We know that having a lot of money gives you a solid sense of security, and with that you can reach a consistent high chill factor level. I want to go over a few key tips to help reduce money-related stress.
1.) Keep a record of your finances. This sounds like a gimme but it’s absolutely key. If you know exactly how much you’re making and exactly how much you’re spending on a monthly basis you can keep a near-perfect balance of your available spending. It’s also a good way to determine how much you can put into savings or investments on a regular basis. I highly recommend using Microsoft Excel (part of Microsoft Office Suite) or download the free Open Office Suite which has a nearly identical software package. Create a spreadsheet with a month by month log of your income/expenses. Being specific is key here. To use mine as an example, the first column consists of my regular bills (mortgage, electricity, phone/net, credit card, etc). Below that I have income and an area for unspecified finances (job income, interest, additional income, additional expenses). You can use “notes” to comment individual non-regular changes. Below those are the totals rows (total spent, total made, total left). Use the following columns marked by month to enter all the numbers, and you’ll have a very solid grasp of your finances.
For some Yoga is a great form of relaxation—for the rest of us, as Brian Regan says, it has the opposite affect. In this short clip from a great stand up special, he reminds us towards the end how most people like to relax. Relaxing, as you may have realized at this point, is a great form of chilling. That being said, comedy is absolutely key to chilling, or trying to. If you’re laughing, there’s a good chance the chill capacity level of your body is going up.
I’ll pretend to, anyway. Although this helps raise personal chill factor, it sometimes ends up having the opposite effect. Lottery fantasies, need I say more? No, but I will anyway or this would be a boring post. I had gone through this scenario many times before: “Ah, If I only won the lotto, everything would be so easy! Pay off my mortgage/loans, then what? I could get that [insert shit here] that I’ve always [reasonably] wanted.” What happens after that? Allocation. “How do I spread my winnings?” As if the feeling of winning the lottery isn’t awesome enough, you want to feel like a hero. So, make sure you leave a big money bag for each of your family members (well, not all of them) and close friends.
You must be careful with this, however. While it’s soothing to think about, when your fantasy reaches it’s peak reality will set in and hit you like a ton of bricks. You’ll be faced with the realization that you don’t even play the God damn lottery, how the hell are you going to win? After about 7 years of this I decided to start playing. One ticket, twice a week (Florida). If I’m going to get lucky, then well, that’s all I need.
Why are you still reading this? Go buy a lottery ticket before you forget again.