Financial Challenges We’re All Facing Right Now: Part One

Stay tuned for part two in this series, where we’ll revisit these challenges and offer practical, actionable tips on how to work through them.

Fluctuating income

Navigating fluctuating incomes can be tricky, and can leave you feeling like you haven’t got the control you’d like over your finances. As the ‘gig economy’ and multi-hyphenate careers continue to grow in popularity, fluctuating income is becoming more and more common, and understanding how to manage it without losing your mind is definitely a learning curve. While it may be a slight departure from the traditional ways of budgeting a salary, there are plenty of ways to keep on top of your money when your income fluctuates.  

Working from home vs. working from the office

As some offices return to full-time in-person work, some remain 100% from home, and others opt for a hybrid of the two, many challenges are presenting themselves in the post lockdown work environment – and they’re translating to our finances, too. 

Lots of office workers are struggling to get into routines of meal prepping, taking food to work, organizing their workspaces and commuting to and from the office. This readjustment to the outside world is understandably stressful, and could be wreaking havoc with our finances at the hands of buying lunches, paying for public transport and navigating the return of social events to our schedules (and to our budgets!).

Mental health and money

There’s no denying that mental health and money are intrinsically linked. Despite largely positive strides forward towards the light at the end of the pandemic, the news cycle continues to present traumatizing content and negative world views that can impact our mental health, motivation and overall sense of wellbeing.

Not only can mental health issues cause a knock on effect to our spending by causing us to emotionally spend, management of our mental health can be a direct expense in itself. Even with government support in some countries, the cost of therapy, time off work and medications can be a tough cost to swallow.

Navigating the workforce and coping with job loss stress

As the workforce gradually recovers post-lockdown and workers adjust to a new normal, many of us are still coping with job loss stress and finding work in a post-Covid world. The complexities of the job market and the rise of remote working are making it increasingly difficult to find jobs, and even harder to establish job security. This can trigger fears around money and a scarcity mindset that keeps you feeling stuck.

Cost of living increase

Despite the economic downturn across the world, the cost of living is still on the rise. The housing market in New Zealand remains scorching hot, with average house prices in New Zealand increasing at least 5% in the past quarter in most regions. Across the ditch in Australia it’s not much better, with property prices soaring at the hands of stamp duty exemptions and a backlog of demand that’s endured the pandemic, and millennials are feeling the sting of an even tougher property market. 

It can be overwhelming to see all of these challenges grouped together! But acknowledging these challenges and establishing how they affect you is the first step you can take to conquering them. Initially it can seem daunting, but your future self will thank you for tackling this head-on.

Head over to Financial Challenges We’re All Facing Right Now: Part Two for a deep dive on practical, actionable advice for how to navigate these common money woes.

Emma Edwards is a finance copywriter and blogger, on a mission to humanize the financial services industry by creating meaningful content that’s accessible and empowering. You’ll find her penning money tips at her blog, The Broke Generation, sharing financial insights on Instagram, or injecting life into content for her business clients.