People wouldn’t necessarily consider doing their finances as a fun activity. It can get overwhelming when managing money and creating a budget (and sticking to it), especially when you’re just starting.

77% of Americans feel anxious about their financial situation, 65% live paycheck to paycheck, and 58% feel that finances control their lives.

Going from a negative -$50k net worth to over $700k in the past 6 years, I’m going to share 5 ways I’ve learned to make your finances less stressful so you can put your mind at ease and enjoy money! The tips I’m sharing today are easy to implement and lower your financial stress. 

STEP ONE: The first things first — cultivate inspiring goals.

Create a mix of things money can buy, experiences money can pay for, and accomplishments that you want to achieve regardless of your financial situation. 

If you’re stressing about money you’re probably trapped on the hamster wheel of day to day obligations and losing sight of the big picture and what’s possible for your future. When I was sharing a one-bedroom tiny apartment with my best friend and daughter, focusing on my goals gave me hope that things would get better and that the situation I was in was temporary. 

Remind yourself that your current situation isn’t your forever situation.

STEP TWO: After you’ve set your goals it’s time to create a vision board!

There’s a stat that says you’re far more likely to achieve your goals if they’re in front of you, so why not increase your odds of success?

It’s good to have a physical reminder of what you’re working towards besides simply taking care of day-to-day expenses. When you look at your vision board, it’s telling you that there are greater, more exciting things ahead. 

STEP THREE: Have a brainstorming session and write down all the ideas that come to mind for achieving the goals you set.

Our brains are problem solvers, and solution finders, so if you give your mind something to go after, it’ll start cultivating ideas for achieving your goals.

For your brainstorming session, I suggest giving yourself a time limit and letting ideas flow until the time is up or have a number of ideas you want to flush out. Usually it’s the later ideas that’ll have some value worth acting on, so push yourself to write out as many ideas as you can. 

This reduces stress as it allows a free flow of ideas to come out of us instead of finding ourselves stuck in a mental loop of the same thoughts that can become defeating over time.

STEP FOUR: Share your goals with people you care about that will cheer you on and be excited with you — another joy sparker and stress reducer.

It’s always exciting to share new ideas and visions for our future because it reminds us that we have a say in how our lives play out. 

This also helps us take action on turning our goals into reality because now we have that accountability aspect. If you feel like you don’t have a good support system or maybe your friends and family will be negative about your ideas, then find other communities to tap into. 

I’m part of several online communities like BossBabes, Entreprenestias, Ebrand club, and I also regularly take online courses so I am surrounded by others that are working on similar goals as me, which just makes it much more fun and less lonely when going after big dreams. 

STEP FIVE: Create a clear plan for reaching your goals.

Take the best ideas from your brainstorming session and pair them with dates that you’ll accomplish each task that leads you closer to the goal. 

For example, if your goal is to make 6 figures, like mine was, one action is to figure out which jobs pay 6 figures, another is to see what the qualifications are for that job, and so on. 

And if you’re a planner like me, this may be the most stress-relieving step because you can see how it’s possible for you to accomplish your goals, since you are taking incremental actions to get you closer over time. Keep in mind that people often overestimate what they can do in one year and greatly underestimate what they can do in 5. 

Are these steps already easing the stress from planning your finances? If not, you don’t have to do it alone! Feel free to reach out to me and give me your questions. 

I’ve also got additional training, live workshops, and opportunities for you to join if you want to learn more about finances and investing. If one of your goals is to retire comfortably some day, you can read my blog “How Much You NEED to Retire Comfortably”. The sooner you start the easier it is!