Ways to manage your money and mental health

Reduce the impact money and your mental health have on one another to keep both under control.

Often people think of mental health as serious conditions such as bipolar or depression, but it’s something we should all consider – not just for ourselves but for friends and family. Mental health is pretty much how you’re feeling and functioning. It can be good, it can be just ok.

But all of us will have moments where it’s bad – even if it’s not a condition that might require longer-term management or medication. Whenever we’re feeling down, feeling stressed or feeling lonely we’re experiencing poor mental health.

And there’s a good chance any of these can impact our finances. Here are a few tips to help you keep on top of things.

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How mental health impacts your money

On a more severe end of the scale, poor mental health could mean you need to miss work, causing you to lose money. It’s common for people to get anxious when dealing with any kind of admin, but when that’s bills or bank statements it can be a larger issue.

Motivation can be a problem, leading to important money matters being ignored. Or perhaps moments of depression or mania could prompt people to spend more money (or money they don’t have.)

The worst-case scenario is that these scenarios lead to unmanageable debts – but it can work the other way too. The two are linked. Money problems can feed depression and anxiety, and that in turn can impact relationships, work and family. Big life changes can make a difference to both finances and mental health too, such as having a baby or losing a loved one.

So it’s not something we should dismiss or hide from. It’s important to take some action before anything happens.

What you can do

Here are some things you can do to manage your finances if you’re likely to experience poor mental health

Automate as much as possible – this means having standing orders and Direct Debits set up so you don’t miss payments when it gets too much to deal with your finances. You can also automate your savings.

Keep on top – When you’re feeling good, build a budget so you know exactly how much have and spend. Then use apps such as Snoop or Plum to keep track of balance and spending, or use a digital bank like Chase, Revolut or Monzo. Find out if your bank will send text or app notifications when you spend or to let you know about upcoming payments.

Use webchats – If you don’t want to pick up the phone, look for a webchat option when getting customer service from your bank.

Give access to a family member or friend – They can deal with banks and bills when you can’t – but you have to absolutely trust them with your money.

Make it harder to spend – Don’t take cards out with you and don’t let browsers remember card details. Or you can just make sure you don’t have credit cards at all. You can also look into ways to stop impulse spending.

Talk to your bank – Many banks will have a dedicated support team who can work through different options to help you manage your account.

Get help with your finances

Get free debt help – It’s important to deal with money problems before they become a crisis, but it’s never too late to seek help. And importantly, you shouldn’t pay for this. Places like Stepchange and NationalDebtline are good options.  Moneyhelper (formally the Money Advice Service) has a free tool to find free advice near you, whether that’s face-to-face, over the phone or via online chat.

Elsewhere, Money Saving Expert has created a great guide on mental health and debt and the Mental Health & Money Advice website has information about benefits and support you can get.

Get help with your mental health

Talk to someone – Samaritans, Rethink, Relate and Mind will all provide you with someone to chat with about what’s going on.

Visit your GP – Your doctor can help you find treatment and direct you to other services available.