Financial Stress
The accounting bodies recognised that often those in the accounting profession are first line responders to the mental health issues that may result from financial stress. While COVID-19 highlighted that on a wider scale, this is something we have been very aware of for many years.
I often say that I am not just an accountant. At times I take on the role of marriage counsellor, psychologist and confidant to my clients. I do this without formal training and I am proud of the way I have learned to respond and provide a limited amount of guidance. That is why I jumped at the opportunity to attend the Mental Health First Aid course that was offered to accountants recently. I learned a lot about mental illness and how to respond and I realise that I am not expert in this area.
Financial stress is very real. I have experienced it first hand and it is a little embarrassing to say this because I am an accountant and I should “know better”. Yet I am not the only accountant or business owner to experience financial stress and perhaps telling a little of my story will make it easier for my clients to speak to me about their own situations.
I purchased my business 13 years ago about a year after a marriage breakdown. I left my marriage with nothing and my parents kindly offered their house as security for the loan I needed to purchase the business. At the time I joked that for me failure was not an option as it would mean my parents could lose their house (and they would have to live with me), but it was not really a joke at all. The reality of having nothing to fall back on when times were tough was always at the forefront of my mind.
My business grew and growth always puts cashflow pressure on businesses. It was like a house of cards. One small issue could cause everything to topple down. I would lay awake at night working out how to pay my staff. There were many weeks when I couldn’t pay myself and had to live off credit. I hated Christmas as I could never afford to buy my family good presents as I had no money. I was always chasing my tail, waiting for clients to pay. Even now, although financially things are much better, I still feel like a failure as I have never been able to purchase a house.
The culmination of all of this came a few years back when I got a call from the bank advising me that the loan I had taken out for 15 years was under review. I was 3 years into the loan so the balance was still quite significant. As a result of changes to the banking rules my parent’s house could no longer be security and as a result my loan was not being extended. I will never forget that moment when the call came through from this horrible guy at the bank who has probably never had a financial worry in his life, judging me as a failure. I was driving in the country, looking at the brown fields that surrounded me through the tears in my eyes, and I felt a mixture of panic and sadness. I didn’t know what to do. I could not let my parents lose their house.
Somehow, I managed to pull myself together. In my mind I knew the only way out was for me to hustle and be brave. I needed to think outside the square and find some creative ways to cover my debts. I need to be honest about my problem to certain people in my life. It took a few months and solutions were found, but the stress was very real. Sleepless nights, anxiety, hair falling out, being constantly cranky and finding it difficult to concentrate. The stress was all consuming.
Things are much better now and the business is able to support itself. While we are not rich, we are making ends meet. I can sleep at night and there is an internal feeling of ease that things will be OK. Most of my financial stress didn’t come from my mistakes, it came from external factors that were beyond my control. As business owners we put ourselves into these vulnerable situations, we knew being in business would be tough, but it doesn’t make it any easier when the unexpected happens (such as a pandemic).
If you are feeling financial stress you need to talk to someone about it. It takes bravery but it is worth taking that first move and acknowledging the problems you are having. Often there are some simple changes that you can make to ease the stress. Your financial professional is a good starting point. They will help you to navigate the options you have available to you.
Many of the most successful people in business have had multiple failures along the way. It is through the challenges that we grow. The financial stress I was under taught me to be resilient and creative. I still back myself and I have not lost confidence that one day I will be able to buy that elusive home.
You do not need to keep up with everyone else. You need to be happy in your own life and not judge your success by possessions. Money is just a thing, it is not everything. Money doesn’t buy health or happiness and we can all think of examples of rich people who are not happy.
If you do need help I have put some numbers below for you reach out to, or feel free to contact me. You are not alone and there will be a way forward.
National Debt Helpline 1800 007 007
Lifeline 13 11 14