Finances are a common cause of stress. Not having enough money to pay the bills can wreak havoc on an individual and a family. Plus, finances can limit recreational activities, which reduce your ways to relieve stress. Talk about a vicious cycle!

At the beginning of every month, sit down with yourself (and your partner or spouse, if you have one) and create a budget. You can use a piece of paper and a calculator, a spreadsheet program, or an app on your smartphone – whatever works for you.

Make sure you account for the necessities, like mortgage or rent, car payments, debt payments, heat, light, groceries, insurance, and gas. Don’t forget to budget for some fun stuff too, even if it’s only $20. Savings are another important part of your budget – if your car breaks down and you’re stuck with a repair bill, it can be less stressful to take it out of the savings account than to put it on a credit card.

If you find yourself struggling to make ends meet, talk to a debt counselor to help reduce your financial stresses. Debt counselors are professional finance organizers, and can help you to identify places to find savings that you may never have thought of on your own.

If you have an extremely high-end or low-end lifestyle, consider whether you can make changes to reduce your stress level. Spending tons of time and/or money on maintaining expensive cars, homes, and boats may not be wise if it’s causing you stress. Likewise, pinching every penny when it’s not necessary might not be worth it.