Financial Pressures Affect The Whole Family
Online, April 11, 2011 (Newswire.com) - If your family is anything like mine, these days there are more bills than money left at the end of the month. Trying to make ends meet at any time is always challenging, but doing so during this difficult financial climate seems like an impossible task. Figuring out how to stretch your pay check to cover it all can send stress levels skyrocketing.
If you are looking for some practical advice on how to catch a break and try to stay above all the pressures that seem to mount up, take a read through this article I found that offered up some really effective strategies for the whole family. I've included the four main points but if you want to read the whole thing click the link.
=====
Four ways families can cope with economic stress
http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/health/020911-four-ways-families-can-cope-with-economic-stress
1 - Have A Financial Plan: How parents respond can have a huge impact on how children will in turn handle tough economic times later in their lives. This is a great time to teach them financial planning, budgets, finding deals, using coupons. The family can work together to find other sources of income: clean out the house and have a garage sale, sell stuff on eBay, etc.
2 - Connect With Others (including each other in the family): It is a good time to pull together as a family, be creative in dealing with stress, great opportunity to teach your children how to handle these times, for the parents to model a positive way to respond while being real with the challenges.
3 - Use Stress Management Techniques: Journaling is essential to get out of the survival mode. Writing out your fears and frustrations will reduce pressure. Listen to positive music, read biographies of people who made it through tough times, exercise and especially stay disciplined about getting enough sleep because exhausted people become emotionally frazzled faster. Learn to do all you can for the day and then go to bed and rest up to face another day.
4 - Have FUN in Creative Ways: It is important to find creative ways to have fun in an inexpensive way...if the focus is all on the bad economy, every one will be stressed constantly and increase household tension...by having times of fun; it will bond the family and relieve the stress.
=====
I especially liked the advice given in point #1 in this article which discusses having a financial plan that involves the whole family, even if your kids are young and wanted to share an idea that my family does.
Share:
Tags: financial stress, stress management, stress management tips