Table of Contents

• Mental Health Awareness Month: Tackling Financial Stress

• Actionable ideas to help ease financial stress

• Investing Series - Introducing our Asset Class Dee …

📢Announcement: Noyack Wealth Club & Noyack Investing Club: A Financial Ecosystem of Education and Enablement

Four short weeks from now we will be launching the new Noyack Investing Club or NICL. It will be only the third asset manager with multiple strategies offer direct to investor in existence besides the Yieldstreet and Fundrise. Then in ten short weeks we will launch Noyack Wealth Club, our 501c(3) non profit dedicated to providing free financial education to empower your personal wealth management. You can learn with us or you can invest with us or you can do both. Truly DIY in the best possible way.

With this in mind all the subsequent newsletters will have a headline label of Learn or Invest so you know before reading what you’re going to get. With that heads up out of the way, let’s dive in to Edition 126.

🧠Mental Health Awareness Month: Tackling Financial Stress 💸

It's Mental Health Awareness Month, and I can't stress enough how intertwined our financial well-being is with our mental health.

As someone who has managed more than $1 billion over decades with the financial futures of multiple families dependent upon me succeeding for them (thankful we did) took its toll on me mentally. I lost a marriage and my body start top break; 10 knee surgeries with 22 orthopedic surgeries overall. My stress management sucked and I knew finances or managing them at scale was debilitating, win or lose.

So with inflation and interest rates crushing Americans AND that ts Mental Health Awareness Month, it couldn’t be a better time to talk about how our finances could affect our mental wellbeing and some hacks to help.

Personally, I started meditating for the first time seven years ago at the age of 50 years old. It has helped…a lot. Now I have to restart my Vedic practice that the pandemic took away.

As for financial wellbeing leading to mental wellness, my #1 suggestion is debt reduction. Below are other actionable ideas and one is to build savings. Normally, I’m a fan of saving except with inflation as high as it is, your savings will get eaten away.

But interest rates are also rising, and when you pay down debt that has rising interest rates, you are beating inflation because lenders of any kind will ALWAYS charge you interest that is hgiher than inflation. So getting rid of some of your debt actually is a way to beat inflation.

PRO TIP: set aside 5% - 10% (more if you can) from every dollar you earn and pay down some debt you have.

Here are some key stats on financial stress & mental health:

1. TIAA Institute report:42%of US adults say money negatively impacts their mental health.

2. Financial Health Pulse: In 2023, 76% of financially vulnerable people reported high or moderate stress from their finances, compared with 13% of financially healthy individuals.

3. Forbes:66% of respondents would consider bankruptcy to address their debt situation.

4. Money and Mental Health:46% of people in problem debt also have a mental health issue.

5. American Psychological Association:72% of adults feel stressed about money, with 22% experiencing extreme financial stress.

6. Sleepfoundation.org:76% of US adults feel anxiety about their finances, and 77% lose sleep over money worries.

In researching this topic, here are more things I learned:

👉 How Financial Difficulty Affects Mental Health

Financial stress is a common cause of anxiety and depression. The stigma around debt often prevents people from seeking help, leading to isolation. Severe impacts occur when individuals cut back on essentials like heating and eating, or face aggressive debt collection. Those with depression and debt are 4.2 times more likely to remain depressed after 18 months, and people in debt are three times as likely to consider suicide.

👉 How Mental Health Issues Affect Income

People with anxiety and depression earn significantly less—£8,400 annually on average—than those without these conditions. Less than half are employed, and those who work often hold part-time or low-paying jobs. Many rely on benefits, with a high proportion of claimants having common mental disorders.

👉 How Mental Health Issues Affect Spending and Savings

Mental health problems can lead to impulsive spending and difficulty managing finances. Poor mental health periods often result in delayed bill payments and unnecessary loans. Nearly 30% of those with mental health issues could only manage for a month if their main income source was lost, double the rate of those without mental health problems.

Here are more actionable ideas to help ease financial stress:

Boost Your Credit Score:

• Pay Bills on Time: Set up automatic payments to avoid late fees.

• Reduce Credit Card Balances: Aim to keep your balance below 30% on your credit limit.

• Check Your Credit Report: Look for errors and dispute inaccuracies with the credit bureaus.

• Limit New Credit Inquiries: Only apply for credit when necessary to avoid multiple hard inquiries.

Track Your Budget

• Use Budgeting Tools: Apps like Mint, YNAB (You Need A Budget), and PocketGuard can help you track your expenses and stay within budget.

• Set Financial Goals: Define clear, achievable financial goals to guide your spending.

• Review Monthly Statements: Regularly check your bank and credit card statements to understand where your money is going.

Build Savings

• Automate Savings: Set up automatic transfers from your checking to your savings account.

• Cut Unnecessary Expenses: Review your subscriptions and memberships; cancel those you don’t use.

• Create an Emergency Fund: Aim to save at least three to six months’ worth of expenses for unexpected events.

Pay Off Debt

• Use the Snowball Method: Pay off your smallest debts first to build momentum.

• Consolidate Debt: Consider a balance transfer or a debt consolidation loan to reduce interest rates.

• Negotiate with Creditors: Contact your creditors to negotiate lower interest rates or more manageable payment plans.

Educate Yourself

1. Join Noyack Wealth Club 🙏, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit launching this summer: Gain access to exclusive resources and insights tailored to your financial journey.

2. Read Financial Newsletters: Stay updated with newsletters like this one to keep informed about personal finance trends and tips.

3. Take Online Courses: NOYACK will have courses but we also like Khan Academyfor personal finance.

Having financial control fosters autonomy and self-worth, while financial struggles often lead to feelings of helplessness and shame. This further extends into social stress, which strains relationships and affects work productivity, leading to isolation and job dissatisfaction.

Investing Series - Introducing our Asset Class Deep Dives

Starting next Sunday we will alternate topics between private investing and personal wealth management. The team and I have spent months preparing this newsletter product launch for you, our 200K subscriber readership ( 🙏 for making us the #1 personal wealth newsletter 🚀 ) and it will be a no holds barred exploration and education into alternative investments of all kinds.

Hopefully you will be ready for our Master of Alts certificate. Your mother will be so proud!

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