How to Overcome Your Financial Stress

Copyright (c) 2008 Stephen Lauvalue will be reflected in your attitude towards your
We are living in a stressful world: stress comes fromfinancial success and financial priorities, and hence
all directions - health, work, relationships, and, aboveyour financial decisions.
all, money. Financial stress is responsible for otherYou will do all you can, and do it. You will make the
stress factors in life. For example, if you have a hardcommitment to do it. You will become more flexible
time making both ends meet, most probably youto change in order to make it happen. You will
have frequent arguments with your spouse overacknowledge that you can do it in spite of the
how much money to spend, what to spend on, anddifficulties. Integrity makes money become a means
when to spend. Financial strive is the root cause ofto an end, but not an end itself. Integrity puts your
many breakups and divorces. If you are financiallyfocus on efforts, rather than on results. This takes
strained, you may not have full health insuranceaway much of your financial stress.
coverage, and any major medical bill incurred due toFinancial stress is often caused by financial problems,
medical emergency will put more strain and stress onwhich are inevitable. Don't spend time on reacting to
your finance.a financial problem: reacting would only exacerbate
Stress is an underlying cause of diseases andthe stress. Integrity will make you seek a solution to
disorders. Stress ages an individual hard and fast.any financial problem you may encounter. You will not
To overcome your financial stress, you must beginleave it to chance, nor will you ignore it. You will do
with your core values in life, which should have littleeverything you can to solve the problem. For
to do with money. However, your core values in lifeexample, if you find yourself in debt, you will not
affect your financial priorities and your financialignore it. Instead, you will have a plan, a budget, and
decisions. Therefore, your core values must not bea roadmap to get yourself out of debt. Integrity
compromised under any circumstance, because anyalleviates your financial stress.
compromise will generate conflict and undue stress inBecause of integrity, you value money, not because
your life. To illustrate, if you value your health,it can buy you things you may not need, but
compromising it with poor eating habits will onlybecause you can use money to help others who are
create disharmony in your health.in need. Because money has a value, you will spend
One of the most important core values in life isless, and save more, and thus the financial stress due
integrity. Life is all about living - it comes with someto overshooting the budget can be avoided.
hard work and simple integrity. Integrity is anWhat is the real value of money to you?
important personal value that has nothing to do withIf your financial priorities are based on accumulation
money. Integrity is an important value that God hasof wealth, then all your financial decisions and
bestowed upon each of us, and its availability is thepriorities will be based on that flawed value system,
choice of an individual. This important personal valuewhich inevitably will lead to financial stress down the
can influence your own value of money. Essentially, itroad.
is the value of what life has to offer, not the valueChanging yourself - especially your attitude towards
of things purchased with money.the value of money - can take the financial stress
If integrity is an important value in your life, thatout of your life.