Anxiety takes on many different forms in the way it manifests itself within us. Often times we are unable to think clearly, so things are overlooked. A bill is due, the laundry hasn’t been done. We curl up in our safe spaces and wait it out. These times don’t often lead to productive outcomes, its essentially just holding on until the mood passes, sometimes it can take days. For some people it can take years. Regardless if we have anxiety or not, we all have to deal with money.

Money or your income is the basis in which you can survive in modern society. The degree to which you understand your income often leads to the quality of the survival. In simple terms, the more income you have the more resources you can muster to “weather the storm” we talked about in the first paragraph.

Let’s be clear on income first, Gross Income is the sum of all sources of income you have before deductions or expenses. Net income is the income you have left after all of your deductions or expenses. I know this is basic information but finance, for those of us with anxiety is often easiest when we establish the basics. The goal is to figure out how much gross income you need to pay all of your expenses, so you don’t end up with negative net income or a loss.

Many people get preoccupied with the amount of money they make or have. What’s critical is you make enough money to provide your necessities. More and more traditional income sources are falling by the wayside. There was a time where you worked for one company for decades and they were your primary income source. Today there are side hustles everywhere and you may be deriving income from multiple sources.

The important thing to remember is all sources of income have to be looked at carefully. What I mean here is if for instance you live in the U.S. and you are contracting, or you get ad revenue, or you sell items on eBay. In these examples the income is “true gross” meaning nothing has been deducted. You sell your marketing services for 1000, you get 1000. You then have “salary income” you work at a job, they take out taxes, you receive the net.

Its critical to understand your sources of income and where they come from. Most important here is to understand if you need to pay taxes on this income. The government will always get their money, its not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. So, for those of us with Anxiety we need to be acutely aware of our income source. If for example you received 1000 and spent a 1000 but at the end of the year were required to pay 250 taxes on the 1000, you would have to get it somewhere else.

Income is the most important financial gauge you have to determining your future outcomes with money. Debt is often a choice, income is a reward for something you provided. If you have multiple sources of income and suffer from anxiety remember to keep it as organized as you can. Spend 15-30 a week focused on your finances, understand where your income is coming from and what kind of income it was. This can save you a lot of pain later on, as often we get money and we spend it. Understanding your income portfolio is extremely important don’t ignore it !

If you need help or have questions, feel free to email me directly and I will do my best to help you.

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