Every week, I like to scan the financial headlines. And every week, I see things that could cause Americans a lot of stress. For example, on July 11, 2022, Forbes wrote that a rally in the U.S. dollar “threatens to tank stocks and spark ‘major’ market stress in coming weeks.” The following day, on July 12, 2022, CNBC reported that “70% of Americans think a recession is coming.”
Inevitably, we all have sources of stress in our lives. But stress can be one of the things that helps push us forward and strive to make life better for ourselves and our loved ones. As you work on improving your current situation and reducing financial stress, I’ve found a few suggestions that may help.
Cutting back on expenses may be difficult, but every bit helps.
That 70% recession statistic above comes from a survey by personal finance site MagnifyMoney; the survey also shows that 62% of respondents are cutting back on spending in anticipation of a downturn. In addition, 39% said that they’re sticking to a budget, and 26% are setting aside emergency funds.
It’s not always easy to cut down on your expenses or create a budget, but this can be an incredibly useful first step in reducing your financial stress. Too often, I feel like we allow ourselves to become overburdened by what we imagine our situation to be. Taking stock of your unique financial situation can help give you a realistic picture of where you are, help you determine where you want to go, and perhaps most importantly, help you identify the steps you need to take to get there. According to a July 8, 2022, article by CNBC, financial psychologist and certified financial planner Dr. Brad Klontz says that narrowing your focus away from macroeconomic news and toward your unique situation “will actually save you from about 75% of the stress.”
Once you’re on your way to financial freedom (which we discussed in last week’s “Gold News & Views”), you might just start to feel financial stress slipping away as you take comfort in knowing you’re doing something, however small, to help brighten your future.
Doing research or seeking financial advice can help put things in perspective.
At U.S. Money Reserve, I believe in maintaining a collaborative atmosphere. While I enjoy doing research to help me make informed decisions, sometimes I also look for an outside perspective or find someone I can use as a sounding board, and I always value the ideas and opinions of those I work with.
The same can go for our finances. When we’re stressing out about our financial situation (or the economy as a whole), it can often help to dive in and educate ourselves as much as possible. Knowledge is often the enemy of fear, and I know that I never feel worse about a decision when I’ve done my research ahead of time.
You can also seek a professional financial advisor to help you get a grasp on your unique financial situation and guidance on how to better understand the current economic climate. You might even build a “worst-case scenario,” another suggestion from Dr. Klontz, which may help relieve some of the financial stress you might feel when reading news headlines—especially if you’ve already put in the work to diversify your portfolio and reduce its overall risk exposure. If that’s the case, chances may be good that you have less to worry about than you might think.
Diversifying with precious metals can help relieve stress on your portfolio as well as your mind.
The whole point of diversifying your portfolio with alternative assets like precious metals is, as I say above, to reduce your portfolio’s exposure to risk. Specifically, by placing a portion of your wealth in a variety of assets that may not respond the same way to the same market factors, you may help make your portfolio more likely to weather a financial storm like a sharp market drop or even a recession.
By lowering your portfolio’s overall risk exposure, you may also succeed in lowering your stress. You can take comfort in knowing that you’ve taken steps to help protect your wealth, and since precious metals have historically performed well over the long term, you may be able to enjoy a new, greater level of freedom from financial stress if you include them in your portfolio.
On our website, we offer several ways to help you tackle your financial stress. We have a diversification quiz to help you get a better handle on your unique financial situation, a fantastic resource library that can help you better understand the world of precious metals before you buy, as well as price charts and market news so you can better understand the current economic climate. You can also schedule a call with one of our dedicated Account Executives, who can help you create a unique precious metals portfolio that best suits your needs.
The road to freedom from financial stress may be long, short, straight, or winding—but no matter what it takes to get there, we’re here to help you along the way.
To learn more about the protective power of precious metals, CLICK HERE to request a FREE copy of our Gold Information Kit.
