Financial stress management

Even at the best of times, managing finances can be one of the biggest stress triggers in our lives.

Add owning a small to medium business and a global pandemic to the mix and things can become seriously challenging. The connection between financial stress and poor mental and physical health is probably obvious.

What we’d like to provide is some coping mechanisms which not only help you manage your finances but also your mental health.

Here are our top tips for dealing with financial stress:

Seek professional support
Firstly – if the stress is feeling too much, please seek professional support. This doesn’t have to be at a cost. You can speak to your GP about options for subsidised counselling. Once you’ve had some assistance in managing your stress, a clearer head when approaching your finances may seem a little more manageable. There also many online resources where you can seek help.

Approach your biggest worry first
Once you’ve tackled the biggest concern, it will be easier to move on to your other tasks. If you’re not sure how to begin tackling your biggest worry – feel free to call us.

Manage your debt
Debt can compound interest and it can also compound your worries at night. We recommend getting on top of it sooner rather than later. There are ways to negotiate, consolidate or plan a settlement. You can speak to your bank about this, or consult with us first for some tips if you prefer.

Don’t beat yourself up
Whether you’re just starting out in business or have been in the game for a while, it’s normal to make some financial mistakes along the way. If you’ve made a mistake, try to find the best way to fix it, learn from it and move on.

Try to keep your work and home life separate
This can be very challenging to achieve when running your own business, but it is important to have dedicated personal time and dedicated work time where possible. It’s also important to try and keep your personal finances and your own wage separate to the business finances. You can speak to your bank about setting this up if you haven’t already.

Review and plan
The end of a financial year is a good time to look back and take stock of how your business has travelled in the last 12 months and look for trends or insights for planning in the year ahead. We recommend setting some goals and management techniques to allow for when finances might be tight.

Good record keeping
We probably sound like broken records on this one. But good record keeping will help you to manage your cashflow which impacts all aspects of your business. We can send you some tools, guidance and software tips to help if needed.

Seek help in managing your finances
If all of the above seems too overwhelming, you can contact us and we can either help you with the process, or we can do it for you. We also have a dedicated Financial Planning team who can provide ongoing financial counselling and advice.

Further resources and support can be found here:

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/get-immediate-support

https://www.business.vic.gov.au/disputes-disasters-and-succession-planning/stress-savvy-in-business

https://www.mybusiness.com.au/finance/4475-tips-on-how-to-manage-financial-stress