Recently, I’ve noticed a concerning trend on my company, Tribeca Financial’s, website traffic. We’re getting a lot of visitor activity from 10pm to 3am. Whilst the increase in traffic is nothing to complain about, it’s the cause behind these visits that has me troubled. You see, the majority of Australians go to sleep just before 11pm.
So, what has some of us so concerned that we’re staying up searching for financial advice all the way into the early morning? The answer is financial stress (as per the 2017 Financial Stress Survey, commissioned by Financial Mindfulness & conducted by CoreData).
I believe that it’s more than that. More specifically, I think it’s financial stress caused by people being too scared to own up to their finances.
One in three Australians admit that they suffer from a significant amount of financial stress. Carrying the psychological burden of money worries around with us all day is having a severe effect on our health too, with one of the most common issues being loss of sleep.
The CoreData survey findings also revealed that more than seven out of ten Australians who are financially stressed regularly lose sleep because of money issues. In other words, financially stressed individuals are eight times more likely to have problems sleeping compared to those who are not financially stressed.
When it comes to money worries, our finances are a lot like an adult version of the bogeyman. If we hide under the covers it will just terrify us even more, often to the point where it’s all we can think about and we’re up Googling financial advice all night! The monster only goes away when we pull off the covers to face it. That’s when we realise there was nothing there to fear in the first place – just shadows.
Similarly, once we acknowledge our financial situation, we’re able to properly assess the situation and can begin planning for our future, helping us realise that what we were hiding from really wasn’t as bad as we imagined it to be.
It’s this revelation, and the personal accountability that goes with it, that allows us to begin our journey towards financial wellbeing.
If you’re ready to face your financial bogeyman and start living your Good Life, or would just like to learn more about financial wellbeing, call us on 1300 388 285.
