There is a drawer in my house; you know the one. Most of us have this drawer. It’s the one that collects everything you don’t know what to do with but don’t have the mental capacity to deal with. Old mail, unpaid bills, a gift card from two Christmases ago, and a check you forgot to deposit.
I am not proud of this drawer, and hate to even admit it, but I know I am not alone.
As I was thinking about this month’s column, it dawned on me that April is Stress Awareness Month. So, I did a little research.
What is the No. 1 stressor most people face? Finances. More than 70% of Americans report significant anxiety about personal finances, including debt, costs of living, and economic uncertainty. And, ironically, April is also tax season. The universe sure has an odd sense of humor.
I looked at that kitchen drawer and thought, well, there it is staring me in the face. For months I told myself I would deal with it later. I just have to get through this busy week, or I’ll get to it after Christmas. But here is what I have learned as a wellness coach and a human being who has stress-eaten potato chips while ignoring a stack of mail: Later never gets here. And, the longer that drawer stays closed, the louder it gets.
Springtime calls us to wake up out of the darkness of winter. The days get longer. Something inside of us wants to clear and reset. We open windows, clean out closets, and donate bags of clothes we haven’t worn in two years. But, many of us stop there. We clean our homes and ignore our finances, even though financial clutter creates just as much mental distress as a messy closet.
I relate this to my work as a physical therapist. Someone would come in with an injury that had been building for months, and when I asked why they hadn’t come in sooner, the answer was almost always, “I kept hoping it would go away on its own.” Ha! The number of times I have said that to myself is comical. Hoping something fixes itself doesn’t fix the underlying issue.
Financial stress works the same way. Ignoring it doesn’t make it magically disappear. It actually makes it louder, and it becomes background noise in our lives, disrupting sleep, impacting mood, straining relationships, and leaving us with a poor sense of control. Avoidance becomes a secondary issue, bringing with it another kind of anxiety.
So this April, in the spirit of Stress Awareness Month and spring renewal, I want to challenge you to do something that may feel uncomfortable but is incredibly freeing: Spring-clean your finances.
Before you throw this article down, I promise I am not a financial guru about to hand you a budgeting spreadsheet. I have been there and know what it feels like to carry the heavy burden of financial stress, consuming thoughts and disrupting sleep. This is a wellness approach to your finances, simple and doable. Think of this less like paying an overdue tax bill and more like finally opening the windows and letting the fresh air in.
Here are a few ways to start taking back control for your peace of mind and well-being.
Use the 10-minute rule. As a fellow procrastinator, this one is my favorite and it works. Set a timer for 10 minutes and tell yourself you can stop when it goes off. Once you start, you will almost always keep going because you can feel the momentum. And, if you don’t, 10 minutes is enough to make a dent and make you feel better. Say it with me: “It’s just 10 minutes. I can do this!”
Attend to the physical clutter. Go find your drawer, your pile, or that stack of mail you’ve been walking past for three weeks. Sit down with your favorite beverage and go through it. Yes, some will be junk. Here is what I’ve discovered, though: There is often something good hiding in there. A forgotten gift card, a check that never got cashed, or actual dollar bills. And, here is the bonus: Facing the thing you have been dreading actually rewards you.
Tackle the invisible clutter. This one is the sneakiest because you can’t see it. Subscriptions, recurring Amazon orders, streaming services, gym memberships you don’t use, that meditation app you downloaded in January and have yet to open. Guilty! When charges are automatic and paperless, they become invisible. And, invisible doesn’t mean free. Go through your bank or credit-card statements from the last two months and look at every recurring charge. You may be as surprised as I was at what you find and what you can cancel.
Know your financial picture. Not a complicated budget with 23 spreadsheet tabs. Just a clear picture of what’s coming in and what’s going out. Awareness is the first step to healing anything. Just like ignoring a pain in your body doesn’t make it go away, not looking at your finances doesn’t change the numbers. Knowing what is happening with your money gives you back a sense of control, and taking control is a remedy for financial anxiety.
Commit to one small habit. Financial health, like physical health, is not built in one big change. It is created with small consistent actions. Set up autopay, create a small savings goal, or commit to checking in on your finances twice a month instead of once a year when panic sets in. Small consistent steps make way for real lasting change.
Here’s the deal. We don’t have to be perfect with money to feel better. We just have to stop avoiding it. Gaining clarity is always less stressful than the fog of not knowing. When we ignore our finances we stay in stress and survival mode, and that is exhausting. It affects our sleep, moods, relationships, and how we feel about ourselves. But when we face it, one drawer, one subscription, or one look at our numbers, it puts us back in the driver’s seat. That shift from avoiding to facing, from reacting to taking control, is how we stop just surviving and start actually thriving.
So, as you open your windows to let in that fresh air, open that drawer too. You might just find a Wegmans gift card in there. And you may find something even better on the other side: yourself, back in control.