worrying about money

Scarycmom · Post by **Scarycmom** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 8:32 am

I have completed this program and read many other anxiety books. However, the one thing that I can't seem to get control over is worrying about money. We live paycheck to paycheck - and don't have any extras that we can cut out - we cut those out years ago. Anyways, with Christmas coming I especially worry about finances. I have been trying to "not worry" about money - but that doesn't work either. Any advice? This is my major stumbling block.

Noella · Post by **Noella** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 8:58 am

I'm in the same boat as you... my husband and i both had good jobs until 2 years ago and he went from making 20 an hour to 8... that was a huge drop for us... we've cut back and cut back and it just never seems to be enough. then in july i lost my brother to cancer, and august i lost my dad to a heart attack, i was out of work from july 9th through sept 8th... needless to say NOW we're really behind on bills... especially the mortgage... 2 months. i'm worried to death i'll get foreclosure papers anyday now. i'm doing the best i can but it just never seems to be enough. the kids aren't appreciating anything we do for them... one kid 18 and another 15... neither one has jobs, think school is enough of a job. the 18 year old could work after school, but he hardly gets up in the mornings to make it to school... probably missed so many days this year he's going to fail anyway.... but it's just all so stressful. if you get any good ideas... please let me know. i need help in this area too... i've always heard that God won't put more on you than you can handle" but i'm starting to think he thinks i can handle more than I think i can. if he has this much faith in me, why can't I have that much faith in my self? good luck , and if you ever want to talk my emial is noellabentley@aol.com

Jazzy1 · Post by **Jazzy1** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 9:12 am

Hi ladies,

Wouldn't it be great if we could win the lottery. Money seems like a constant issue. If it's not one thing its another. And if you want to get better....it takes money........I find it frustrating......to think that there are people in the world that have more money than they need..........i'm with Noella....When does God say.....Ok she's had enough? If he is listening.......I've had enough............

monty'smom · Post by **monty'smom** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 9:18 am

Well I too am in the same boat as both of you and have no magical answer...I pray everyday for a miracle. We had to sell our house 15 months ago due to my husband's job closing down. We bought an old, neglected, run down, drafty, farm house that we can't afford to even heat properly or fix broken windows. We live on one pay a week, from week to week and our bills are just out to lunch. I juggle them in order to keep everything from being shut off. Our payments are far more than our income and nothing is getting better. It sucks and all I do is just try to not think about it all and keep telling myself that something good has to happen to help us out...I don't know what but right now I'll take anything that isn't a bill.

My prayers will include you, I wish you a miracle too!

God Bless

curly1976 · Post by **curly1976** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 10:03 pm

I can also relate to this. Last year I took a 2 year leave of absence from my job in NY, to move to Greece and I have to say that its been much harder adjusting in terms of work than I thought it would be. Even though I have a masters degree and I have 6 years experience in my field (special education teacher) it has been really hard for me first of all to get past the anxiety of actually going on interviews and feeling confident in myself and my capabilities. Right now I am giving private English lessons and my income is nowhere near what i was hoping it would be. The biggest problem is though that because I had a job in NY that I could depend on and never had the fear of losing, working privately now is the total opposite of that and I think the lack of control is making me feel more anxious. Everyone tells me that with all my experience and qualifications I can open up my own business here (everyone here sends their kids to private foreign language schools to learn English or another foreign language), but I cant help feeling that because I have never worked for myself I am not capable of running a business like this on my own. I really want to stay here and make it work but without a good enough income I will have to go back to NY. The thing is, everyone else seems to have alot of faith in me, Im the one that seem to not have enough faith in myself..I think that if we stopped comparing ourselves to others we wouldn't be worrying so much about stuff like this, and we would become more proactive instead of just thinking and being scared of what might happen in the future.

nspyredj · Post by **nspyredj** » Thu Nov 06, 2008 8:26 am

Hi All-

I tried to post a response yesterday, but somehow ended up getting erased before posting

So...I wanted to say that I can relate in a lot of ways to what you all are saying. I grew up with a single mom on welfare with 5 brothers and sisters. Then we were moved to my dad and step-moms where we were no better off.

The difference is that my mom taught us how to budget and save and see "goals" with our spending. We were taught how to find solutions to money problems (maybe by making and selling things or doing odd jobs to earn money). At an early age I learned this, organization skills and setting goals. Thank goodness because that changed when I lived at my other parents' house where they refused to talk about money with us kids.

I too am anxious when I think of bills and debt (it's a several times a day issue for me). So, my thought was this - we all have some sort of skills we are able to use. If we use budgeting skills with our time, there may be a way to afford some extra time here and there to use those skills to earn extra money.

When you can't seem to find a way to cut things out to help pay bills you feel overwhelmed and claustrophobic. If you start working things out on paper, sometimes it helps to aleviate that stress and anxiety.

So, is there a way you can move appointments, errands or tv time around so you can find a money making project? There's so much on the internet where you can earn money. There's also ideas around your own neighborhood or in town that may work out? Be creative and think of things outside the box.

I have faith that anyone can come up with "money solutions" if they work it out into a plan of action. It may take some extra effort and some very creative solutions, but if you are willing, it will work (kind of like this program).

PM me if you want to chat. I love helping out and can be a sounding board if need be

I wish you all great success in your journey to find peace and balance. -J

Lazarus · Post by **Lazarus** » Sun Nov 09, 2008 6:28 am

Financial worries like not having enough money to pay your bills for me was the worst anxiety I ever experienced. Try to think of people less fortunate than you, sometimes that helps. I found a book in the trash and inside was a slip of paper with the following quote, "Content makes poor men rich; Discontent makes rich men poor." Benjamin Franklin. I believe in synchronicity, an order to the universe placed that paper in my hand. Things have gotten better for us financially and I wish the same for everyone.

purpmartin · Post by **purpmartin** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 10:21 am

Hi,

I have a suggestion for people who are having a hard times making ends meet, or otherwise have worries about having enough money. There's a neat book out there, "The Complete Tightwad Gazette", by Amy Dacyczyn (I hope I spelled that right!). I first got it through an interlibrary loan program, so if you don't feel you can afford to buy your own copy, I'd suggest looking for it at your local library.

Anyhow, this book is full of ideas for making money go farther, making do with things you already have rather than buying something new, and so on. I hope you find the book helpful.

purpmartin

Sunsetgurl · Post by **Sunsetgurl** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 2:39 am

I started to say, "who doesn't struggle with money?" but I guess that shows my perspective. I'm sure others are doing fine. But for me/us who do struggle, I have found a great deal of help and encouragement by listening to Dave Ramsey's radio show about Financial Peace. If you want, check out www.daveramsey.com and learn more. People call in with questions or to celebrate being debt free (especially on Fridays). Just like this program, I keep telling myself, "if they can do, I can too". Best wishes to ....all of us!

sunbound · Post by **sunbound** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 5:25 am

Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University is a 12 or 13 week program which does a WONDERFUL job of helping to make a real plan to deal with finances and debt.

I find it to be a Godsend for finances, as I find Lucinda's program to be a Godsend for anxiety & stress. It's all about the choices we make and Dave Ramsey's course helps you to make good choices with your money, especially when you ARE out of debt. It's fabulous and I highly recommend it.