With the current state of our economy, it’s no surprise that money and finances are one of the biggest worries that Americans have. In fact, in a survey done by the American Psychological Association, 73% of Americans listed money as the number one factor that affects their stress level.
Check out these statistics:
-
Results from a 2005 Ameriprise survey revealed that 53% of working Americans indicated they were experiencing moderate or high levels of financial stress.
-
According to government statistics, over one million Americans filed for bankruptcy in 2006.
-
Another survey taken indicated that the average American household has over $8,000 in credit card debt.
-
Financial worries have been cited as the leading cause of chronic stress, causing 25% of Americans to miss approximately 16 days a year of work.
Physical stress related illnesses include; headache, chest pain, fast heart beat, high blood pressure, shortness of breath, muscle aches, clenched jaws, grinding teeth, indigestion, constipation or diarrhea, stomach cramping or bloating, cold sweaty hands, fatigue, insomnia and more.
Chronic stress causes anxiety, restlessness, worrying, irritability, depression, sadness, anger, mood swings, feeling of insecurity, lack of concentration, confusion, forgetfulness, resentment, guilt, tendency to blame others for how you feel, tendency to see only the negative aspects of people and situations and more.
Luckily, there are a lot of resources available to us on the internet to help us with our finances and I found a few particularly useful ones that I wanted to share with you!
All three are money management websites that are free! They take your financial information (some you download from your bank’s website, some you input yourself) and can make charts and graphs that illustrate your spending trends.
They can also send you a reminder via e-mail that lets you know when your bills are due, so you’re less likely to have a late payment, and suggest ways to save money. You can enter a budget in different categories and it will let you know when you are nearing that limit.
Each website has different features, but their functionality is very similar:
Mint.com
Rudder.com
JustThrive.com
They are also all highly encrypted so they are safe to use. You are anonymous to them and they don’t sell your information to anyone.
Bottom line: Stress is not good for your health! If you have chronic stress due to finances, get help. Debt will not take care of itself.