5 Ways You Spend More Because of Stress

I don’t know about you, but from time to time I get stressed. For me it happens when I have lots to do in a short period of time.

Fortunately I have a husband and family who understand and pitch in to help when needed. This usually brings down my stress level somewhat.

However, sometimes I alleviate stress in other ways that are not so healthy. In addition, a few of them impact our finances.

If you’re like me you may feel pressured too from time to time. Unfortunately, it may also cause you to spend more because of stress.

1. Eating Convenience Foods

One of the ways my husband and I sometimes succumb to stress is by eating convenience foods. When we’re in a hurry it’s faster to pop a frozen pizza in the oven than make food from scratch.

Of course, this does nothing to help our waist lines so we try not to do it too often. Also, even though some foods may seem cheaper, in the long run they probably aren’t.

We end up spending more because we have to buy larger clothes. Or, we turn around and spend money on diets or gym memberships. Eating convenience foods could be causing you to spend more because of stress too.

2. Buying Fast Food

When we aren’t eating convenience foods we sometimes buy fast food instead when we are stressed. If you do too, it could make you spend more due to stress.

No time to cook? Grab some burgers at a drive-through on the way home from work. No time for that either? Have a pizza delivered instead.

Buying fast food a couple of times every week can raise monthly food bills by a couple of hundred dollars. When we realize we are buying fast food too often we try to put the brakes on that spending.

3. Retail Therapy

Retail therapy is another feel good solution when you’ve been dealing with stress. But it’s a short term high that also causes you to spend more because of stress.

This is one area I can say I have conquered, for the most part. Still, I haven’t always been able to claim that. In the past I turned to shopping online to ease my stress.

That ended once I realized it wasn’t really helping. In fact, it was making more stress due to the extra spending.

4. Salon Trips

Some people spend more because of stress by making frequent salon trips. They opt for services such as manicures, pedicures, haircuts, dye jobs, and massages to name a few.

Obviously, these treatments don’t come cheap. This is especially the case if you go every couple of weeks. These trips can really cut into your monthly budget all in the name of dealing with stress.

5. Alcohol Consumption

Luckily, my husband and I aren’t big drinkers. In fact, I can probably count on two hands how many drinks I’ve had in the last year.

I’m sure it isn’t that way for everyone, though.  Some people probably try to drink away their stress often if not every day.

Since alcohol doesn’t come cheap this can really cause them to spend more because of stress.

Cheaper Ways to Handle Stress

The good news is that there are some cheaper ways to handle stress that  are also healthy. Here are a few of them:

• Eat Healthier Meals
• Drink Plenty of Water
• Know Your Limits
• Get Enough Sleep
• Take Periodic Breaks
• Request Help
• Say “no”
• Don’t be a Perfectionist
• Use Apps

Just about everybody gets stressed from time to time. The key is to combat it in ways that don’t make you spend more.

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How do you deal with stress without spending more because of it?