More Americans Track Their Budgets Than Their Diets — Here's Why It Still Feels So Stressful
With 59% of respondents monitoring spending and 49% tracking savings, the research also found that more respondents tracked their budgets than their diets. Regarding personal nutrition, 33% tracked sugar and 31% watched their calories.
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With 70% of Americans admitting to feeling anxious about tracking spending and 64% worried about their savings, it's worth pointing out that despite tracking budgets more than diets, many are still stressed out about their finances.
Why are people still stressed about their budgets and finances despite such extensive tracking?
'Numbers alone don't solve money anxiety,' said Melissa Murphy Pavone, a certified financial planner (CFP) and founder of Mindful Financial Partners. 'I often see that tracking your finances is just the surface layer. The real work is peeling back the onion and understanding the emotions, habits and beliefs that drive your financial decisions.'
She stressed that money is deeply personal, and we may carry unconscious money scripts around us. The harsh reality is that tracking your finances can sometimes feel like a spotlight on your shame instead of a tool for empowerment.
When you closely monitor how much you're spending, you may discover uncomfortable realities about your relationship with money, which may feel daunting to tackle since you likely already have enough on your plate.
Murphy Pavone emphasized that tracking your finances isn't just about control; it's about clarity. However, clarity will require courage, and you may have to face spending patterns that you've been avoiding for various reasons.
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Aaron Razon, a personal finance expert at Couponsnake, believes that many people could be stressed out about tracking their budgets because of feelings of guilt over their spending.
'Tracking your finances is like using a scale to weigh your spending against your savings, and more often than not, the scale tips in favor of spending, and the difference can be very overwhelming, leading to feelings of guilt, frustration and anxiety,' he said.
It's easy to be hard on yourself when you analyze your spending data and discover that you have many flaws. Similar to dieting, one may have the best intentions for how they're going to behave, but life can get in the way.
Doing the right thing when managing finances isn't always about information, and you may find your spending patterns challenging to manage.
Another reason tracking finances might feel stressful is that it can be overwhelming when you're constantly worrying about your spending, since you have to think about multiple accounts, bills and investments that could be dropping.
'The information overload, fear of missing payments or making an error, and the difficulty in staying organized combined, create a sense of financial unease, making it challenging to manage finances effectively,' Razon elaborated.
When you get overwhelmed with all of your various financial accounts, the stress can creep in since you're worried about making the best decisions for your future. When you're constantly checking your retirement accounts, various credit card statements and spending, you could start to feel anxious about all of the information that you're trying to process.
While you can automate certain aspects of tracking your spending and savings, paying attention to your personal data requires energy and focus.
Michael Rodriguez, a CFP and owner of Equanimity Wealth, pointed out that tracking your spending isn't passive and could take up a decent amount of your attention.
'For someone already dealing with stress or burnout, it can feel like one more task you don't have the capacity for,' he added.
For example, after a busy workday, the last thing you may want to do is input your spending for the day or review your savings because you have many other tasks to think about. If you're currently feeling stressed about your finances despite tracking everything, it could be a sign that the energy required is weighing heavily on you.
If you're constantly comparing how much progress you're making in your financial journey with others, you may eventually feel like you're falling behind.
Razon noted that tracking finances also becomes more stressful because individuals create an unfair and unrealistic benchmark for themselves when they compare their financial struggles and setbacks to others' seemingly perfect financial situations.
'When you look at a number that feels bigger than you expected — or that doesn't line up with your goals — it can trigger shame, not action,' remarked Rodriguez. 'Instead of feeling empowered, you feel stuck.'
The dark side of tracking the numbers is that you may not like what you see, and it could feel like you're falling behind. With tangible proof of your financial struggles, you could feel like you're not keeping up, leading to feelings of stress and tension.
When tracking personal data, it's important that you try to remember to do your best to use the numbers to make decisions about your daily actions instead of worrying about minor mistakes. It's foolish to aim for perfection when the goal should be progress.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: More Americans Track Their Budgets Than Their Diets — Here's Why It Still Feels So Stressful
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