Money Stress and Family Peace
Money is commonly a source of stress for many. Particularly if you are married or have kids you probably have fought about money. Dr. Matt Morris, Family Therapist, has this to say about money and stress:
“Almost every couple that I counsel reports some stress related to their financial health. Even for families with substantial income, there’s always the pressure of the cost of life and different spending priorities. Finances are so influential on family stress, that it’s one of the topics that I address with every couple in premarital counseling. And one of the best ways for families to deal with financial stress is to improve their overall financial health – I know, right… seems so simple.
By financial health I’m specifically referring to tracking your spending habits, budgeting your money, reducing debt, and increasing savings. These 4 habits can help reduce financial pressure for families at all income levels, including business owners”.
Recently Dr. Matt has been asking his counseling students and other counselors how they address financial stress in families. He found that many “expressed a lack of knowledge or confidence in assessing financial health, and reported a need for more training in this area.”
Because money is such a common source of stress and there is little training for counselors in this area, Dr. Matt and I worked together to develop a series of worksheets to be used by counselors to help their clients gain a clearer picture of their financial stress. Subsequently, our material was accepted for presentation at the recent Louisiana Counseling Association annual conference.
You can download the worksheets here.
Dr. Matt says that “If you’re like most, the financial stress can probably be tied to 1 or more areas: spending, planning, debt, or savings. And just knowing where your stress originates goes a long way to reducing it. ”
How is money mucking-up your family peace?
