Millennials may seem as if they have it together, but the truth is people are human beings. As such, everyone suffers from anger issues, embarrassment and a crippling level of anxiety.
Typically, these emotions come to light when we think about finances. Thanks to student loans and credit cards, there is a mountain of debt waiting after graduation. Understanding that it may take decades to pay back is enough for the feelings to take hold. This is millennial money shame.
Thankfully, it’s possible to let go and fight back. Here are the constructive ways to deal with it and level out of the playing field.
Own Your Choices
As an adult, you are responsible for the decisions you make in your life. One of them is accruing debt and not earning enough money to pay it off yet. While this may sound harsh, it’s better to own your choices now and to think about it healthily. Otherwise, you risk resenting them for the foreseeable future, and that’s no way to live. Plus, it should encourage you to take action once you’ve accepted your errors. Not only that, but you will be loathed to make the same mistakes again after going through the turmoil once before.
Spot The Silver Lining
Sometimes, the feelings of anger and shame are not necessary. All anybody needs is a silver lining to understand that the decisions made were the rights one. Take going to college. Yes, your student loans are expensive yet it’s positive debt. Hopefully, the degree and your education should open doors to lucrative, enjoyment-filled careers. Within a couple of years, you’ll be able to pay off the balances and eliminate the negative emotions once and for all. There is no point in feeling bad when you tried to better yourself for the sake of your future.
Fight Back
It’s easy to wallow in self-pity when things go wrong. The action you need to take is to fight back. For starters, it provides you with a means to channel your emotions. As a result, it is cathartic to look into charges on your account and missed payment fees. Secondly, it may help you get rid of some of the debt. Students tend to accept the amount as final but this isn’t the case. Mistakes happen, and you need to know is how to dispute a credit card charge and win. The same goes for student loan expenses too. One victory will change your entire mindset and make you feel happier than ever.
Get Organized
Whether you win or lose, the key is to get organized. The brain doesn’t do well with clutter, which is why people panic when there is an overload of information. What you need to do is to break everything down into bitesize chunks. Then, your situation will appear manageable and the anxiety will fade away. Simply figuring out how much you owe and to who can be effective.
Add in the dynamics of how you’re going to start paying back the money and you’ll feel in control.
