For a lot of our customers in the lower mainland, in Edmonton, Calgary, and throughout the areas of BC and Alberta we serve, the most natural state of consciousness when it comes to your financial situation is stress.

Actually, that’s not confined strictly to One Stop customers. No matter where you are in the world, what you’re doing, or how you’re doing it, stressing over your finances is a lot easier than not stressing.

Here’s the truth: it’s a minuscule percentage of the population that doesn’t need to worry about their money. Heck, even the people who don’t need to worry still do so.

But this post isn’t about them. It’s about you.

When was the last time you felt truly comfortable with the state of your financial affairs? Hard to remember? Well, I’m here to tell you that the best way to avoid thinking about money is to, wait for it, think about your money.

1. Prioritizing

Everything in our lives requires varying levels of concentration. The idea for this post began when I started thinking about the thousands of lower mainland students heading back to the books later this week.

Back to school clothes, supplies, daycare, sports, and lessons are a priority for most families in this corner of the world.

Decide what your priorities are, especially during busy times of the year (such as the one in which we’re currently residing) and cut out everything else you simply don’t need right now.

2. Time

We all work hard to earn a living, and a lot of us work nearly as hard to spend that living. When you focus exclusively on your top two or three priorities, that means you’re saving money in other areas by default.

The longer we ignore the things we don’t need, the more we’ll see our budgets balance out. Stress naturally subsides when we see our finances stabilize, but the only real way to do that is by devoting enough time to the cause.

3. Create a Budget

Again, the last thing people with financial stress want to do is focus on their finances. Building a budget, however, is like tearing off the bandaid in one quick swoop.

Dig into your finances and find out exactly where the leaky areas are. How much goes out each month? How much goes in? You don’t need me to tell you that the best way to alleviate financial stress is to earn more than you save – except I just did.

Sorry. We all forget sometimes.

The relief you’ll feel after you create a budget will be worth the effort. Sometimes we just need to see it all written out to discover it’s not as bad as we once thought.

Or maybe it’s worse. That’s where we come in.

4. Consolidating Debt

If you’re up to your eyeballs in debt and you’re having difficulty managing multiple payments, then debt consolidation could be the tool you need to get back on track. Consolidating your debt is basically a combination of the first three cures – it helps you organize your priorities, it builds time into your strategy, and it forces you to take a close look at your monthly budget.

You don’t have to go it alone. A lot of our conversations end with some helpful advice and people are off to take of their finances on their own. However, when the situation calls for it, debt consolidation is an excellent way to ease the pressure.

Could debt consolidation be the puzzle piece you’re looking for? We’ve got you covered, give us a call.