Money can be a stressful subject on its own but combining that with the stress of the holiday season can create a double whammy of stress. This is where financial healing and stress management comes in. Whether you’re a small business owner, someone raising a family or a single person, we could all benefit from a little financial healing.

There are a couple of different ways to look at money. On one hand, you can look at it from the perspective of someone like myself, a bookkeeper. I see money as the numbers that determine the success and future of businesses. Looking at the “books” of a business can be very telling. A quick glance could give you an idea of the business’ financial health, which in turn can determine the health of its owners and employees.

Someone like my friend and colleague, Victoria Whitfield looks at money from a different perspective. Victoria is also a financial healer like myself, but we differ in our approaches to achieving financial health. While I may heal you and your business by making sure your numbers are to the upmost accuracy, Victoria has a more holistic approach. Among the many things that she does for her entrepreneur clients is managing stress.

I’ve worked with Victoria for a few years for both personal and business healing. Especially around this time of year we could all benefit from a little stress management. I have a few different things that I do around this time of year to relieve stress and they may work for you too!

First off, I scale back.

My sons are now grown and while we do celebrate Christmas, it is nowhere near what families with younger children do around this time of year. I still decorate, but at a minimal level, only putting up the decorations that I know are my favorite. When it comes to my shopping, I try to find a balance of supporting my local small businesses while doing much of my shopping online to avoid crowds. Most importantly, I try to focus less on the consumerism side of Christmas and more on the spiritual side of the season.

Some of our family traditions stopped as grandparents passed but one of my own personal traditions that I have maintained is the reading of a few Christmas stories. One is “The Power of Christmas Prayer” by Stormie Omartian. It tells the story about Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus from the time the Angel Gabriel give Mary the news to when the wise men visit. At the end of each chapter is a corresponding prayer. The other book is “The Max Lucado Christmas Collection.” It contains three stories of Christmas miracles.

If you’re in need of some financial healing or stress management, feel free to try some of my tips or contact myself or follow this link to contact Victoria Whitfield.