Money can be stressful, and, like a lot of other stressful things, it's sometimes tempting to ignore it. Tossing bills into a pile of unopened mail, letting calls from creditors go to voicemail, or ignoring important emails may feel like a way to dodge financial tasks and obligations, but ignoring problems doesn't make them go away.
What is Money Avoidance?
Money avoidance is a behavioral pattern where-whether consciously or unconsciously-a person distances themselves from financial tasks and decisions. It may look a little different depending on the person or the circumstances, but not opening bills, ignoring messages from creditors, avoiding banking apps, and not checking balances are all forms of money avoidance.
Money avoidance stems from fear and anxiety about money. According to one neuroscientist who spoke to NPR, Money avoidance is a manifestation of human survival instincts.1 Avoiding discomfort can create some short-term relief, but over the long term it can mean unpaid bills, missed payments, worsening credit scores, and a pile-up of avoidable late fees.
Anxiety around money can also be compounded by not having enough of it. A 2024 study found that financial insecurity was associated with greater money avoidance, including putting off bills or other financial tasks.2 That avoidance, in turn, can make existing financial problems more difficult to address.
How to Overcome Money Avoidance
Money avoidance can be a difficult habit to break, especially when dealing with finances already causes stress or anxiety. The goal isn't to become comfortable with every financial decision overnight. Instead, look for ways to make money tasks feel more manageable and reduce the temptation to put them off. Here are a few places to start.
1. Shift from Immediate Outcomes to Long-Term Goals
Avoiding a bill or putting off a financial task can offer temporary relief, but only for a moment. Eventually, missed payments and mounting debt can lead to more serious financial consequences.
Keeping those long-term consequences in mind can be an incentive to deal with money tasks as they arise. But avoiding negative outcomes doesn't have to be your only motivation. Long-term goals can also give you a reason to tackle uncomfortable financial tasks now. Building savings, planning for the future, or preparing for a major purchase can all become easier when you have a clearer picture of your finances.
2. Break Big Plans into Small, Manageable Tasks
Making a grand plan to get your financial house in order is all well and good, but you have to start somewhere. Huge, sweeping changes may feel overwhelming right off the bat. Instead, start with a task you can do immediately. Completing one manageable step can make the next one feel a little easier.
Step one might simply be opening correspondence from financial institutions that you've been avoiding. Step two could be totaling up debts or obligations, and step three could be deciding which one to tackle first. Keep breaking the process into manageable steps until you're ready to move on to the next one.
3. Make a Budget
Some people hear "budget" and assume that it's like going on a diet or depriving yourself of the ability to spend money on anything. But budgeting simply means knowing where every dollar goes and making the most of the resources you have.
Start by looking at your regular income and expenses. From there, you can decide how much to put toward necessities, savings, debt, and discretionary spending. Having a clearer picture of what's coming in and going out can make your finances feel less uncertain. It will also give you a place to start when something needs to change.
4. Automate
Make things easier on yourself by automating some of your recurring financial tasks and expenses. Set up automatic deposits from your paycheck into savings and retirement accounts to minimize the number of financial decisions you make each month. Automated systems don't know fear, shame, or anxiety, and therefore they don't know money avoidance. They simply take care of the tasks you've assigned them.
Avoiding money can offer some short-term comfort, but money doesn't avoid you. Eventually, the bill comes due (literally and metaphorically). One way or another, you have to stare the problem in the face. But, by getting ahead of it and staying on top of finances, you'll have fewer reasons to avoid managing your financial life.
- Tagle, Andee and Douglis, Sylvie (2022, January 6). Stressed about money? Scared to check your balance? These tips are for you. National Public Radio. ↩︎
- Hilbert, Leon; Noordiwier, Marret; Seck, Lisa, and van Dijk, Wilco (2024, August 19). Financial scarcity and financial avoidance: An eye-tracking and behavioral experiment ↩︎