Obsessice care for money

Hello, during the recent few months I’ve been obsessing over money and I’d just like to ask if this behaviour is normal.

I’m 18, I still live with my parents and they pay for things like food and sometimes my clothes but I’ve decided to get a part-time job a few months back to be more independent with my money. I don’t earn an awful lot of money, maybe 60 or 70 pound a week. At the start things have been okay, I’ve been spending money on my self and was just generally happy that I could afford to buy things for myself without having to ask my parents for money, ofcourse I tried to save but not excessively.

But recently I’ve been absolutely obsessing over saving money, I have prom coming up so I want to have some money for that, and then straight after there’s Christmas so I need money for presents etc. So definitely there’s money that I need to save for these events but it’s getting to the point where I feel completely tied down and uncomfortable all the time.

For example a few days ago I woke up one morning and first thing I did was check my bank account to check how much I’ve earned, and then spent the next 2 hours working out how much money I’ll earn by Christmas and how much money I could possibly spend and it just stressed me out so much, it’s not that I won’t have enough money bc I’ll have enough but that still doesn’t stop me from freaking out over not having enough money for these events, I spent the rest of the day consistently obsessing over money and it made me feel uncomfortable inside thinking of not having money. And it’s driving me nuts, cause even if anything happened I still have my parents and their money support etc. I feel as if all this is just driving me insane, I continuously think about money and money and money and if I have to spend like 4 pound on something that I didn’t plan like a take away with friends for lunch my stomach drops and I feel like not getting the food despite the fact that this 4 pound literally wouldn’t change a thing.

Anyway, I feel like this is probably really silly but I’m new to this whole money and spending and just things like this in general. I already spoke to my parents about this, but I’d like to see what other people say also, thankyou all

You're just feeling a little cheap because this is the first time YOU have earned money. You'll get over it to some extent eventually. But work within a budget. Designate how much money is for things like that 4 pound lunch and spend it. Save whatever else you think you need to save.

Saving and budgeting are good habits to get into at an early stage in life. However, if you don't have a great deal of money in the first place and are only just getting by - it's bound to be stressful. It's dealing with a resource which you feel is very scarce right now.

It's also understandable that you want to retain your independence from your parents in matters which define you as an adult, as far as you can. Perhaps a way into this would be to have a bit of soul-searching about what money represents to you - security, independence, whatever - and see if you can tap into other ways of getting this.

I'm guessing that as time goes on and you earn more, money will become less of an issue. If you're out with friends and feel pressured to spend - look upon this as a price which comes with having a lot of fun, and try to stop worrying unless it really is excessive.

What else is going on in your life that is causing you anxiety? My sense is that the money is just an easy target for something else you are anxious about. On a practical level I would spend a little time figuring out if you can cut your Christmas budget by 1/4 or 1/3rd which might on a practical level alleviate some of the anxiety about how much money you have.

Also budget in splurge money so that if you do a last minute lunch with friends it will come from your splurge account. Good luck!!

All I can say is: welcome to being an adult.

No one who manages all their own expenses just willy nilly spends money without thinking of saving or not spending too much. Even if you're well off, if you do not manage your money you will be more likely to spend more than you have.

Consider this your first step towards being independent. Now you are 18, I would definitely not depend on your parents so much anymore. Heck, I learned how to try to budget working my first job at 15, even before that when babysitting on the side.