Ask HN: I have $27k in my bank account, but I have constant anxiety about money | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: I have $27k in my bank account, but I have constant anxiety about money

11 pointstriceratop7 comments

My money is spread out over checking/savings/high-yield accounts. I have more in an IRA, but am not counting it since it's considered off-limits.

But ever since I started working for myself, I can't seem to shake the anxiety I have concerning money. It never feels like I have enough. I can never relax. Is this normal? Before quitting my job, I had about $60k, which slowly dwindled down to $2k until my new business was able to give me a livable wage.

Savings are slowly growing again, but I still have constant anxiety about money, which I never had before. Having watched my savings dwindle so far probably attributes to my subconscious anxiety.

What can I do? Any advice?

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I think you should start differentiating between opex and capex. and capital and recurring income.

This is how corporations reason.

Basically, opex is the money flowing out of your bank accout (sorry if that phrasing gives you anxiety) because of ongoing life. coffee, groceries, gas, you name it. anything mundane is going on that tab.

Anything you are investing in though, is Capex. you are buying a new car? capex. new watch? capex. new computer? capex.

clothes? if they are mundane and necessities - opex.

recurring income is your salary or whatever you can get by per month.

capital is your 27k in savings.

now, if a big company has 200bUSD in capital, and they get hit with the economic downturn, what do they do? layoffs. they do not mix capital (200b) with opex (salaries). it can and should never flow that way.

i know that infuriates some people "they got money! they should spend it!" nope, they shouldnt. thats why they got 200b, and those who complain, dont. if they do they wont have 200b for very long, not because salaries constitutes a lot of money per se, but because that behavior will translate in any and every new idea to spend money on.

basically, long story short, you only spend what you get each month. max. tops. you dont touch your capital. youre better off borrowing from friends than spending it on opex.

because spending accumulated funds is pointless, contrary to its purpose, and quite simply a waste.

once you do this, i believe after 2 or 3 months you will start to feel better.

Always be trying to develop multiple simultaneous income streams, so you can be confident you will not be too badly affected if one customer or project lets you down

Well, first off, figure out if the anxiety is deserved. Do you have some possible random costs coming up? Do you think you have enough emergency fund? Some people (me included) just feel like there's always some kind of terrible bad thing that I would never be able to plan for... and sure, that could happen, but it's unlikely.

Let's say that it's founded based on your budget. You can either up your income (work more, more clients, whatever), but I think the easier thing can be to be more frugal. Look at your expenses and see if there's anything you can lower. Eating out or delivery is a prime example of something you might be able to lessen.

Sometimes the act of saving money itself can be a good feeling to fight against the feeling that you don't have enough. At least it feels like you are doing something to fix the problem.

If you have anxiety consider getting help, in the form of therapy. Also ask yourself, what exactly would happen if you did lose all of your money, I'd hazard a guess that you'd still be employable, still have people who care about you and would help out, and therefore, it's very likely you would manage. I say this having had similar issues myself, and once I thought beyond the potential loss, I realised it would all probably be okay.

Sounds well justified.

It is good for you that you’re back on the uptake. You should have ten times that before you feel you’re your own master, and not a slave to the whims of fate.

Having worked as a consultant for about 20 years.. I can sympathize!

Metrics are key here: you need to see the flow to get comfortable with it. I really don't like dealing with expenses, invoices and all that stuff, but the more I implement processes to do it the easier it gets and the less I worry.

That's after you diversify your income streams, as herendin said!

The only cure for cowardice is to face your fears: donate it all to charity, the IRA included. All other measures are short-lived nepenthes.

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