Tips for taking control of your financial stress

If you find yourself losing sleep over money, you’re not alone. To help manage your financial stress use these basic tips:

• Write down your concerns. Sounds easy enough, right? The truth is, many people don’t want to put their financial issues in writing, for fear of seeing how bad a situation may be. But, you may find that switching from a mental list to a paper list frees your mind to start dealing with what’s actually stressing you.
• Organize your list. Take a few minutes to organize your list in a way that makes sense for you. Some issues may be relatively easy to address, while others may require more time, energy and effort. If so, you might want to organize your list from small to big. Or, you may want to divide it by topic, such as debt, household expenses, investments, or savings.
• Change one thing at a time. Looking at your list, pick one issue to address. If you try to fix everything at once—while juggling all of your other responsibilities—you may find yourself feeling overwhelmed. By taking one step at a time, you’ll be more likely to experience success and get the boost you need to continue addressing other concerns. To gain some confidence, consider starting with a simpler task before tackling one of your more difficult issues.
• Control what you can. Every day offers little opportunities to control your finances. For example, you can choose to buy a latte at the corner, or you can choose to brew a cup of coffee at home.

Remember to take advantage of My HPE Financial Wellness as you create your own action plan to reduce financial stress. You’ll find tools, resources and information that can help you with a variety of financial goals—from building a budget to saving for retirement. Try making your list today and then see how My HPE Financial Wellness can help.

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