The A.V. Department - December 2023

 I don't know about you, but my inbox has been absolutely bombarded with promotional emails trying to get me to spend more money. I really need to do a purge and unsubscribe from some of these lists (and p.s. if a retailer emailed me more than once in a day, I immediately unsubscribed. Ugh!), but I stay on some of them strategically. I had a big ticket item that I was planning to buy, so I kept looking for a good deal to come through. But that's not the spending strategy they want us to have at this time of year. They are hoping for impulse purchases and spending beyond our means. Tis the season, after all!

But spending beyond your means and accumulating debt for things that don't add to your happiness is actually bad for your mental health. It can lead to anxiety about money and put strain on important relationships. So I'm going to swim a little upstream, against popular culture, in my topics this month and encourage you to spend less. 

To kick things off, I have a suggestion: a short video on YouTube with some quick tips on how to approach your money differently and why it might be good for your mental health to do so. I hope you enjoy it!

If you feel that your mental health is being impacted due to financial stress, please check back for some of my other blog posts this month. While I'm not providing a full course on money management, I hope to point you toward some accessible resources that will help. If you need support with the mental health side of that stress, I would also encourage you to reach out to a mental health professional licensed in your area; most communities have low cost options available. Additionally, many people with benefits coverage for therapy never use it! So if you have a benefits plan through your employer or that you pay for directly, do yourself a favour by getting your money's worth out of that plan; contact a therapist in your area. If you live in Alberta, Canada and you think you'd like to work with me, please contact me through my website Calder Mental Health Services.

Take care and happy less-spending-season!!

Petrina