Steps a Professional Single Women Can Take to Deal with Money Anxiety
Posted on August 27, 2015 by Ted Moreno, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
Women are experiencing more stress and anxiety about earning and managing money due to increased participation in the workforce and higher incomes.
According to a recent survey by a multinational financial services company, 46% of women considered high income earners ($57,000 average annually) say they “often” or “sometimes” fear losing all their money and becoming homeless. This number rose to 56% for single women.
In 2012, Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America commissioned a survey using a sample of 2213 women, aged 25 to 75, with household incomes of $30,000 or higher. According to the study, divorced woman feel especially overwhelmed, with 50% stating that financial planning seems an impossible task because of children and family.
Women are experiencing greater participation in the workforce as well as rising incomes. Yet, because of the changing nature of modern households, including more single working mothers, there are increasing demands on single professional women.
These increasing demands can result in high levels of stress and anxiety about earning and managing money. This money anxiety and consequent overwhelm can lead to major mistakes with serious consequences. Becoming paralyzed by fear and being unable to address money concerns, loss of confidence in the ability to create abundance, and failing to plan for the future are common examples.
So how can a single professional woman deal with the anxiety of not having enough money?
Consulting an expert can be an effective first step. Having a financial adviser or CPA or even a good bookkeeper can give you second pair of eyes that have more objectivity about your financial state. You may find that you are in better shape than you thought, or you may find that there are some immediate action steps you can take that can begin to improve your financial situation.
Being clear about the state of your affairs also allows you to ask very powerful and effective questions: Do I know how/where my money is being spent? What do I need every month/week to meet my obligations? Do I have a budget? This sounds pretty basic, but if you can’t answer these questions, then you are not in control of your money and this lack of control can exacerbate anxiety.
High, debilitating levels of anxiety and stress can be paralyzing. Deciding to seek professional help is a very positive step to vent stress, fear and frustration. Licensed therapists will often work on a sliding scale if affordability is an issue, and if you are lucky enough to have insurance, the co-pay can be as cheap as ten or twenty dollars. A 2012 article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “A Hypnotic Answer to Financial Angst" reports that more women are turning to hypnosis to ease money worries.
Maintaining perspective is essential to being able to confront financial challenges effectively. We’ve all read stories of people taking their lives because of of financial downturns even though they were still relatively wealthy. Instead of scaring yourself with worst case scenarios, focus on the skills and resources you have that can be applied to the situation at hand.
Keeping a positive attitude is a must. It’s true that tough times don’t last but tough people do. You may not have control over financial or job markets, but you can control how you respond by getting in touch with your inner entrepreneur, realizing that your personal value as a person is not tied to your net worth, and looking for opportunities that are waiting to be found with the right mindset.
There are rules and principles to every endeavor that have been studied and written about through the ages, and money is no different. The number of best selling books written for woman about money continues to grow. Books by authors such as Suze Orman, Sharon Lechter, and Maria Nemeth have achieved mass popularity by empowering women to take control of their financial destiny.
Women that have made it through tough times, from Oprah to Martha Stewart, always stress the value of believing in one’s self and having a sense of purpose. Their stories of perseverance in the face of extreme challenges demonstrate the power of faith and courage. At the core of their message is this: You are not defeated until you say you are.
There’s a lot that can be said about the subject of making money, attracting wealth, etc. However, dealing with fear and anxiety about money starts with the decision to take the first steps to positive action with the belief that you can and will prevail.
Ted A. Moreno is a Success Performance Coach in South Pasadena, CA who works with single professional women to help them release anxiety and develop a money mindset to attract greater wealth and abundance. You can contact Ted at tedamoreno@gmail.com.
