When Zebit asked me to take part in a 7-day budgeting challenge as part of March’s Financial Stress Awareness Month, I was intrigued, and a little hesitant. The idea of having only $7/day to spend is definitely sobering. I’m sure as you are reading this, your brain immediately went to thoughts of things you’d have to give up. So did mine.
No more decaf lattes.
For example, I recently gave up caffeine and I miss it. So much so, that I like to treat myself to a decaf latte on a pretty regular basis. Those little indulgences go right out the window when you have only seven bucks to spend. Just the thought of saying “no” to myself sends a little wave of negativity (a/k/a stress) through my body.
But, that’s the point!
Denying yourself because you can’t afford something is stressful. So, imagine what happens when you get those unexpected curve ball expenses? The stress level really climbs, doesn’t it? Zebit refers to those as “gotcha moments.” Studies show it’s these moments that push our financial stress levels through the roof. For example, 49% of working Americans today say they wouldn’t be able to pay for an unexpected expense of $400 or more.Plus, financial stress can hurt your career.
Stress like this affects our physical and mental well being - and that can hurt our careers. An estimated $300B dollars is lost in business each year due to worker stress. As a career coach, I can tell you people often lose their jobs due to poor performance from stress. That’s why it’s so important we all try to get the help we need to reduce our stress so we can find the financial freedom we want and deserve.It starts with education.
The road to financial health and wellness starts with education. The more informed you are, the better financial decisions you can make. That’s what Zebit does: provides a free financial wellness benefit to companies and their employees. Over the next seven days, I’ll be sharing with you my thoughts and feelings around financial stress and how to overcome it. I will also be challenging you to learn with me as you go.What do you say…are you with me?
Let’s kick financial stress to the curb together! Follow me throughout this week-long Zebit challenge and participate in the simple challenges I give you. We’ll work as a team to improve our awareness around financial stress so we can manage it better.Related Posts
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18+ years of experience in the development of professional HR tools and resources. Has delivered 200+ presentations to more than 10,000 professionals on a wide variety of career topics. Managed teams of 50+ with budgets of $35M+. Launched www.CAREEREALISM.com, which is now a top 3 career blog with 2,300,000+ monthly pageviews, 1,000,000+ visitors/month, 1,500,000+ social media followers, and 100,000+ daily email subscribers. Founded the first Career Improvement Platform, www.CareerHMO.com, an online resource that helps users solve their career problems faster and better than they could on their own. Currently has 5,000+ active members..
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a CAREEREALISM-approved expert. You can learn more about expert posts here.Photo Credit: Shutterstock
