressing gratitude directly to others, you can pray and thank the Lord for all of the things you are thankful for that day.
Many people like to write their gratitude down in a gratitude journal. You can check out this top selling journal on Amazon.
It’s recommended that you write down at least 3 things per day that you are grateful for. I have found that expressing gratitude has helped me react in a much calmer manner, and has helped to make each day a little more peaceful.
I hope these simple living ideas help lower your stress level in an increasingly fast-paced world.
Do you have other simple living ideas that have impacted your life, and you’d like to share? I’d love for you to share them in a comment below.
Hi, I'm Carrie. Welcome to my blog, Carrie Jay Budgets. I'm an educator, life long learner, and mom to three kids. I learned the hard way that saving money and budgeting is essential to living a life of freedom. Read more about my journey.
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