Daily Struggles That Affect My Finances

The old adage says "we all have problems" and that is true. Some of these problems can have impacts on our financial well being. I do my best to combat this but in the end some of it still happens. We can only do so much damage control.

Things in my life that negatively affect my financial situation:

• Stress: This one can cause me to spend where I otherwise wouldn't. I get a great deal of stress from work (IT Industry) and this sometimes makes me purchase outside of my budget. Whether it be a few drinks after work here and there or eating out from a long day where I have no energy to cook.
• Worrying about money: I do this daily. I now it is not a good thing to do but having debt makes me worry. Will I lose my job? What will I do? I also have to fight against myself to not buy the new toys I want. It is hard to convince yourself that debt repayment is #1!
• Unhappy with my job: I like working in the IT Industry but my particular job is of little interest to me. I am stuck because of my bills and cannot seem to locate a replacement that provides the same level of income (recession). This adds to me stress.
• Feast and Famine Spending: From time to time I tend to go on somewhat extreme spending restrictions. When I do this I hit a wall and then spend money I shouldn't. Over time it evens out a bit and I am trying to find a happy medium. So far no luck.

I can attribute most of my bad money decisions in recent memory to stress and unhappiness at work. I am doing the best I can to alleviate this in a rough job market and am researching alternatives. I am not planning any big change until after my month-long, much needed vacation to Asia in November. This also gives me time to save up some extra cash and plan my move before I make it.