Why More Money May Not Solve Your Money Problems

How many times have you said to yourself “If I only had more money?” as you poured over a stack of bills or laid awake thinking about your finances? It may not be much consolation, but you’re not alone. Lots of people have the same thought, that having more money would solve all their money problems. Unfortunately, that may not necessarily be the case.

The money you have, or don’t have, isn’t necessarily the reason you have money problems. Sure, if you had more money you may be able to pay your bills, but if you didn’t have so many bills, you wouldn’t need more money.

The decisions we make are often the root of our money problems. For example, I recently overhead a person remark that their cable bill was one of their monthly financial responsibilities. Granted, cable is something that you pay for every month if you choose to have that services, but unless you’re in a contract that has an early termination fee, it’s not really a responsibility. It’s a luxury. If you’re struggling financially and still enjoying cable television, while wishing you had more money, you must reevaluate your financial priorities.

We often take on optional services, services that we have for comfort or entertainment, can consider them necessities, when we could really live without those things. For many of us, these services would only increase if we had more money, especially if you’ve been struggling. As you’re able to afford more, you start to take on more. “I can afford this,” you say to yourself and so you have a new financial obligation to cover each month. It happens over and over and before you know it, your budget is stretched once again.

The key to getting rid of your money problems – at any income level – is to live within your means. If you’re trying to dig yourself out of debt, you’ll need to live below your means so you’ll have some surplus to put towards your debt. The same thing would be true if you got a raise or salary bonus. Increasing your standard of living, rather than keeping your living expenses the same, would only perpetuate your current problems.

Blaming your money problems on a lack of money is often a way to avoid taking responsibility for your current financial state. Depending on a future windfall, salary increase, or lottery win also hinders you from making real progress because you’re waiting instead of acting. What if you never get the money you need to turn your finances around? Will you continue to live with money problems?

Understandably, things happen in our lives, situations beyond our control, that cause major financial setbacks. However, even in these unfortunate circumstances, it’s important not to remain discouraged or feel powerless about your situation.

No matter what your income, you can take a proactive approach to fixing your money problems. Take time to figure out what the problems are and what’s causing them. Then, think about what you can do to fix these problems – and the answer is never “nothing.” If you’ve already reduced your budget to bare minimum – no frills, just necessary expenses only – consider taking on a part-time job or doing favors, like babysitting, for a fee.

Change those bad habits that keep you in financial bondage and take action on your plans to get things changed. If you can solve your money problems before you get that big inheritance or the raise you’ve been working for, you can put the money to much better use.