Couple With Money Anxiety Seeks Guidance: The Saturday Weekend Review #329

Is money anxiety making you ill? Perhaps you’re struggling to sleep at night because your money anxiety takes over.

You’re not alone.

In fact, if you don’t worry about money it’s likely because you panic when it becomes a problem.

Try not to do that because tackling debt standing before the pit of fire can be a tough battle.

What once was keeping people afloat has sunk with Covid-19 which has changed the state of the economy.

It will take time to recover what is called a “Covid-19 Hangover” as consumers and retailers will be more cautious.

I also know that by telling you that you’re not alone means little because that doesn’t solve the problem.

The reality is there is no quick fix however there are steps you can take to make the process easier.

Money Anxiety Over Job Loss

Over the past 2 years since Covid-19 landed on our doorstep Canadians have had a wake-up call.

Many were laid off or let go permanently as businesses struggled to keep the doors open even for curbside pickup.

Although consumers wanted to help support small businesses the money wasn’t there for them.

To add salt to the wound prices of just about everything is going up especially groceries and utilities.

Related: How to save money buying meat at the grocery store.

In fact, in the past four months, the price of ground beef has risen by 5 percent, steak and bacon are up 4 percent, and chicken is up 3 percent, according to Statistics Canada data.

Meat Prices Are Heating Up In Canada

Although we are debt-free we still have money worries because If I get sick or die we lose my income.

We are prepared with life insurance policies in case of death and even so we worry.

It’s fantastic to have a financial plan leading into retirement but anything can happen.

This is where plan B comes into play but even that can become a source of stress with little to no funds.

Money anxiety is life-long however there’s that fine line of feeling better about where you stand as opposed to falling over.

Rental Money Anxiety

Those who owe a mortgage or pay rent also feel the financial crunch.

How am I going to pay my rent?

As well, if you’re very unlucky your landlord is cashing in and putting up their rental for sale.

With houses fetching over $100,000 asking prices many seniors are selling as are landlords.

Being a landlord is not for everyone so those who want out, now is the time to cash in.

As a tenant you’ll need to find another rental and the prices out there are scary right now.

How would a rental increase effect your monthly budget?

Just to rent a room in a city such as London, Ontario can cost up to $1000 all inclusive.

A one bedroom apartment in our city in the Greater Toronto Area starts at $1299 plus utilities.

Money Anxiety Paying The Mortgage

For those of you who have a low-interest mortgage but on the high-end of your budget money anxiety can be a huge burden.

Just about anyone who owes money and are relying on the government for funding are trying to pick themselves off the ground.

It really was and still is a financial blow to so many people and could take years to see recovery for all Canadians.

Money anxiety is real and it can cause depression, stress, and other mental health problems.

What I’ve learned over the past two years is that we can’t let anything stop us from being happy.

Money is important as I’m not trying to downplay it however so is our well-being.

Someone recently emailed me about his money anxiety and he’s not the first as I get them often.

It’s easier to talk to someone you don’t know about money than it is someone you do know.

Couple With Money Anxiety Need Guidance

Dear Mr. CBB,

I’ll get right to the point as to why I’m emailing you since I know you are very busy.

We are struggling financially and I’m not sure what we can do.

Our money worries are intense and we don’t want to ask relatives for help let alone talk about it.

My wife lost her job which net $2200/month and I’m working from home earning my full income.

She has gone into a depression because she misses her coworkers and earning money.

The last thing she expected was to be collecting unemployment. I guess no job is ever secure.

As well, we are being pulled quite thin when it comes to paying our monthly bills and debt.

Currently, we have a mortgage of $1500 a month, credit card debt approximately, $23,000, and two car payments of $475/month and $350/month.

On top of this we have one child being homeschooled which prevents her from looking for another job.

I’m earning enough just to pay the bills but we’ve had to cut off our retirement savings.

We are worried that something is going to happen and we won’t have anywhere to turn.

What do you suggest us to do to start improving our financial situation?

Bob, Belleville, Ontario

Tackling Money Anxiety Head-On

Hi Bob,

Thanks for being strong and reaching out to me about your money anxiety.

I know it’s a tough place to be in as well as stepping up to say help is needed.

Often times we just need to get what we want to say off of our chest because we don’t want to burden those close to us.

Most importantly you’re seeking help before something goes wrong.

From the information, you provided I can tell you that you’re not alone in this fight to recover financially from Covid-19.

There are a few things I will suggest to at least give you both some direction and peace of mind.

