A Cure For Financial Stress
I was watching a news program recently discussing how we can live better and longer lives. Apparently, the perspective of aging is shifting from ‘How I look’ to ‘How I feel’. They questioned several people and most indicated they felt much younger than their actual age. This discussion led to helpful tips on living better.
The point that really struck me was the impact stress can have on our overall quality of life. They said that excessive stress can take six years off our life. Six years! Furthermore, one of the primary causes of stress comes from the financial side of our lives. I think there are few things we worry more about than our money. For most, it is because we believe there is never enough money, however, for some, there is so much money (and stuff purchased with this money) that we stress about how to protect and take care of it.
For nearly 20 years, I have been helping people with different aspects of their financial lives and I have come to learn that generally it is not the money that causes the stress, it is the unknown consequences of having too little or too much that causes the stress. We fear and stress over the unknown.
The great news is that I know the cure! The cure is knowledge. The cure is understanding your situation and the options that may be available. Once understood, the path becomes clear.
Like sending our children to school, we must seek a source for this knowledge. Today, there is ample information available at our fingertips and we can learn from the web. There have been so many books published on financial topics that one could fill a library. Also, there are many of us financial professionals who are more than happy to provide knowledge. A good advisor will not only share knowledge, but they can help you understand situations, scenarios, and options.
If we can get rid of the unknowns and understand our path forward, then we can hopefully rid ourselves of the stress, and, according to the news program, we may add six years of better living.