Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat are platforms for sharing life and telling stories. It just so happens that everyone seems to post their “best lives” on them. People tend to flex their financial progress online, showing off their new cars, phones, and designer bags. While it’s good to know your friends are doing well, constantly focusing on their success can lead to financial insecurity.
What is financial insecurity?
Financial insecurity is just that–being insecure about your financial situation. It can manifest in a number of ways, like doubting your ability to achieve your financial goals or feeling “behind.” It is normal to be insecure about your finances, especially if you’re just starting to build your wealth.
However, it’s not healthy to focus on your financial insecurities. Financial insecurity is stressful and mentally draining, and this can affect your physical health as well. It can cause anxiety, feelings of restlessness, and a lot more. These can manifest into physical problems, like fatigue, sleep problems, and even mood swings. To help you beat your financial doubts, here are 10 tips you can follow:
Limit your screen time
Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok make it easy to fall down the financial security rabbit hole. To help with this, you can try limiting your screen time by staying off your phone or even using apps to help you reduce your screen time. That way, you reduce your exposure to people or posts that can you make you feel insecure about your finances.
Use the unfollow/mute functions
Maybe there are just one or two people that make you feel financial insecurity. Apps like Facebook and Twitter have an unfollow or mute function. This means they’re still your friends on the app, and you can contact them, but you won’t see their posts. This is helpful if you don’t want to see them flexing on your feed, but want to remain friends.
Consider getting off social media altogether
It may seem a bit extreme, but completely off social media is also an option. There are claims that deleting social media can increase your productivity and mental well-being. When you delete social media, you almost eliminate the chances of seeing other people’s posts. And you can even delete the apps during the week, and install them on the weekend, or vice versa.
When you’re off social media, you free up that time to do other things, like build new habits. If you want your habits to help you get ahead, check out my article on the best wealth-building habits!
Focus on your own financial goals
When you’re focused on your own goals, you’ll have no time to think about other people and your insecurities. Set financial goals for yourself and work towards them to not just beat financial insecurity but also grow your wealth.
There are quite a few more benefits to setting financial goals. You can check them out in my article here.
…And make sure those goals are growing
Watching what others are doing or not doing and not staying in your own lane, creating goals and working towards them is an easy way to develop financial insecurity. Whenyou achieve your financial goals, and you will if you work hard enough, remember to set new ones. Doing this will ensure that your goals are growing along with you!
It’s a competition, but not how you think
When it comes to finances, it’s good to be competitive but only versus yourself. Focusing solely on “one-upping” other people’s financial achievements can be a toxic mindset. Instead, you should try to beat who you were yesterday when it comes to achieving financial goals.
If you really want to get ahead, you’ll do whatever it takes to hit those financial goals. Have you tried a more aggressive savings plan? I have an article on the topic if you want to learn more.
Practice gratefulness
A great way to eliminate financial insecurity is to be grateful for what you already have. If you’re already secure with yourself, you won’t fall victim to overthinking your insecurities. One practice you can try is to write down something that you’re grateful for every day. This can be something like a gift you received or something that a loved one did for you.
Talk it out with a loved one
It always helps to talk about your insecurities with someone you trust. They can help you process your emotions and pull you back out of any overthinking spirals. At the very least, you’ll have someone who can listen to you and validate your feelings.
Sometimes, it could be a loved one who’scausing your financial insecurity. This can be due to a wage gap between you and them, or a difference in the amount of experience you have in your respective fields. If this is the case, it’s always a good option to talk it out with them.
Remind yourself of your financial achievements
Your financial insecurity will get to you some days, and that’s okay. When that happens, remind yourself of your greatest financial achievements! Think about how you were able to save up enough money to buy what you wanted or beat that debt. By reminding yourself of your best moments, you’re reminding yourself you’re capable of doing great things.
Keep finding new ways to get ahead
Staying where you are is a great way to feel left behind. That’s why you should always be learning new skills and financial tricks! If you’re up for some insider information and the best financial advice, join the money squad. As a member, you’ll receive exclusive financial tips every week that get you closer to your future fortune. It only takes a few seconds to sign up and is completely free–so sign up today!
