I Dont Want to Check My Bank Account Funny
You close your eyes. You hold your breath. You do a high-speed count of how many stupid overpriced lattes you downed this month. You do a little prayer.
This is the moment you check your bank account for the first time in ages.
If logging in to your online banking fills you with dread and covers your forehead with sweat, you're not alone. Bank balance anxiety is a very real, very common thing, experienced by all of us budgeting failures who like to pretend their bank account doesn't exist until they're forced to confront it.
Those who suffer from bank balance anxiety avoid receipts from ATMs, refuse to note down all their expenditures, and always worry that their card is about to be rejected.
They have no clue how much is in their account, and so they imagine the worst, which makes them put off checking for as long as humanly possible.
And on the sickening cycle of dread and ignorance continues. Here's how to deal with it.
Sorry, but you're going to have to confront your fear of checking your bank account
'When faced with something that fills us with anxiety, our first response is often to run from it, which is a natural fight or flight response that's hardwired into us humans,' psychologist Dr Lisa Orban tells metro.co.uk.
'While avoidance may relieve anxiety in the short term, it's also a highly effective way to maintain or even exacerbate anxiety in the long run.'
'If something like online banking has become too daunting or anxiety provoking, try your best to confront your fear head on and "stare down the demon".'
Dr Orban advises facing the fear by scheduling a time to sit down and immerse yourself in your bank account. Mark down a time in the diary and make sure it happens.
When you log in to your online banking, acknowledge that you feel anxious. Take a mental note of the physical sensations in your body and the thoughts running through your head.
Try to provide logical responses to anxious thoughts if you can. If you're imagining that you're so far into your overdraft that you can't get out, ask yourself how likely that really is, and what would happen if it were the case. It's likely you have enough support that you won't end up getting evicted, as you're imagining.
Log in. Look at your bank balance.
'Dive in, even with your anxiety,' advises Dr Orban. 'Sit with it until your anxiety starts to decrease.'
Your anxiety will lessen and fade. Try to remember that it will pass and don't let it stop you from checking your balance (which you really do need to do).
Turn your anxiety into action
Your current cycle isn't good for your mental healthoryour finances, so use the current worries washing over you as motivation to bloody well sort out your money situation.
You'll feel less nervous about checking your bank balance when you're confident you've been spending responsibly, so dedicate some time making a plan.
That plan needs to include budgeting – how much you're currently spending on different things, how much you should be spending, and how much you'd like to be saving – as well as a list of solutions to looming issues. Write down a list of people you can talk to, acknowledge how much money you need to save over how long to get out of your overdraft, and keep your plan visible on your desk or stuck to your bedroom wall.
Check your bank balance every morning
This tip comes from our very own Rebecca Reid, who takes a look at how much is in her accounts every single morning.
'It's the best financial choice I've ever made,' says Rebecca. 'It means I'm constantly aware of how much I'm spending, and if I need to move money over from my savings account.
'It's way less scary that way, too. I'm always roughly aware of how much I've spent in the last 24 hours, so there's no room for nasty surprises.
'It's also great because it makes the task of checking you haven't been mischarged for anything way smaller.'
It's a smart move – there's no way you can spend all of your money and send yourself into ruin within 24 hours (not without noticing, anyway), so the daily morning check becomes much less scary than looking on the day you need to pay rent.
Scheduling in a daily check also makes it routine, which Dr Orban recommends.
'Practice accepting that this is the current reality while committing to taking action and changing what you can,' Dr Orban says. 'By staying on top of things and checking your account as just another part of your routine (even if it's not what you want to see), you will feel less anxious in the long run.'
Use Monzo
I'll admit this straight up. IhateMonzo. I associate it with hipster London boys who can't stop bloody talking about how great a budgeting app is and flashing their stupid pink cards.
But it is handy as a way to force yourself into budgeting, and it's more well-suited to beginners than making your own custom spreadsheet.
This'll help get rid of your bank balance fear because you'll be aware of exactly how much money you've transferred from your main account on to your Monzo card, and Monzo will notify you of your balance whenever you spend.
Just being reminded of a balance is handy. It's like exposure therapy – if you keep having to confront something, it gets less scary.
Download your online banking app to your phone
This makes the act of logging in feel like much less of a big deal.
I only ever used to check my bank account at home on my laptop, or when I accidentally opened a bank statement… meaning it didn't happen often.
Being able to login with my thumbprint and have a quick check of my finances means I don't have an excuse for not knowing how much I have or not immediately paying people back.
Make something easier to do and you'll do it more often. Simple.
Be cautious of contactless
Being able to buy things by just touching our cards to a reader makes it easier to ignore how much we've actually spent.
If you're prone to avoiding your balance, this can be an unhealthy habit.
Try to chip and pin it for a week and actually look at the price of the things you're buying as you buy them. If that's still not hammering home the act of paying for things, get the amount of cash out you're allowed to spend that week and pay for everything in notes and coins.
This helps to take your money from a mysterious swirling mass on the internet to a concrete, limited thing.
If you don't have as much money in your account as you'd hoped, don't fall into harsh self-criticism
Telling yourself you're an idiot and sobbing into your teddy bear won't magically put money back into your account, and it'll only make your anxiety worse (you'll associate checking your bank balance with misery, which can't be a good thing when you're trying to break down an anxious pattern).
If you've received a nasty shock, try to refocus that frustration and disappointment into concrete actions. Write down what you'll spend less on and how you're going to get into a more secure place.
Remind yourself that everyone has money struggles, and it's perfectly normal to occasionally find yourself overspending. You'll do better once you work at it.
This article is part of Money Month, our month-long series of features, advice, and experiences about our tricky relationship with all things money.
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Source: https://metro.co.uk/2017/11/03/how-to-deal-with-the-anxiety-of-looking-at-your-bank-balance-7051092/
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