March 2021 Financial Stress Index (FSI) report
March 2021 Financial Stress Index (FSI) report Number of Australians ‘thriving’ bounces back dramatically as Covid nears end, but worst affected still suffering. Australians assessed as ‘thriving’ financially – a group that slid backwards eduring the first six months of the Covid pandemic – have bounced back and are doing even better than before the health […]
Money doesn’t make you happy, but bad debt makes you sick
Money doesn’t make you happy, but bad debt makes you sick. You can’t buy happiness, goes the old saying. We also know that being in poverty decreases happiness, but instinctively we know having lots of money doesn’t guarantee happiness. Research backs up the motherhood statement too. In a landmark study, Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton, […]
Using Mindfulness practice to help reduce financial stress
Using Mindfulness practice to help reduce financial stress. Mindfulness has been a big buzzword for several years. The cabin-fever worry of the COVID pandemic reinvigorated mindfulness as a solution too. Mental health organisations, major news outlets, universities and of course meditation programs were discussing the merits of mindfulness as a way to deal with COVID stress. In […]
Financial stress and under-earning
Financial stress and under-earning. When people think about answers to financial stress a lot of energy and attention is paid to our spending. Where does all our money go, we are urged to ask of ourselves and our partners. The implication is clear: if we suffer financial stress we share a flaw – impulsive and sometimes reckless […]
Why women suffer more from financial stress
Why women suffer more from financial stress. Recent studies have found women feeling considerably more financially stressed than men – but why? In the United States, a recent study of 10,500 employeesby Salary Finance, found more than half of women born between 1981 and 1996 (millennials) are worried about not having enough to retire. In […]
How to stop spending too much at Christmas
How to stop spending too much at Christmas. Christmas is by far the busiest time of the year for shopping and many of us deal with the pressure and financial stress of the annual retail frenzy with an increasingly popular new behaviour – self-gifting. If you’re not familiar with the concept of self-gifting, you might […]
Want to avoid financial stress: ask yourself these questions
Want to avoid financial stress: ask yourself these questions. There’s never been so many options for accessing cash quickly as there are today, and that’s very appealing around this time of year – especially this year, with many more people unemployed as a result of the ‘pandemic induced’ economic disruption. Nobody wants to be in […]
The real cost of gift-giving: financial stress – part 3
The real cost of gift-giving: financial stress – part 3. In ancient history giving gifts began as part of the ritual of worship and over the centuries it has morphed into a show of appreciation. In the age of mass consumerism gift-giving has become an expensive habit too, especially in holiday season. While most of us […]
The real costs of gift-giving: Financial stress – part 2
The real costs of gift-giving: Financial stress – part 2. Who wants to buy something special for their partner, relative, friend or colleague on Black Friday or this Christmas? It’s a thoughtful idea given how tough 2020 has been – with bushfires, then the COVID-19 pandemic, various lockdowns and financial stress coming at Australians in […]
Financial stress is widespread
Financial stress is widespread Money worries are common. They existed before COVID-19 and now with changes in our employment and society, financial stress has become more widespread. The Australian Psychological Society reports that financial stress is one of the major causes of stress in adults, and recently published research on the Financial Stress Index (FSI) […]