In my opinion, one of the main causes of mental health issues is financial.
For many, financial strength, or weakness, impacts most of our life.
When your financial stability declines or you perceive that it will, this can have a ricochet effect on other aspects of your life.
Will you be able to pay for ongoing living costs? Can you financially care for your children? And will you be able to afford other financial obligations?
There are a lot of things that can keep you awake at night. Finance is one.
Difficulty with your finances can lead to awkward conversations with your spouse, including major arguments. Stress can lead to other medical problems.
Mental health issues can affect your ability to do your job and earn an income. This could be magnified by the worry that you could lose your job.
Professionals that assist clients will have a number of solutions that hopefully will offer assistance.
From a financial perspective, identify any financial causes of stress, anxiety and mental health problems and address those issues.
A starting point is to understand your finances. This could include doing a yearly budget.
A budget is not just some impersonal process done on an Excel spreadsheet. It allows you to understand how much money is coming in every month and how much is being spent.
A clearer understanding of this can be a great help in providing a better financial foundation.
This process will help you better manage your finances and hopefully lessen any financial stress that this may cause.
Peter Watson, of Watson Investments MBA, CFP®, R.F.P., CIM®, FCSI offers a weekly financial planning column, Dollars & Sense. He can be contacted through www.watsoninvestments.com
