4 Ways to Practice Self-Care while Dealing with Finances
Self-care goes beyond positive thinking and treating yourself to a shopping spree every weekend. It can be easy to neglect your health when dealing with financial hardships. The truth of the matter is: self-care could help you save money by clearing your mind to make smarter spending decisions. New Era gives you the best ways to practice self-care without hindering your financial progress.
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Relax, reset, and recharge.
When you stress about money – or anything for that matter – you create an emotional response in your body. You may feel worried or angry and not know how to relax. MyHEALTH helps us better understand stress by categorizing the different types. Once you have a better understanding of how you react to stressful situations, you can come up with a plan to respond to stress better.
There are several things you can do to relax and feel recharged that don’t involve spending your dollars. Spend the weekends focusing on yourself, becoming well-rested, and doing something you love. Sometimes spending even a few hours focused on yourself can be the most rewarding form of self-care. We live in a hectic world where it becomes easy to get lost in the chaos and forget to take a beat. You don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on trips to the mall, elaborate vacations, or monthly massages to get centered. Spend some time outdoors or deep clean your house – do what makes you feel relaxed and accomplished!
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Make lifestyle changes.
When trying to get out of debt, it can be easy to tell yourself you’re going to stop spending your money and limit yourself. It can also be easy to put your finances out of sight and out of mind. Both of these approaches can contribute to your stress short- and long-term. To alleviate some of your stress, make small lifestyle changes.
It’s the same concept applied to dieting and weight loss. To effectively execute a strategy, you can’t throw out all the “bad stuff” and start anew the next day. It is a long process that requires dedication and effort. Add in nightly, relaxing yoga for 5-10 minutes. A few, simple deep breaths could get you on track to develop a long-term self-care plan. Or add in something to your routine that helps you relax and take a moment to focus on something other than your finances (it doesn’t have to be yoga – pick what works for you!). Instead of vowing to never spend money on things you don’t need, determine what things you can sacrifice for the moment.
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Follow through with your aspirations.
Goal-setting is an important, if not necessary, component to self-care. Come up with a plan to add in time dedicated to yourself and determine what it is you want. When you spend too much time stressing, it can be difficult to assess your needs. Ask yourself what you do need and how you can you get whatever it is, even if it is just half an hour devoted to doing something you love every day.
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Understand the negative effects and make a promise to yourself.
In order to follow through with your aspirations, you’ll need to make a promise to yourself to stay committed to taking care of yourself. Understand that it may feel difficult to take care of yourself at times when you know you need to attend to other bills or debt. Know that it is going to take some work on your end to remain positive during this tough situation, but also be aware of the resources available to help you. When negativity or stress starts to creep up again, remind yourself of why self-care is important to you and what you need to do to achieve it.
Make a promise to take care of yourself today by choosing a debt relief program that will get you on the road to financial freedom and help keep you there. New Era Debt Solutions has settled over $275,000,000 since 1999. Contact our team today for a free consultation and to learn more about the debt relief option that will work best for your needs.