First off, you both have to be committed to finding ways to reduce or get rid of expenses you can do without.

It now becomes a game of wants and needs so you both need to choose wisely.

Let me create a list below of how we reduced our bills when Mrs. CBB lost her job and we were living on one income just 3 months after buying our home.

The Canadian Budget Binder Budget was born in 2012 although it was in 2009 that she lost her job.

In between those years we managed our money without a budget although we wrote everything down.

It wasn’t until I started this blog that budgeting took center stage in our lives and we don’t regret it at all.

Tips To Reduce Money Anxiety

• Create a budget is a top priority so you know exactly where you stand. (You can use our free budgets)
• Read our 10 step mini budgeting course if you’re not familiar with how a budget works.
• Are there any utility bills you can reduce or get rid of? Cable, Home Phone, Internet? We cancelled our home phone and cable this year and it felt great. I did however get a Freedom Mobile phone.
• Follow the time of use chart to optimize how much energy and water your home is using. (I set the time on our washing machine for the middle of the night).
• Skip eating out or buying beverages or snacks on the go. Pack it before you leave the house.
• Take advantage of reduced products, grocery flyer sales, using coupons, coupon apps, and rewards points. Currently, we have almost 6 million PC Optimum Points which we have to use at the grocery store or Shopper’s Drug Mart. Check out other apps such as Survey Junkie, Neilson Homescan, Flash Food, Checkout51, KOHO, Ampli, Rakuten, My Points, Receipt Hog, and many more which you can find on my Canadian Savings Page.
• Start purging your home for items you don’t use and sell them whether by hosting a garage sale or virtually online with Kijiji or Facebook groups.
• Are you reading your receipts and bills? Start doing that to see if you find any errors. Learn about The Scanning Code of Practice.
• Is there a possibility of renting a room or hosting an international student?
• Talk to your credit card company and ask if they can lower your interest rate. (worth a shot) or transfer the debt using a balance transfer option.
• Your bank may help with debt consolidation with a lower interest rate on a loan or line of credit (not including the mortgage).
• Double-check with your mortgage company to see if you have a mortgage forgiveness month.
• Work overtime if available and track your hours.
• Find a way to earn extra income whether it be working for someone else as a second job or using your skills to earn cash.
• Hold off on any renovations unless it’s an emergency.
• Start saving for emergencies even if it’s a dollar a day or $5 a week. Anything is better than nothing.
• Shop only sales or second-hand to reduce the costs of clothing and other household needs.
• Consider selling one of your vehicles if you don’t need it and pay off what you owe.
• Are you paying bank fees? If the answer is yes then get a new bank and close your bank account. My wife has used PC Financial since it opened as well as myself after moving to Canada. There are plenty of options available.
• Talk to a financial advisor about your retirement savings and see what advice he/she offers you.

These are just some of the more important tips that popped into my head however this blog is filled with ideas and free budgeting tools.

I hope I’ve provided some form of stress reduction by letting you know there are options available.

Let me know how things go and thanks for reaching out.

Mr. CBB

Create A Side Job To Reduce Money Anxiety

I wanted to point out something that both Mrs. CBB and I noticed happening on our street.

There’s a young man who lives up the road with his mother and brother both in their 20’s.

I was chatting with him the other day about what he’s doing with the furniture he’s finishing.

To our surprise he said that he is struggling to find a job to save money for school so he created one.

Apparently, he picks up any free wood furniture that he can refinish and sell for profit.

He’s been doing very well with this cash business that he’s created to help reduce money worries.

It was nice to see how inventive he was and that he wasn’t sitting around moaning about not having money.

Often you have to put yourself out there whether it be offering gardening services, dog walking, pet sitting, or selling low-risk food, or preserves from home.

Low-risk items that can be sold more easily now under new rules in the province include most bread and buns (without fillings or meats, etc), most baked goods (but no custard), chocolate, hard candies, pickles, jams, preserves, granola, trail mix, brownies, muffins and cookies (unless the icing requires refrigeration), as well as coffee beans and tea leaves. 

CBC New Rules For Home Based Food Businesses 2021

Although not everyone can jump into furniture refinishing he’s found a way to earn extra money.

I also applaud him for chatting about his money anxiety which is not easy for people to do.

What once was a taboo topic has eased into daily chit-chat.

Even I was stressed when I moved to Canada not knowing what I could do for a career.

Strip Down To The Basics

Final thoughts, strip your money down to the bare bones and create a financial plan that is reasonable.

For those of you who are working with basic level income I wish I had more answers, but I don’t.

