Let’s talk about financial stress. If you lost your job tomorrow, would you be okay? Having financial knowledge allows you to better assess your options and create a plan without getting overwhelmed. However, even with the best plans and all the financial literacy in the world, it’s impossible to completely eliminate financial stress. So, how do you cope? We’ve created a short list of suggestions below.

Have a clear picture of your financial situation.

What is your average monthly spend? Do you know how much you owe, the interest rate on your debts, and how much you pay each month in interest charges? Have you ever tracked and categorized your expenses to identify areas where you could cut back if required (ie. car payments, dining out, home improvements, etc.)? Avoiding these questions is understandable because the answers may lead to some hard lifestyle choices. However, turning a blind eye will only lead to never-ending financial stress.

Accept your mistakes.

Move on from any emotional reaction and learn to live with poor financial decisions from your past. Regret and anger won’t make that beach vacation you booked on your credit card disappear! It’s time to start paying for it.

If you need to pass on a night out with the gang to put $75 towards your card instead, then do it. More than 50% of Canadians live paycheque-to-paycheque so you won’t be the only one!

Set small, achievable financial goals to bolster confidence and measure progress.

If you have credit card debt, try adding $100 to your monthly minimum credit card payment. If you have no credit card debt, open a TFSA and contribute $100 a month towards that instead. A hundred bucks might seem like a modest amount, but it is a realistic goal that will get you started and will help a lot more than you think. Let’s take a look at the numbers.

• $100/month deposited into your TFSA ($1200/year) from age 18 to 65 will grow to almost $400,000 based on historical stock market returns
• Adding $100 monthly to the minimum 3% payment on a $5000 credit card will cut the time required to pay off the balance from 251 months down to 38 months and save you $4500 in interest charges

Get inspired and stay motivated.

Follow a personal finance YouTuber or blogger, hang a goal chart or progress tracker, talk with a friend or relative who has the same issues and work together — there are lots of methods and resources available to help you, even with a limited budget.  It’s critical to maintain a positive attitude and don’t beat yourself up — there are plenty of others in the same boat!

Achieving the goal of eliminating financial stress will take time, but learn to cope and stay focused on your goals! It will be worth it in the end.