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Chapter 2: Improving Your Relationship with Money
Book I
Taking
Charge
of Your
Finances
refuses to negotiate with you or the loss of an asset you wanted to hold on
to. Of course you're going to feel blue once in a while. What can you do about
it? Well, lots.
Celebrate each get-out-of-debt success. At a minimum, take time to
acknowledge what you've achieved. Maybe you got one of your credi-
tors to agree to lower the interest you are paying, or you landed a part-
time job that will allow you to pay off your debts faster. Celebrating your
successes, even small ones, can motivate you to keep moving forward.
Stay active. Exercise is a great way to get rid of stress, frustration, and
negative thoughts. So when you're feeling down, don't plop yourself in
front of the TV. Go for a run or walk, take a bike ride, swim, or play your
favorite sport.
Find things to laugh about. Rent a funny movie, spend time with a witty
friend, watch your favorite sitcom, read the funny papers, or check out
a humorous Web site such as www·theonion·com or http://swcbc·org/humor
. A good belly laugh is therapeutic.
Do something fun. There are plenty of ways to have fun on the cheap.
Read a good book, play board games, do puzzles with your kids, go for
hikes, dig in the garden, invite friends over for a potluck meal, rent a
movie, enjoy your local park, visit a museum. Go out and play!
Count your blessings. Draw strength from the good things in your life.
Volunteering at a food bank or homeless shelter is an excellent way to
get rid of a "poor me" attitude and to keep your situation in perspective.
Accept what you can't change. If your financial problems are the result
of things you had no control over (maybe you lost your job in a downsiz-
ing or had a bad accident that landed you in the hospital), railing against
your fate is a waste of time. Accept what happened and move on.
Find peace through prayer or meditation. Whether it's a church, syna-
gogue, mosque, Buddhist retreat -- or your house or nearby woods or
beach -- find a quiet place where you can recharge your spirit regularly.
Use prayer or meditation to detach yourself from the negatives going on
in your life. Tell yourself, "All this will pass." And it will, eventually.
If you're experiencing more than the occasional blues -- if you can't shake
your negative feelings -- you may be clinically depressed. Major Depression
will sap your energy and make it difficult, if not impossible, to move forward
(see the nearby "Signs of depression" sidebar). Get help by scheduling an
appointment with a mental health professional. We can hear you saying, "But
I can't afford that!" But if you really are depressed, can you afford not to?
Your local chapter of the Mental Health Association is a good resource for
finding the help you need at an affordable price. To get started finding local
help, ask your doctor or go to www·nmha·org/go/find_therapy·
