How to avoid money stress and worrying about debts

If you have trouble with money issues it can cause some serious stress. For example if you don't have enough money to pay for your monthly expenses, or if you are in debt. I for one know that my debt is troubling me, and I am working very hard at the moment to make ends meet every month. So how do you deal with this kind of money stress?


I find it very helpful to make a very clear list of my debts, and of incoming and outgoing money. So go sit down and have a good look at your finances. You might think this is scary, as it can be very confronting. But it actually eases the stress to know where you stand, and if you make a plan for the future.

Make an overview of your debts
Look up all your different debts and loans, and write the amounts down. Also write down monthly payments for each debt, and the interest rates. Now see if you can make the monthly payments each month. And if you could maybe send some extra money to pay off some of the debts. And if you have any extra money, decide which debt you want to pay off first. Most people try to pay off the loan with the highest interest rate first. But you could also start with the smallest debt, so you slowly decrease the number of debts you have. I want to start with the smallest debt I have first. Because it is the most manageable to pay off soon, and because it is a debt to my brother, so there is a personal factor to it as well.

Make a list of your monthly expenses and the money that comes in
This is a great way to see how much you actually spend on a monthly basis and whether you are spending more than you are earning or not. I like to write all this down, so I can see where my money goes, and where I could possibly save some pennies. This way you keep an accurate overview of how much money you could save every month, or how much you overspend.

Now take action
Now that you have a clear overview of your monthly budget and expenses, and of all your debts, use this to ease the stress. You now have a clear overview, and know exactly what you have to pay every month. For me this helps me set goals, and keeps me focused. And because I know exactly where my finances stand I worry less. Sure, I'm still very concerned about my high level of debts, but now that I have structured it, I know what to expect every month, and how to deal with it. So set your own personal goals. Like where to start paying off, whether you will only pay the monthly fees, or if you will throw all the money you have at your debts. Or where you could save some money in your monthly expenses.

Increasing my online income

I am currently working via a temping agency, but I do not particularly enjoy the work I do. I really really need the money though, so I can't be picky right now. But I intend to eventually make a full-time living online.

At the moment I am mostly focusing on writing articles for Hubpages, Squidoo, and a dutch site called Infonu. These sites let you publish your own originally written articles on their site for free. And they share the ad revenue with you. So I signed up for an Adsense account and an Amazon Affiliate Account. So far I've written 87 articles divided over the three sites, and I've made €22 (almost $30) on Adsense, and $14 on Amazon. It will probably be at least another 2 months before I reach payout, as it is set at $100 with both Adsense and Amazon. But I plan on greatly expanding my volume of hubs, squidoo lenses and infonu articles, until I reach monthly payouts, and then try and increase the amount every month.

Besides my hubs, lenses and infonus, I want to set up several blogs in the coming months. These will be monetized with Adsense and Amazon as well. For the future I also plan to sign up to Clickbank and Commission Junction to find other affiliate products to promote. But for now I feel I should concentrate on one thing first, and become successful at that, and then broaden my horizons and explore the next thing. Instead of accumulating pennies over several different affiliate accounts, and never reaching payout.

My goals for October are:
- 90 hubs (am at 73 now)
- 25 infonus (am at 13 now)
- 6 squidoo lenses (am at 1 now)

It is hard to find the time to research and write these articles, as I am working full time, and am picking up a lot of extra and double shifts. So I need to balance work, article writing, and family and friends. But I am very motivated to make this online income work, as it will mean I can leave a job I hate behind, or at least cut down on hours on this job, and increase my internet hours, all the while still paying of my debts.

My goals for this blog

I have set this blog up to keep track of my debts, and to write about my efforts to pay them off as soon as I can. My total debts are quite high. Hopefully by writing about it for an audience, I will be more motivated to keep paying off debt, and maybe get some support from readers as well. I would like to be totally debt-free and financially independent as soon as possible. This way I can continue traveling the world without having to worry about debt.

Strategy for paying of my debts
I will start with paying back the money I owe to several family members, because I do not like to be indebted to them, and I do not want them to hold it over me. I will start with the lowest debt first, and then work my way up to the higher debt. So first brother 1, than brother 2, than my dad, and lastly my mom.
I will pay off my student loans last. This is because they are to an institution and therefore more anonymous. Also, if I finish my studies before I turn 30, some of this loan will be turned into a gift, thereby lowering the total debt. Normally you would have to start paying monthly payments 2 years after you graduate. The height of these payments is set according to your monthly income. I could wait until I officially have to start paying, but I prefer to get it over with as soon as possible.

What money will I use
At the moment I am working through an interim agency. As I am still studying and don't have any proper qualifications, this work is low skill and low pay. It is also hard to get a lot of hours, but I work as much as I possibly can. Right now school is still slow, but in a few months it will get a lot busier, and I won't be able to work as much. I am trying to supplement my income with earning some money online, but this is a long and slow process, and cannot yet be counted upon. I will try to grow this online income a lot in the next few months, and hopefully sometime next year my full income will be made online.
Right now I am living very frugally. I do not spend money on clothes or things. I have not found an apartment yet, so I am staying with brother 3 until I do. This means I'm not paying any rent at the moment, but that will change soon. I am basically just spending money on the bare basics to survive. Whatever is left at the end of the month will go towards paying off my debts. In order to keep sane though I need to travel a little bit every now and then, so sometimes money will be spend on little trips around Europe.

Goals for October 2010
Right now my bank account is into the negative numbers, by the end of the month I want the balance to be positive again. I also want to completely pay off brother 1, so that is €166.