The First Step To Overcoming Money Anxiety Is Facing Your Own Finances

The First Step To Overcoming Money Anxiety Is Facing Your Own Finances

The more you learn about something, the less intimidating it becomes. That’s true for most things, and it’s certainly true for money. Money isn’t that scary once you learn about it, but the first step that holds most of us back is facing our own financial picture.

Close up of Australian note image from Shutterstock

Over at Wealthsimple, Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit, explains why he’s not intimidated by money.

He elaborates quite a bit, but it boils down to this:

I don’t experience a lot of anxiety about money. When people feel anxiety, it’s usually about the unknown, because they’re worried that they don’t have enough for what’s going to come next week or next month. Once a week, I update a spreadsheet that contains all of my financial information so I know down to the last dollar how much money I have in my accounts and how much I have in my investments and how much I have on my credit cards. Most people shy away from knowing that.

In short, the more you sweep your finances under the rug, the more terrifying they become. The good news is, getting control takes one simple first step: facing your own financial situation. That means coming up with a budget. Checking your bank statements periodically. Being realistic about what your spending looks like and coming up with a plan to pay off debt.

From there, managing your money isn’t a piece of cake, but it’s a lot less intimidating than you probably imagine. Check out the full interview at the link below.

The Author of “Power of Habit” On Not Being Intimidated By Money [Wealthsimple via Rockstar Finance]


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