A fear of money can stem from a variety of causes such as money trauma from early poverty, divorce, or a significant financial loss. It can result from a lack of financial education. Managing personal finances can be stressful for anyone and that stress෴ can go above ꦚand beyond your typical day-to-day worries, especially for young people.

No matter the source of your money fear, you have options to deal with it. We spoke with three financial professionals to learn what people can do to add🀅ress and overcome it.

What Is Fear of Money?

There’s a clinical diagnosis for fear of money and managing money: chrometophobia. It can lead to symptoms like anxiety, excessive worry, obsessive behaviors, and even physical ailments. Thos🧸e with chrometophobia can’t avoid the thing they’re afraid of entirely unlike with other phobias. It’s a central part of our lives.

It can still hold you back from progressing in your finances and reaching your goals even if your financial anxiety isn’t extreme.

What Causes Fear of Money?

Their fear of money dates back to their childhood for many people and the messages they received 𓆏about money. Perhaps you had traumatizing experien🅷ces with money as a child or you watched your parents struggle with money issues. Maybe you were affected by their money beliefs.

“Children often absorb and mirror🧸 their parents’ financial attitudes which means parental anxiety or negativity about money can directly impaꦛct their children’s financial perceptions,” says , a certified financial planner and certified financial therapist with Epiphany Financial Therapy.

Their fear of money results from a lack of education about it for many young people. “Many young 𝔍individuals feel ill-equipped to handle their finances due to a glaring absence of formal financial literacy education in their upbringing. This educational gap leaves them unprepared and anxious about managing money,” Hathai says.

This fear can manifest in several ways that can have a significant negative impact on 🥃someone’s finances. “Some young people may resort to avoidance, steering clear of financi🃏al responsibilities, or ignoring bank statements,” says Hathai. “Others might find themselves in the throes of overspending, using it as a form of escapism or a way to seek validation.”

She notes that another common manifestation of a fear of money is the underutilization of financial products. Some might avoid investing in their employer’s 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:401(k) plan because they ei🔜ther don’t understand how it works or they're afraid of losing money.

How to Address Your Fear of Money

The first step in addressing your 🦩fear of money has nothing to do with money management and everything to do with your relationship with money. “To begin addressing these fears, the first and most crucial step is acknowledgment and reflection,” Hathai says.

Some young people may be able to draw a straight line from their fear of money to a traumatic event that happened in their childhood. Perhaps they grew up in poverty or watched their parents lose their wealth. Peoplꦍe with a fear of money may not be aware of the root causes, however. This is where reflection can be particu🔯larly helpful.

“It involves recognizing your fear of money and๊ introspectively examining your emotions and thoughts about money,” Hathai says. “This process of reflection, perhaps through j🌠ournaling, can shed light on the underlying causes of your financial anxieties.”

Common underlying causes Hathai has seen include a lack of financial education, parental influence, societal pressures, and past experiences with money. You can take tangible financial steps to address your fear of money and start making progress toward a more stable financial future when you’ve 💝gone through this introspective exercise,

Take Time to Educate Yourself

Their fear of money stems from a澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网: lack of education and knowledge of personal finance for many young people. More states are passing laws requiring 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:financial education in schools but many people in their 20s haven’t benefited from those laws.

“Thanks to technology, more resources are available than ever before to learn about money and take steps toward a strong financial future,” says , an accredited financial counselor and founder of Beworth Finance. “From books to online courses and podcasts, there are more learning opportunities available today with more minority representation than ever befor﷽e.”

Here are a few resouওrces that may help you improve your fi🌺nancial literacy:

• Websites, podcasts, and social media pages by financial professionals, such as the “” podcast by Farnoosh Torabi or “” by Tori Dunlap

Identify Your Goals

Setting specific and achievable financial goals can he💦lp you take your first steps on your financial journey. Having something to aim for gives you a starting pointꦍ.

“These may be things like building credit, paying down debt, or building up an 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:emergency fund but each should have an associated ෴dollar amount and date (I will have $1,000 in my emergency fund by May 2025),” Hami🔯lton says.

Break them down into small, tangible steps when you’ve identified your financial goals. Rather than adding “pay off debt” to your to-do list, break the goal down into smaller steps that may include🎐:

• Making a list of all your debts
• Adding up your total debt balance
• Listing your debts in order of importance to pay off
• Deciding how much to allocate toward debt each month
• Setting up autopay on your debt accounts

“Ult🐭imately, it is a lot easier to be good with money once you’ve mapped out what you’re trying to achieve and it doesn’t have to be as complicated as you think,” Hamilton says.

Start Small

You can’t get over your fear of money and master your finances all in one sitting. Starting small instead can help you ease into money management in a way that you’re comfortable with. You're more likely to stay consistent if your financial to-do list is more approachable.

One of the best ways to start small is by slowly building savings. Having an 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:emergency fund can do wonders to ease your fear of money but 💟it can take time to build. Set the goal of ꩵsaving just a small amount per week rather than pressuring yourself to build your entire emergency fund all at once, Even $5 is better than nothing.

You might reach your goal more quickly if you try to build your entire emergency fund in just a month or two but you could also burn out and give up entirely. You might devote all your disposable income toward your emergency fund for a couple of months o🎶nly to pull that money out a month or two later because you haven’t prioritized your other financial responsibilities.

澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Investing is another example of how you can start small. “You no longer need a financial advisor or $100,000 to start investing,” Haꦛmilton says. “Instead, starting with as little as $5 or $20 on your phone or laptop can reduce the fear that you’ll make a big mistake or the necessity to talk to someone, which can feel intimidating.”

Create Appointments With Yourself to Check in

An excellent way to ensure that you’re on the right track is to make appointments to check in with yourself. You can revisit the finanဣcial goals and tasks you’ve set for yourself to make sure y๊ou’re gradually checking things off your list.

“Consistency in reviewing and adjusting financial plans and ꩵce🐻lebrating each milestone, no matter how small, can foster a healthier relationship with money,” Hathai says.

These regular check-ins are also a good opportunity to consider other financial goals. You may feel comfort✱able setting more aggressive goals around saving, investing, and income as your financial education and confidence grow,

When to Seek Professional Advice

It may be worth seeking out the help of a profe♏ssional such as a financial therapist if your fear of money is preventing you from living a normal life or addressing your financial obligations.

“Financial therapists work with people on the intersection of their emotions and their finances,” says , an associate professor and licensed professional counselor at Shades of You Counseling and Consulting. “A financial therapist can help facilitate an understanding of your money behaviors and the underlying emotions drivi꧂ng those behaviors to help you develop a different relationship with money and be successful in engaging in new money behaviors.”

A financial planner or advisor is another type of professiona💃l to consider working with. They may not be qualified to help address all the emotional aspec🐻ts of your fear of money but they can help you establish a money management plan that can give you peace of mind and reduce your money anxieties.

The Bottom Line

A fear of money may be holding you back and causing you to overspend, over-save, or even ignore your finances entirely. You can address and overcome it, however, regardle💮ss of whether your money fear is ♕a result of a lack of education or past financial experiences.

“The more you understand about how money works, the more you can optimize what you have instead of letting fear limit your true financial potentiꦬal. And for young people especially, the sky’s the limit,” Hamilton says.