Jesse Jones: Nearly half of Americans say money woes are affecting their mental health

Rising prices and inflation aren’t just affecting our bank accounts but also taking a toll on our mental health. That’s what a new bank rate study is revealing.

Half of US adults say money impacts their mental help negatively, more so than work or health concerns.

The majority of those, 65% say it’s the rising prices that are keeping them up at night.

“The biggest worry and the biggest explanation is inflation. That was the thing that really bubbled to the top of the ranking. It tends to be near term money issues that are stressing people out, not so much retirement,” says Senior Analyst for Bankrate, Ted Rossman.

The new study also reveals women, not men, worry about money more. “The two possible explanations there. One would be the gender pay gap, sadly. The other one would be that a lot of women play the role of the household CFO and pay the day-to-day bills. So, they’re the ones who are seeing how much the electric bill costs and how much the credit card bill was.”

So, what can you do if you feel stressed out? The best thing says Ted is to have a plan. “A lot of times when we feel worried about things, it’s because we feel out of control. Take back some of that control by putting a plan together. The specific tactics will vary according to the issue. If it’s credit card debt, maybe get a 0% balance transfer card and pause that interest clock for up to 21 months. Or if you’re worried about your savings or investments, set up automatic transfers and have money dedicated from every paycheck for those purposes,” said Rossman.

The ebtEDGE app is a free mobile app that allows Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cardholders to view their benefits, balances, and transaction history. Here is the link: ebtEDGE.com

©2024 Cox Media Group