At the end of the day we are left with spend less (using tips above) or earn more (extra income, second job).

Oh and for the love of all things money stop caring what everyone else thinks about what you have and don’t have.

Odds are they have more debt than you do.

Discussion: Have you ever talked to someone about money worries? Who did you turn to and what steps did you take to work out a financial plan? Leave me your comments below.

Mr.CBB

Recent CBB Posts That You May Have Missed

Below is a recap of the blog posts I’ve published in the past week.

Support CBB and I’ll continue working to bring you the best information in frugal living and finance.

If you’re on Pinterest follow my Pinterest Social Media Account. Let’s PIN together.

• 18 Crazy Things We Do As Extreme Savers
• Father’s Day 2021 Gifts, Crafts, and Dinner Ideas
• Summer Fresh Keto Lemon Pasta With Ricotta Cheese and Herbs
• Budget List Expenses That May Be Ruining Your Budget
• Where Can I Find A Happy Place?

Finance Read Of The Week

Is it better to rent or to buy a house? Well, it depends on the person and most certainly their debt to income ratio and even credit score.

Not everyone can afford to buy a house especially in today’s market so renting is a viable option.

An interesting point in this article I read states that renting is not all it’s cracked up to be.

I’ll have to agree it’s certainly not where we wanted to be.

Sure, renting has its time and place. As a student, for instance, it almost always makes sense. But when you have a young family and you’re wanting to put down roots in a community, looking to provide a stable home near a good school for your kids, renting sucks.

Lowest Rates Canada

Before we bought our home we rented a basement room and although it wasn’t ideal it worked for us.

It helped us to save money for a down payment and when the markets were in our favour we jumped in.

That was back in 2009 and not a day goes by that we aren’t happy we made the moves we did.

Thoughts Corner

We all have dreams to be the best we can at something and rewarded with money for our efforts.

Isn’t that why we go to college and university or take over the family business?

Although it seems true at the time not everything works out the way we want it.

This is why you have to work hard to stay motivated and find another route.

From a young age we wanted to be somebody or do something that would save the world.

For instance, I wanted to be superman and I am but just to our son. There are no financial gains there, just love and I most certainly did not save the world. However, as a dad, I saved his world.

You’ll always be something special to someone but don’t forget the importance of finding you.

Look for the other route if you’ve experienced bumps in the road and things will fall into place.

Landscape And Garden Tip Of The Week

When I landscaped our front yard I had to work with a slope at the right side of our house.

I used large rocks to create a tight wall and included steps in between to access the side of our house.

The rock wall has to be secured properly or the rocks will shift over time which is why I didn’t cut any corners.

I filled the inside of the retaining wall with soil, two bushes along with a burning bush that was already there.

At the bottom of the burning bush, I added some purple ground flowers which don’t need attention apart from water.

The name of the game was to create a rock garden that allowed us to fix the slope and low-maintenance.

It must have worked out great as people who walk by always compliment us if they see us outside.

There are some great tips in the article How To Decorate A Sloped Yard as well as photo ideas.

Weekend Recipe Pick

In the summer I grill lots of meat and salmon on our Akorn Kamado Grill.

Years ago we got rid of our propane grill and went with charcoal and never looked back.

I buy the charcoal from Costco Canada for $14.99 and even grill in the winter.

Although I always marinade meats that I grill I still like a dipping sauce on the side.

This Cowboy Butter Sauce is full of spices and of course butter which makes it keto-friendly.

This sauce is definitely going on our list of recipes to try and it’s so simple to make.

What types of dipping sauces do you like for your BBQ meat and fish? Comment below.

Another thought is to use this recipe on grilled vegetables. The taste would be amazing. Drool!

Find The Full Recipe Here.

• 6 tablespoons butter, melted (grass-fed butter is best for this recipe)
• Juice and zest of half a lemon
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped chives
• 2 teaspoons minced thyme
• 1/4  teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Saturday Search Term Giggles

These are keywords that readers typed into their search engine and landed on this blog.

I get quite a few of these every single day and pick some of the best to feature right here.

• DIY haircuts for men – No chance I’d be cutting my own hair.
• Money grows on money trees – Funny, we have a 12-year-old money tree and no luck for us.
• Saving money using a budget – There you go.
• Rhubarb recipes without the rhubarb – what? hahaha!

That’s all for this week CBB Friends.

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Have a great week.

Mr. CBB

The post Couple With Money Anxiety Seeks Guidance: The Saturday Weekend Review #329 appeared first on Canadian Budget Binder.