Mental Health Awareness Week 2023

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week 2023. This year is focusing on ‘anxiety,’ an emotion we’ve all felt in our lives. Unfortunately for some, their anxiety can become out of control and becomes a mental health problem.

The link between money and mental health

Worries about money impact your mental health. Your mental health impacts how you manage your money. It is a vicious cycle.

Poor mental health can make managing money harder, and worrying about money can make your mental health worse, so this Mental Health Awareness Week we’re helping you to balance your mental health and money matters.

Pay off your debts

StepChange found money worries and poor mental health are often linked. Having personal debts causes anxiety, and anxiety can surge if you’re struggling to repay those debts.

Juggling multiple repayments can make your finances complicated and cause you stress and anxiety, but our Swap & Save Loan can help you tidy up your finances by consolidating your borrowings into 1 manageable repayment and save you money.

Overdrafts are one of the most expensive forms of debt, and according to Money Saving Expert, getting a loan to pay off an overdraft is ‘a decent option, as it’s likely to have a cheaper interest rate than your overdraft.’ By consolidating all your borrowings into one manageable repayment with a lower interest rate, we can help you tidy up your finances and reduce the amount you repay each month. We also do the legwork and pay your existing lenders directly.

We’re helping members save over £4,000 a month, by consolidating credit cards, store cards, overdrafts, and any personal loans into one regular payment, making budgeting simpler, and saving them money too!

Are you looking to manage your debts and reduce your monthly outgoings? Apply for a Swap & Save Loan here.

Create a budget you can stick to

Feeling stressed, depressed, or anxious can make it difficult to manage money, and you may find it harder to create or stick to a budget, but planning a realistic budget is important to keeping money worries at bay.

Money Helper’s Budget Planner Tool helps you take back control of your household spending. In just 10 minutes, the Budget Planner shows all of the money you have coming in, what you spend it on!

Budgeting makes sure you’ve set enough money aside for the essentials and will help reduce the feeling of anxiety and dread when the bills are due. Budgeting for days out or holidays will also make you feel happier and less stressed, and having an emergency fund of savings gives you peace of mind if the car breaks down, or the roof starts to leak.

Sticking to a budget helps you prioritise your spending, improve your wellbeing and increase your levels of happiness overall!

Planning for the future

Asking ourselves ‘what if?’ can keep us up at night and are a common cause of anxiety.

The worry of unexpected events and emergencies which would put us under financial pressure is the main reason why many financial experts recommend keeping an emergency fund of savings to hand. Having a cushion of cash will help reduce your money worries and will make sure you can cope if life throws the unexpected.

Free life cover

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.

If something happened to you, our Bereavement Fund is a free benefit for all members, giving financial help and peace of mind in the event of your death.

Our free life cover provides the following:

  • Double the value of a member’s savings with Penny Post, up to a maximum of £5,000
  • For members with less than £250 in savings, the Bereavement Fund payment will be £500
  • Repay the deceased member’s loan*

If you’re feeling low, you may lack motivation to manage your finances, so all of our members benefit from free life cover. Members really are at the heart of everything we do, and our Bereavement Fund gives you the comfort of knowing that you’ve got a plan in place to make sure money if one less thing for your close ones to worry about at the worst of times.

Dealing with money and our personal finances causes over 1/3 of us to feel anxious on a regular basis. It isn’t always big life events such as relation pressures, starting a new job or moving house which cause us to feel anxious.

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.