That Sets Me Off: Knowing the Triggers That Cause Your Financial Woes

Finances…major eye roll! Thats a subject I can’t stand discussing unless it’s about putting or keeping more in my accounts. Unfortunately, that’s not why 95% of my financial convos occur. Most of the time, it goes like this:

Person/place/thing: “I need some money”

Me: “For what now?”

Them: “Any & everything!”

     Yeah, that’s far from a pretty picture filled with rainbows & butterflies. However, as I’ve matured, I’ve come to find out there is a such thing as a financial trigger, or something that sends you over the edge when it comes to money. I listed five yesterday on our social media posts, but let’s get transparent about what they cause inside my lil body…

Financial Triggers 101

As discussed in the post yesterday, there are five main financial triggers: emergencies, overwhelming debt, spending after a restricted budget, family finances, & not tracking your spending. Whenever any of these occur, there’s a potential to go into panic mode. I know I do with many of them. Let’s see how many of you can relate…

Emergencies 

Emergencies are stressful on their own. It doesn’t matter what the context is; you have the potential to go into fight or flight mode when one arises. It’s only natural that your adrenaline starts to rush, just based off of the event being unexpected. And these are a doozy for me!

     I’m a creature of habit, so anything unexpected sends me into panic mode. My wheels start to turn trying to figure out how to solve the issue the quickest & with the least assistance as possible. Depending on how severe the situation is, I may or may not lose my 💩. 

     Emergencies that put a strain on your finances are one of those times I lose it. It all depends on what is going on in our lives at the moment & how much money is available to handle the issue. There have been times that I was ok with having an emergency come up. Those times are when I have extra money to spare, & the amount I have to spend isn’t ridiculous. 

     However, those other times seem to come more often than the easy ones. I have a budget for the household & try to stick to it. I know things happen, but I like to be prepared. For example, one of the cars needed an alternator & power steering pump on Tuesday. I needed it this week while husbae worked, & time wouldn’t permit me to drop him off & pick him up. 

     The wheels started spinning on how to handle what I needed to, at least until the weekend when we’d have more time to attend to it. Husbae got off work, picked up the parts, & went to work on the car while I held the light until almost 11pm. As you can see, he’s the calm one here, but we both cringed with having to spend the money. Thankfully, we had a little cushion to handle it, but that’s not always the case.

     It’s not always easy to stack savings if it frequently seems like something comes up to decrease that account. That’s the boat I seem to stay in a few times each year. August is always one of those times; between back-to-school shopping, recovering from summer vacation, & the 50leven birthdays my loved ones have that month.  Every year, I tell August to kick rocks!

The Endless Mountain of Debt

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have some type of debt. Whether it’s a mortgage or student loans, it seems like we’ll never get out of debt. We all owe somebody something, even if it’s as simple as a utility or phone bill. Debt stays debting!

     The thorn in my side is Mohela or Navient or Sally Mae or whatever her new name is now. You’d think with as many times as the payee’s name has changed that they were trying to dodge us, instead of the other way around. The zeros behind my student loans are the same amount of a house. Education is unnecessarily expensive, especially when most of the jobs we get degrees for don’t pay off by making decent wages. 

     If I knew then what I know now, I either would have gone somewhere on a full scholarship & immediately went to grad school, or simply just opted out of college & took on a trade. You would think having a Masters degree equates to big money, but that’s the biggest lie ever! There are plenty of people without degrees who make just as much or more than me. It’s crazy!

     This is why I don’t push my kids to go to college. Finishing high school isn’t negotiable, but whatever they choose after is up to them. Parents urged us to go to college when I was growing up. Things were way cheaper then. My loans for my undergrad degree are about the amount of a year’s tuition now. Inflation does nothing to help anyone outside of the person that’s receiving the money. I’m trying to set my kids up to be debt free or minimize their debt when they’re first starting life on their own. That’s my job as a parent.

Restrictive Budgets

This is the life I try to stick to. I have all of my bills on a spreadsheet with the average monthly amount, the actual amount I paid, & the amount spent & saved each month. Each bill is in order by due date, & the day I actually paid it is also logged. Because I’m handling bills for the whole household, I have to keep track of everything manually & set reminders so I don’t forget anything. Whatever is left over after the bills have been paid goes towards groceries, gas, & whatever else is needed until the following week. 

     Tracking my bills helps me to be less anxious about them. I know when they’re coming, about how much they’ll be, & when I’ll be able to pay them. I also don’t have to get anxious because I forgot to pay one. The reminders on my phone & spreadsheet keep me in check. I have so much going on that I need checks & balances in place. It just can be difficult at times because I’m not the only one spending the money. Having a joint account requires a lot of communication!

Family Finances

It seems like there’s never a dull moment when you’re raising a family. Honey, dem chirren are EXPENSIVE! If it’s not something they need, it’s something that they “just have to have.” Although my oldest is 21 & mostly lives away from home, he’s still in my pockets occasionally for small amounts. I understand the struggle of being a young adult. Hell my roommate & I were so broke one time our sophomore year of college that we ate Ramen Noodles for every meal for 2 weeks straight! Needless to say, I didn’t eat any more of them for years!

     Our middle two boys don’t live with us full-time, so they’re not directly in our pockets too much either. They ask for stuff here & there, but for the most part, they’re typical teenagers who are stuck to their phones & only want food. Again, not too bad.

     Now that lil girl…I think she believes we have a money tree somewhere. She has no sense of the cost of things (which I don’t really expect her to at 9 years old). It seems like she wants everything she sees: toys, clothes, shoes, cosmetics, trips, food, ev👏🏽er👏🏽y👏🏽thing👏🏽! I’m counting down the years until she can get a job so she can see how fast the money flies out of your account after making it. 

     On top of having kids, we also have to tackle household bills & sharing an account. The bills pretty much run smoothly unless something comes up. Like I said, I have them on a timer & spreadsheet. Tracking spending with a joint account is a task. I check it daily, but someone who shall remain nameless swipes until there’s an alert that funds are low 😂. Having to keep up with spending from the both of us plus bills was too much. To alleviate the bulk of the problem, we have a bills account & a whatever else account. It’s been working a lot better now & with far less anxiety.

Not Tracking Your Spending

This is the only one that isn’t a trigger for me since I track spending. In the past, I didn’t. I just flew by the seat of my pants & prayed I didn’t miss something not coming out of the account yet. During the pandemic, I had a lot of time on my hands to learn new things. I came across the Budgetnista on social media & have been using her budget template for years now. Intentional Planners have a printed sample of a similar budget in them (available at https://intentionallyevolve.com/product-category/planners/). She has so many great tips to get your financial life in order her website is: https://thebudgetnista.com).

     I like to be organized, so having a spreadsheet to help keep my busy & sometimes chaotic life in order has been a game changer. I know exactly what bills will be paid with which paycheck & how much will be left over. I also check my accounts daily so I know if money needs to be moved to cover anything. It makes things so much easier to manage.

Coping with Triggers

In order to cope with your triggers, you have to recognize them first. Just like triggers for anger, sadness, fear, or any other emotion, you have to pay attention to the physical & mental responses your body has when something happens. It’s the only way to come up with a plan to counter the negative feelings.

     As you can see, I know my financial triggers. I’m just not the best at countering all of them yet. I’m working on them though, but I also need to discuss financial goals with all parties involved with the finances. It doesn’t work to set a goal when those that may be affected by it aren’t aware of the goal. Teamwork makes the dream work! Now let’s get to work on doing better with our financial triggers in 2024!