New data is showing almost one in two Australians are experiencing some level of financial stress. For many, it comes with things like anxiety and shame. CEO of Hope Economy, Rosie Kendall, joined Leah and Dan to practically talk about this issue. Hope Economy was formerly known as Christians Against Poverty Australia.
Rosie began by acknowledging that the statistic is pretty shocking.
“Ultimately often that’s not associated with numbers it’s actually just associated with the ecosystem in which we find ourselves, the hopelessness, the narrative that we find ourselves in. People are feeling under pressure and that pressure finds its way into anxiety and to unhappiness.”
She elaborated on the need people have on church communities for assistance.
“It moves them to isolation and being on their own. We don’t talk about money openly and freely, and that means that this is often a really hard conversation to have.”
Set the Expectations
Rosie said that many of us put a lot of our security and comfort in our financial situation.
“We want to feel in control. We want to know what’s going to happen next week. And actually, the economic climate that we find ourselves is really uncertain with job insecurity.”
She said that even for those with money in the bank, all it takes is one disaster or change of circumstances to feel like we are in a difficult financial situation.
“We know that housing stress is really significant and that mortgage pressure is big. We know that there isn’t enough housing. Those are the things that cause people real stress and anxiety. So we might look at our budget and have enough money coming in but still feel deeply anxious about our situation.”
The reality for many Australians is they don’t have enough money coming in and they are feeling anxious that they cannot make a budget balance.
Rosie listed practical steps we can put in place to manage this stress.
Have a Good Look
“The first thing is to recognise and to have a good look at our situation. Often the tendency is to bury our head in the sand and to think I’ll deal with that another day.”
She said this leads to building anxiety. Honest conversations and perspectives can only help the situation.
Talk to Somebody
“Talk to someone, talk to a trusted person whether that’s someone in church, a friend, a neighbour, family member, someone that you feel like you can talk to because often someone else can bring perspective that maybe is outside of ourselves and just talking often can really help.”
“So there’s normally not a silver bullet in terms of people’s situations. They’re often complex and making difficult decisions in the midst of it. But having a conversation with someone is often a really, really good first step.”
Remove the Shame
The final step, according to Rosie, is to remove shame by normalising talk around money.
“We don’t like talking about money there’s a lot of shame with money. Therefore, asking for help can be really difficult. When we share it, we open the door to normalise it.”
She admitted that she herself can at times feel an offense or tightness around it. “This adds to the communal experience,” she said.
Church and Community
“There’s real power in us being able to share lifts for different places. When money is tight communally, there’s an opportunity for us to respond in community rather than isolation and that’s the unique role that the church can play.”
Check out the full chat below.