High-Achieving Women
Low Cost Stress Reducers
1) Take a long warm bath and add a few drops of lavender oil, a natural remedy for stress
2) Throw a potluck dinner - not only will it save you money on food by having everyone bring a dish, but it also provides an opportunity to reconnect with friends.
3) Watch a comedy movie at home instead of going to the theater.
4) Turn off depressing news programs and read a book or listen to music that you checked out from the library rather than bought at a bookstore or music store. Most libraries now have music that can be checked out.
5) Plan vacations in places where you have family or friends you enjoy spending time with; this will help you avoid expensive hotel costs and give you a chance to reconnect with relatives and friends.
6) Use free public facilities, such as parks, beaches, libraries, and local sports leagues, to get away from stress and not spend a lot of money.
7) Make healthy meals at home and save left-overs for another meal rather than going out to restaurants (where most meals are less healthy than home-cooked meals).
In A Money Crunch?
1) Create a new budget to find out exactly where you stand in the current economic climate.
2) Adjust your lifestyle to fit your new budget.
3) Eat in as much as possible.
4) Rent movies instead of going to the movies.
5) Pay down debt if you can, but if you can't, don't accumulate any new debt.
6) Make a realistic list of what you absolutely need and only spend money on what you need. Just because there are great deals out there right now does not mean you need those things.
7) Consolidate your errands to make just one trip, which will save not only money but time.
8) Share a nanny or babysitter with a family in the neighborhood.
9) Use coupons.
10) Buy store brand products.
Family Stress
Does your entire family seem stressed over the economy? If so, here are a few tips to lessen the stress:
1) Hold family meetings as often as necessary to have open (but age-appropriate) discussions about the changes brought about by the current situation.
2) Encourage the children to share their feelings openly in these family meetings and don't allow other family members to criticize or ridicule anyone else's feelings.
3) In tough times, sacrifices need to be made by everyone in the family. Identify the sacrifices that each family member is going to be expected to make until the crisis is over.
4) Even if it's in short bursts, schedule family time to do fun things that don't cost a lot of money. Play Risk or Monopoly or computer/video games as a family.
5) When you schedule this family time (see #3), do your best to not allow work to interfere in that time.
6) Don't underestimate the amount of stress children experience when their parents are stressed. Assure the children that the family has to make some changes, but that everyone is going to be okay.