If you are currently starting to worry about money, it's time to find the cause. This is because financial problems often make people worry and experience stress. For example, in a study by the American Psychological Association (APA), it was found that 72 percent of Americans felt stressed due to money problems, even before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Financial problems can basically occur due to many things. One thing that is felt by quite a lot is a lack of income. If you are one of them, then immediately find a solution. The following are five ways to overcome the problem of feeling a lack of income.
Rethink the Cause
Try to think again about why you feel like you don't have enough income. Is it because your income cannot cover the costs of daily living needs or because your lifestyle is too high?
To find the answer, you can start by regularly keeping a record of your monthly expenses. Separate three types of expenses, namely for daily needs, playing or recreation, and specifically savings or charity. Next, you can start mapping and choosing the right solution based on the results of your expenditure evaluation.
Find Additional Income
Instead of continuing to drown in worry because of lack of money, it is better for you to immediately rush to find additional income by doing side jobs. Look for a type of work that will not interfere with your main job. It's also better if the extra work is something you like so you enjoy it.
Some side job options that you can currently consider include:
- Become a tutor or private teacher. It doesn't have to be about academics, you can also become a private sports and arts teacher. Again, adjust it to your interests and talents. After that, look for information about teaching vacancies on various trusted platforms .
- Freelance in the field you are interested in. You can search for vacancies through special freelancer sites or through existing connections.
- Selling on the marketplace . Well, this one is suitable for those of you who like selling. With the number of marketplace visitors reaching tens of millions per day, it could be a field of profit for you. The condition is that you must be able to read the competition map in the marketplace and formulate steps so that your business runs smoothly.
Change Lifestyle
Think about your lifestyle so far, whether it is in line with the income you receive or whether it is bigger than the pole. Changing several lifestyles will help you slowly get out of financial problems, for example:
- Bring food instead of going to a restaurant during lunch time.
- Bring a tumbler when you go anywhere.
- Take public transportation.
- Avoid 'Fear of Missing Out' (FOMO) behavior by limiting social media use.
- Buy things when you really need them, not because there is a big discount.
- Think back to when you were planning to do 'self reward', whether it was time. If so, choose a self-reward that won't be a financial burden on you in the future.
Eliminate Impulsive Spending
Have you ever seen an item in a marketplace or shop directly, then without thinking twice you immediately bought it. It can be categorized as impulsive buying. This sudden purchase can damage the money budget that you have prepared for each need item. Therefore, immediately stop this habit, for example by:
- Don't bring extra money when shopping.
- Bring someone along when shopping to remind you not to do impulsive buying.
- Don't shop when you're emotional. Because, when we are emotional, sometimes it becomes easier to vent it by buying anything, including things we don't need.
Look for New Career Opportunities
If it turns out that your problem stems from a salary that is not commensurate with the workload, aka being underpaid, then immediately look for a new, more promising career opportunity. However, before you decide to leave a company, it is important to consider the following things:
- You have tried to improve your performance and increase your contribution but there is no appreciation for additional salary or bonuses from the company.
- There is no clear career path, which further closes down opportunities for salary increases.
- There are many promising career opportunities outside and you feel capable of carrying them out.
Apart from that, continue to improve your skills to provide you with new career opportunities. Currently, there are many online platforms and offline classes that you can take to increase and hone your skills. The key is, never get tired of continuing to improve yourself by learning.
If it turns out that your problem stems from a salary that is not commensurate with the workload, aka being underpaid, then immediately look for a new, more promising career opportunity. However, before you decide to leave a company, it is important to consider the following things:
- You have tried to improve your performance and increase your contribution but there is no appreciation for additional salary or bonuses from the company.
- There is no clear career path, which further closes down opportunities for salary increases.
- There are many promising career opportunities outside and you feel capable of carrying them out.
Apart from that, continue to improve your skills to provide you with new career opportunities. Currently, there are many online platforms and offline classes that you can take to increase and hone your skills. The key is, never get tired of continuing to improve yourself by learning.