This Is Exactly What I Did To Stop Worrying About Money... And You Should Try It Too (2023)

Can you imagine what your life would be like if you stopped worrying about money?

Forget the opulence of soccer mansions, the private jets of the ultra-rich and making enough money to last you a hundred years.

Of course it would be nice. But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm not referring to the Hollywood dreams of wealth and excess. You don't need an escapist dream, you need to stop worrying about money.

In our very private moments, most of us have simple dreams when it comes to money and life.. We want to stop worrying about money and live a life full of meaning and satisfaction.

Is that too much to want?

No, it's not much to want to know how to stop worrying about money.

Getting rid of money stress is a worthy dream and you can make it come true; You can stop worrying about money and live your life on your own terms. However, there is a part of you that doubts, that keeps asking:

Could this really be possible? Could I really become a master at not worrying about money?

Yes, it is.

But before you go any further, ask yourself if you have what it takes to change the way you handle money, or if you are content to be a financial loser.

You also need to understand that not worrying about money has very little to do with how much money you have..

I know people worth millions who still worry if that's enough; And I knowPeople who have very little and never care about money.

The dream of being free from money worries is incredible. But dreams are worth two cents, after all, and you and I live in the "real" world, right?

We live in a world where dreams are dreams, but your bills are still staring you in the face when you wake up, right?

Well, looks like you should give this a listen...

Worrying about money ruined my life

My stomach clenched and I paced the hotel room restlessly. It was October 2009, around 3:45 am. By the way, it was also three days after my husband told me thatwe had £100,000 (about $160,000) in consumer debt.

Walking around a room feeling sick with money worries was nothing new to me. Heck, for that pivotal night in October 2009, I had been worrying about money for over twenty years.

When I was young and doing my PhD, I worried about paying my rent and surviving until the next payday. (I often survived by pawning my typewriter; those were the days.)

Later I worried:

• the mortgage;
• my husband is leaving his job;
• how much we pay for our vacation;
• the future of our children; And
• The interest rate

As if that wasn't enough, my money worries spread to my parents, my sister, my niece and...

Well, my concern for money became universal and abstract.

After we had found out exactly how high our debts were, it was no problem. I was scared and my mind drew pictures of my son who lived at a 19^Iscentury of poverty and deprivation.

In November 2009 my money worries made me sick. I couldn't eat, sleep or plan. All I did was blame my husband (not entirely justified) and cry every time I looked at my young son.

Fast forward to March 2010 and worry about money has been replaced by a determination to change our financial path.

Why did I decide not to worry about money anymore?

How did I stop worrying about money after spending most of my life in acute money stress?

That's easy. I woke up one morning and thought I'd had enough.

I'd had enough of worrying about debt, resentment about making more money, and certainly enough of allowing my mostly irrational fears to get so out of control they seemed to be eating my soul.

In short, I was fed up with worrying about money.

Most importantly, I had an epiphany.

Worrying about money, like most worries in life, is meaningless because it doesn't allow us to move forward.

Now you may think that my enlightenment was just a glimpse of reality. For me, this was the cornerstone of figuring out how to stop worrying about money.

Worrying about money is useless because:

#1. get your energy out

Worrying about money is exhausting. As for thatworrying about anything is exhausting.

Worry, a negative emotion, drains your energy by robbing you of meaning and purpose in your life. It turns into fears that make you cower in the face of life and try to avoid it at all costs.

That being said, worry leads to insomnia, and as all parents know, sleep deprivation is exhausting. Lack of sleep not only slows down your body but also your mind.

#2. Divert your attention from what is important

What matters in life is living. Your life is shaped by your actions and your actions are shaped by the way you think.

If you are concerned about money or any other aspect of your life, direct your attention to the fears that have fed your imagination rather than the activities that make up your life.

You know your energy goes where attention goes, right?

#3. Transform yourself into a person you don't know

Worries about money inevitably affect your behavior. For example, he discovers that he can no longer enjoy his life, that he feels guilty when he buys an ice cream cone.

Worse, if you worry too much about money, you can become a miser, unable to be generous.

In short, money worries can turn you into a person you don't recognize.

#4. Makes you a person you don't like

It's not just that money worries can turn you into a person you don't know, they can also turn you into a person you don't like very much.

Every time you secretly envy your partner's food choices, you lose a little bit of your self-esteem.

So he had had enough. I had to figure out how to stop worrying about money.

Above all, I had to figure out how to stop worrying about money when I really didn't have to.

How to stop worrying about money

Excellent; I thought you never asked

You see, worry is an emotional state caused by three things:

• Uncertainty;
• Ignorance; And
• In action

This means that worrying about money has very little to do with how much money we have.and everything to do with our beliefs, fears, knowledge and actions related to money.

It took me six months to move from:

"The thought of money makes me tremble more than an alcoholic before his first drink"

A

'Oh yeah! I am a fearless money ninja willing to create wealth or die trying.”

These are the steps I took to stop worrying about money and start building serious wealth.

#1. Learn to deal with the uncertainty surrounding debt and money

Many believe that we deal with uncertainty by increasing certainty in our lives.

