Beat the January Blues

Posted on Jan 18, 2024

This year we want everyone to beat the January Blues! The 3rd Monday in January is often referred to as Blue Monday ‘the most depressing day of the year’… but we know Blue Monday is just a myth and we all have our bad days from time to time.

Money worries are a common cause of stress, anxiety and generally feeling low, but learning how money and mental health are linked may help if you’re struggling to beat the January Blues.

Did you know money worries can impact your mental health, and your mental health impacts how you manage your money? Poor mental health can make managing money harder, and worrying about money can make your mental health worse. It is a vicious cycle.

How do money and mental health work together?

• Financial difficulties are a common cause of stress and anxiety. The stigma around debt and money problems means people struggle to reach out and ask for help. This further leads to isolation and loneliness.
• When somebody is suffering from money and mental health problems, recovery rates from their mental health conditions are often reduced. For example, people in financial difficulty who suffer with depression are 4.2 times more likely to still suffer from depression 18 months after those without money problems.
• Worrying about money can lead to sleep problems. Read more about sleep and mental health here.

Taken from Mind & Samaritans

How can Retail CU help?

Managing your money can be stressful and can cause feelings of stress, anxiety and January Blues, but Retail CU is here to help.

Improving your financial wellbeing

Your financial wellbeing is important, and we’re here to help. Saving a few ££s, straight from your pay, is a great habit to get into and helps you manage your money more effectively. Small amounts saved regularly soon add up – it’s so easy to save with Retail CU.

Saving regularly helps protect you from unexpected financial pressures whilst borrowing from us can help improve your credit rating and help you become financially stable. When you borrow from us, we ask you to continue to save a minimum of £2/week or £10/month, so you have savings once your loan is cleared.

Free life cover

Planning for the future and asking ourselves ‘what if?’ is a common cause of anxiety. Thinking about the future and what will happen to your loved ones if the worst were to happen to you can be a difficult thought.

Our Free Life Cover is a FREE benefit for all Retail CU members, giving up to £5,000 financial help and peace of mind in the event of a member’s death. Find out more here, and Please make sure your Nominee is up to date, so your money goes to the person you wish. Update using our secure Nivo App or contact our friendly Customer Services Team.

Debt consolidation

Personal debts can cause anxiety, and anxiety can surge if you’re struggling to repay debts. If you’ve got outstanding debts with one or more existing lenders, our Swap & Save loan could help tidy up your finances and save you money.

We could help by consolidating credit cards, store cards, overdrafts, personal loans and other borrowing into one manageable repayment with a lower rate of interest. Our Swap & Save loan allows you to borrow to pay off your existing lenders. As a result, you are left with one easy to manage regular repayment.

Further support

Learning how money and mental health are connected may help if you’re struggling. Money Helper, MIND and StepChange are helpful resources if you want to balance your money and mental health better.

Hear how our Team are looking after their mental health to beat the January Blues and find our what we did on Blue Monday here.