Five top tips for combatting financial trouble

Money worries are nothing new for some people but a fresh experience for others.

Whether you’ve lived your entire life from payday to payday, or have suddenly had a curveball thrown at you such as a job loss or relationship breakdown, the stresses around money can affect lots of people in one way or another.

So, whether we are in a long standing “trap” of money stresses, or want to help support someone else going through difficulties, what are some of the things that we can do?

1. Firstly, we can understand that we are not on our own. We are not the only ones going through this challenge.
2. We can accept that our current position is not simply because we are “bad with money”, which is a comment I hear often as a financial coach. If we haven’t been taught about the impact of things like APRs or poor credit records, we can’t be expected to understand them! We need to cut ourselves some slack on these things - we don’t know what we don’t know and we can ask for help in learning now.
3. Take a deep breath and face the position head on. If you’ve been avoiding opening emails or apps on your phone to check your spending, then now is the time to change that. It’s only when you know what the true position is that you can start tackling it. The unknown is a dangerous place to be!
4. Talk about it. Although it might be an awkward conversation, once it’s done there’s a pretty good chance that you’re going to realise that you’re not alone. Support is available, and the relief when you make that start can be phenomenal. In this instance it really is a case of a problem shared is a problem halved.
5. Focus on conscious spending. It’s too easy to press “pay now” using PayPal or similar methods where you don’t even need to get your debit or credit card out. Equally, with the contactless limit now £100, it is easy to tap and go, and not pay attention to the amount. Take a moment before committing to the purchase to ask yourself if it’s really what you need.

Norfolk-based money coach Kim Uzzell of mymoneymovement.co.uk (Image: @Valentinestudio)

If you are concerned about money worries and would like to get support, contact a reputable charity such as citizensadvice.org.uk or stepchange.org.

For more from Norfolk-based financial expert Kim Uzzell head to mymoneymovement.co.uk or follow her on Instagram @kimuzzellmoneycoach.

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