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Money worries are a major cause of stress for men, ranking above work life, home life, and health! There are people you can speak to and plans you can make to reduce your money stress this November.
Men tend to associate money with success and achievement, which can lead to feelings of failure and depression when their finances start spiralling out of control. This could be anything from an unpaid debt to not saving enough for a child’s education. Men are less likely than women to speak about or seek help for mental health issues, including financial worries, which can overwhelm and lead to serious mental health problems.
If your finances are out of control, it is essential to get help.
Anyone can get into financial difficulty
When encouraging men to seek help, it’s important to stress that anyone can get into financial difficulty, especially in our current economic environment of unemployment, high inflation, and a high cost of living. It is not a sign of weakness to be out of financial control, nor is it a sign of weakness to seek help. Rather, asking for assistance offers a way to get personal finances under control!
Take control of your finances and reduce money stress in 3 steps
Feeling stuck and not knowing who to trust are major reasons South Africans don’t deal with money stress. Following these three steps will help you move from inaction to action!
1. Name the problem
Be clear about your problem so you can share what it is. If it’s too much debt, make sure you know how much is owed and to whom. If it’s not having savings for the holiday, school fees next year, or another item, know how much you need and by when. If you are spending money on a habit such as online gambling, name this too and work out how much you have spent on it over the past few months.
2. Get a plan
Work out a plan to reduce or remove the problem, such as setting up a repayment plan or an investment account and adding more to it each month. For this, you will need:
- Financial goals: such as reduce debt by Rxx by 28 February 2025 or save Rxx for school fees by January 2026.
- A financial plan: to achieve your goals, such as paying Rxx into debt A or saving Rxx a month for goal B.
- A budget that includes your financial goals: know how much you can “spend” on your goals, and remove spending on items you don’t need.
- A commitment to your budget and tracking your progress.
3. Get help
Even if you feel you can do the above solo, ask for assistance and support for you and your finances! There are people you can talk to about your money worries, whether they are debt problems, budget or investment concerns, or tax troubles. You can also find an objective cheerleader to give you a boost when you need it most and keep you on track so you can achieve your goals. For your money worries, there is someone who can support and help.
- Your partner and/or family: they need to know what your money concerns and plans are so they can support you and make budget adjustments where necessary (and stop asking you for loans!).
- Your creditors, including your bank: if you owe and struggle to repay debts on time, talk to your creditors to negotiate a repayment plan you can afford.
- Debt counsellor: for when you cannot afford repayments, so you can enter debt counselling and pay off your debts.
- Wealth coach: to help you develop good money habits, stick to them, encourage you, and hold you accountable.
- Financial planner: to help you set realistic goals and a financial plan that can achieve them.
- Tax practitioner: to assist and help you sort out tax issues.
- Money Buddy: your Money Buddy is someone you can talk to about money, share ideas on how to manage money well, and hold you accountable for your money decisions. Talk to your Money Buddy about your money worries, and ask for their support and encouragement to help you stick to your plans.
- GP or counsellor: if your money stress is affecting your relationships and your health, talk to your GP or a counsellor or support services such as the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) and Lifeline.
- Gamblers Anonymous: for help with gambling problems.
- Medical aid and/or employer: may offer support services for stress and advice on how to deal with money problems and money stress.
Top tip: Truth About Money, a 1Life Insurance initiative, offers free financial education courses to help you become better money managers, and free services such as debt management services to help you manage and pay off your debt, a wills and estate benefit as well as a legal assistance benefit.
Take care of yourself
Stress affects your physical well-being as well as your mental health. While you are taking care of the financial problem, remember to take care of your physical needs. Eat healthy foods, exercise, don’t smoke, and drink in moderation. Your GP can also help you with this so your stress doesn’t have a negative impact on your physical health.
Be kind to yourself
It can take time to resolve money issues, which is sometimes frustrating. Don’t judge or be too hard on yourself. Think about what you would say to a friend to support them, and say that to yourself! By taking action and putting a plan in place, you are working towards resolving the issue. The reward is less money stress and more control over your personal finances.