Any tips for dealing with financial stress?

Question

So I work full time and a summer part time job in order to stock up some money for a down payment on a car that I must buy this fall. My boyfriend works 70-80 hours a week during this summer stocking up money for tuition to go back to school in the fall. We both have other bills (none credit card debt related so we are doing okay in that respect). However we just found out that we have to take on more bills that his parents were helping us with since he is a full time student, but now they (his parents) are having financial problems. Basically I am so emotionally drained from working 60+ hours a week and now I have even more financial stress headed my way. PLEASE any tips or tricks to help releave my stress would be grealty appreciated. No time for bubble baths, those are out....and I just cant think anymore..???

Answer 1

Wow, sounds like you have it rough.

I would suggest rethinking the type of car you are buying. Can you get a less expensive nice car? Keep in mind new cars loose a HUGE amount of their value the second you take it off the car lot, so a used vehicle may be a better option.

If you are already looking at getting used, then here are some things to think about.

Sit down with your boyfriend, or by yourself if you need to, and create a budget. This just means you calculate how much comes in, and how much you spend each month. With this information you can make decisions on which things to stop spending money on. The previous poster had some good suggestions on ways to save money. Once you know where money is coming from and where it goes you can decide if you really need to work as much as you do.

As for the stress...take time each day to stop for a few moments and just breath. Enjoy a sunset or at least focus on something other than money or work. Bake some cookies for your parents or neighbors and deliver them. Doing something for someone else (without stressing about it) can be a great stress relief.

Work with your boyfriend on planning some small "vacation" from your normal life. This can be as simple as going to the nearest motel and staying one night away from everything. Or you could go to a local camp ground and camp overnight somewhere without TV, telephones, or other things.

It is always important to find time to relax. Without knowing what you spend or what type of bills would cause 2 people to have to work over 60 hours a week I cannot give you more advice.

Please remember that your boyfriend can get a Federally subsidised student loan, and does not have to finance all his education from savings. Yes he will have to pay it back, but not until after he graduates and by then he should be able to get a better paying job.

Answer 2

well I probably won't give the best answer because of my age but here goes: Currently I'm 17 I don't really like my family too much and I USED to deal with stress in a bad way until I learned how to turn every bad situation into a burst of laughter without being crazy. You know Lewis Black and Louis CK? yeah their comedians that based their comedy off their hard life, just like me. You can stay angry if you want, but instead of thinking of anger and stress in a bad way, turn it into your energy, I learned not too long ago that life gives everybody ****, so there's no point in getting riled up over a few sad times or small conflicts. Example: if someone ask you if you want to do them a favor say: "I'm not gonna lie to you" then walk away, it's negative but it kills bad vibes, now crying has to stop, which can be helped be doing new things, for a while don't plan anything for your life, just let strange stuff happen, the experience is so rewarding, and make friends with random people, have a very diverse group of friends, my friends are African, black, fat, white, German, gay, bipolar, and a parent, unique eh? well I hoped I helped somewhat, bye now

Answer 3

"Must buy"?

Never heard that before where a car is concerned... :D

Keep saving for that dream Lexus, and buy a 2-3k beater that is safe and fuel efficient.

Buy no-name instead of brand name.
Instead of eating out, eat in.
Rent a movie and watch it at home instead of going to the theatre.
Find the "I can do withouts" and get rid of them. If you have a cellular phone, turn it off unless you NEED to make a call (ie: you're trapped on the side of the road). If you have a cell, change your plan to a cheaper one and abide by it (avoiding additional charges). If you have a cell AND a land-line, get rid of one. Strip your cable packages until you are left with one package, or no cable at all...
If you are on a medical regimen, talk to your doctor about having the prescription changed to a generic equivalent (incidentally, generic drugs are purer than the "name brand" and are made under tighter controls as well).
Stop using disposable items and use reusables...within reason - TP can be excluded from this list.
You can also find a cheaper place to live...not necessarily the best option, but it is an option.

From the sounds of it, you don't have much in the way of debt, but you simply are stressing from saving up to pay for everything. Cut back on the hours, and take and extra year or two to buy that new car.
Stop smoking (if you do)...after all, a one pack-a-day habit is a car in 5-7 years, or a significant down payment on a house.
Cut-up the C-cards and don't use debit cards. Cash or cheque (cancel you overdraft, and religously keep your chequebook ballanced to avoid NSF charges). If you don't have the "extra" money, you don't buy it.
Allocate your money into different budgets for now, and live by them.
Finally, avoid big ticket items. If you ahve to buy something costly, go for the "budget" model.

Good luck.