Some people think that in order to be rich, you have to be smart. But that may not tell the whole story. In fact, being rich may make you smart. Or more likely, being poor dumbs you down. At a conference I attended, neuroscientist Dr. Emily Heath showed how people under financial stress experience a decline of 14 IQ points. That is worse than if you took an IQ test after not having slept for 24 hours. And we know that driving with no sleep can be even more dangerous than driving drunk. The difference is that usually after going on a bender, you sleep it off, feel cruddy for a few hours and are then back to normal. People under financial stress can't just drink a few glasses of Gatorade, pop a few ibuprofen and get relief. Stress also takes a physical toll, cutting lives short, causing pain and reducing sex drive. Let's face it: If you spend your day hiding from bill collectors, you're probably not feeling like your best self and are less apt to get your freak on. The same goes for your spouse. Money issues are one of the leading causes of divorce. And given the double whammy of 2020 being, well, 2020 and it being the holidays, there's no shortage of people with financial woes. That said, there are many ways to give yourself some financial breathing room and start reducing your stress. Let's take a look at some simple ones. Forced Savings If you're working and your company offers a 401(k), take it. I know, I know - you can't afford to give up 5% to 10% of your paycheck when you have bills to pay right now. But it's worth the effort. First of all, contributing to a 401(k) will immediately save you money in taxes. Let's say that you're single and your taxable income is $50,000 per year. You're in the 22% tax bracket, so you'll pay $11,000 in taxes. If you contribute 6% of your salary to a 401(k), you'll reduce your taxable income by $3,000, saving $660 in taxes. Furthermore, many companies offer a 50% match up to 6%, so you could receive an additional $1,500 contribution from your employer. And most people are still able to make ends meet with fewer take-home dollars. Acorns offers another a way to force yourself to save. Once you sign up and spend money using the Acorns card, the amount is rounded up and the spare change is saved in an investment account. So if you buy lunch for $6.25, the purchase is rounded up to $7 and the $0.75 is put into your account. That can add up quickly. You can then invest the funds in various portfolios made up of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). | 
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