Stress is even worse for you – and your finances – than you would have ever imagined. But how can those bad feelings translate into a decreased bottomline? Here are three ways that stress can hurt your finances.
Memory Falls Apart
When you are stressed, your memory doesn’t function as well as it could. When your memory is malfunctioning, you can not multitask as effectively as you otherwise could, meaning that your side-hustle will be severely affected, as you struggle to complete your primary tasks.
Also, when you memory is working, you are likely to miss appointments, and that can translate into late fees, missed appointment fees and overdue fees for due dates that slipped your mind.
Work Slows Down
In addition to your memory troubles, stress affects you work. When you are caught up in stress, you can not work as efficiently as you could. As a result, you will not be promoted as quickly, and your boss might even wonder why you are not completing tasks as quickly as you did (when you were less stressed).
This could turn into your boss making negative assumptions about your work, and you could end up with negative reviews and a boss putting you on a watch-list. All of this, caused by stress, can frequently lead to additional stress – which in turn only makes work more difficult.
Health Complicates Your Schedule
When you are under the effects of stress, you are more likely to get sick. Burning up energy on stress, your body physically doesn’t have enough to put toward fighting germs, and you are more susceptible to illnesses.
As a result, you finances are affected by trips to the doctor and the pharmacist to pick up medicines. Not only must you pay for your doctor visit and your medicines, but you lose money on gas to get you there. You may even lose money to take time off from work to make these trips.
Relationships Go Downhill
In addition to illnesses, stress affects relationships. When stressed, people are less patient with coworkers, friends, and family members. As a result, relationships suffer. You are less happy interacting with others, and others are less happy interacting with you.
In turn, you become more aware of the negative social interactions and become increasingly stressed about your behavior.
Stress is awful. Not only does it feel bad, but it can negatively affect your finances by making it hard for your to multitask, remember important dates and information. It can keep you from appearing the way you want and functioning the way you would like the function at work.
It can make it easier for you to become sick and being a positive member of your family and social group. So remember the true effect of stress, not only on you, but on your finances.
What do you do to relieve stress, and have you found that when you are stressed, your finances are impacted?
Stress, stress, and stress! I get stressed when I have unpaid bills and credit card debts. Whenever I have these, I paid it off right away or when my salary comes so that no more stress can come in.
Right on, Jayson!
Oh god yeah, all of these. Irony being the source of the stress is money itself. Ain’t no such thingas broke and happy.
I’m striving for that, though! Because if you can break through and be happy no matter what — broke as all get out– then you can be happy anywhere/anytime!
Its a vicious cycle when money is the actual cause of the stress!
I know that for many people, stress (and their attempts to relieve stress through retail therapy) can be hugely detrimental to their financial position.
Definitely — I love sites like BecomingMinimalist.com that help you realize stuff does not equal happiness. Great time of year to understand that!
One of the best books I read on stress is The Mayo Clinic Guide to Stress Free Living. It really put things into perspective and was very solid, logical advice. Still, it’s been tough especially when it comes to my up and down freelance income. It’s hard to not let that affect you but I also know stress is such a silent killer, so I do my best to try and manage it. Exercise is my first go to technique, and quiet time and meditation. Also just talking to a friend.
I feel you on this, I am in the same freelance income boat. I’ll check that out!
I know how stress can affect your health. I had a family member that was critically ill and I was in the middle of relocating. I also had a higher than normal workload. I started feeling lousy and thought I was ill, went to the doctor only to be told that I was stressed. I could not believe this because I had always been of the impression that stress was only for ‘whites’.
Stress can have a profound impact on your body!
I definitely get the memory loss when I’m stressed out! When I’m in the thick of it the best thing I can do it recognize my limits and say no until I get a chance to reboot.
Me, too, and that’s my favorite strategy — saying NO and staying home until I feel up for it again.
I’ve got to manage this more. I think the answer for me is working less and doing more fun things, because like you said, the stress effects the quality of my work. Oh the irony.
Yes, we humans were made to play and relax!