Mistake.

We deal with uncertainty by convincing our subconscious that we will survive no matter what life throws at us and by developing the necessary skills to deal with uncertainty; even thrive on it.

In my case, dealing with the uncertainty took the following:

• Affirmations every night before bed. I kept repeating "everything will be fine" until my eyelashes fluttered softly with exhaustion. (Sounds weird, I know, but it works.)
• I have developed an open and flexible attitude.. It's not about accepting everything that comes your way, but about seeing what's coming and adjusting your behavior accordingly.
• I have found an anchor of certainty. When you're swimming in a sea of ​​uncertainty, you need something to hold on to. For me it was my love (son and husband) and determination to pay off all debts as soon as possible.

You have to play with the details here; these would be different for different people.

The important thing is to recognize thatyou don't want certainty; You need to find ways to deal with uncertainty.

#2. Dealing with fears about earning money and future security

Do you think your sense of security depends on how much money you have?

think again

Because if that were right, you'd be worried about retirement if you had a good retirement plan (yes, I know; but I've also been worried about my retirement while contributing to a gilded retirement plan).

My experience shows that the only way to be confident that your future is secure is to develop the skills and abilities that will ensure your survival, and possibly your success, no matter what.

In my case, I had to develop skills that I know would get me out of the hole if I lost everything: money, house, pension.

That's all.

#3. Understand that you need very little in life

We can all be drawn into believing that we all need everything around us in life.

It's not like this. In fact, we need very little to live a happy, fulfilling, and contented life.

I know you are skeptical about this; Me too, until I learned better.

You have to leave your comfort zone for that. For example, the next time you only pack hand luggage for a three-week trip. Or retreat to a place where you can live a simple life and learn or practice life skills.

Once you know that you need very little to live a happy life, much of your worries about money will go away where it belongs.

#4. correct your ignorance

So I was worried about money, scared of debt and knew very little about our financial situation.

You see, ignorance increases the level of insecurity and makes you worry more.

What have I done?

I have shed my ignorance about money in general and our financial situation in particular.

I calculated what we earn and what we spend to the pound. I found out where we are wasting money, how we can make what we do cheaper and at the same time what we don't want to spend money on.with the money management system ERR.

(There are handy money management tools that can help you gather the information you need to implement the ERR system. You can useThe monthly budget planner based on the money principleor use a money management app. here you can learnhow to open an account with Money Dashboardand how you can use it to improve your budgeting skills).

I also learned something very important:

The only number that matters in personal finance isyour monthly cash flow.

But I didn't just learn about personal finance.

I learned about cooking, nutrition and exercise.

I learned about index funds, value investing, dividend investing, everythingThings about investing that a beginner should know.

I learned how to make money.

And I learned about the business and howinvest in business.

When I was done with my ignorance, my knowledge gave me firmness and my learning never ended.

#5. Learn to trade; and act immediately

When I was most worried about money, I did very little to change my financial situation.

So I started doing things.

I checked the bank balances.

I wrote a money diary.

I hurried like mad.

(I still do that.)

You see, friend, five months is not long enough to drastically change your financial situation.

Five months is more than enough time to stop worrying about money and turn your financial situation into a problem that can be solved.

Seven years, on the other hand, should be enough to change your financial situation.

Where am I today?

Well, dude, I'm certainly not worried about money and haven't had it in years. Also, between January 2010 and January 2018 we have gone from £100,000 in consumer debt to over £250,000 in new investment.

I doubt this would have been possible had I cared about money anymore.

#6. Change your financial situation

You will have noticed that up to now I have told you how to stop worrying about money by changing your attitudes, your beliefs, the way you think and behave.

Well, I'm telling you that changing your financial situation will also help you stop worrying about money.

There are four areas where you can make significant changes.

Pay off your debt.I fall. We made itpay all our debtsexcept for the mortgage (and we have enough money to pay the mortgage; we just get better interest on the money than we save by paying the mortgage). Being debt free would make you less vulnerable to pressure from creditors and you could breathe easy and stop worrying so much about money.

build investments. Having reserves on hand is always helpful when it comes to relieving financial stress and no longer worrying about money. The point here is that what would make you more secure and your life financially sound isn't your net worth. The trick would be to build up liquid assets that you can access quickly in times of need and crisis. This is a bit controversial, but I also have gold coins (easily accessible) - it makes me feel safer and sleep better at night.

build income. Learn to make money with the different skills you have. Don't be a one-trick pony; Learn to think and act more broadly.

Manage your money. Smart spending is always good for your bank account. It's also good for your emotions and sense of security.

final thoughts

Most of us spend our lives worrying about money: we worry about getting enough to sustain our life, or we worry about keeping, increasing, and sustaining it.

Worrying about money has little to do with how much we have; it comes from feelings of insecurity, ignorance and inaction.

You can continue to have sleepless nights worrying about money or you can try these steps, leave your money worries behind and change your life and finances - it's entirely up to you.

worried about money? What are your main concerns and what have you done about them?