Is there a more stressful subject than money? Probably not, says a 2006 AP/IPSOS poll which asked respondents to name the most important cause of stress in their lives. Fully 34% said finances were their number one concern. It’s easy to believe even more people have money worries today.

Setting up a budget and maximizing investment returns are often suggested to ease our money worries. But these techniques can actually raise our stress level. Fortunately, there are stress-reducing alternatives that allow you to save more money, and get better investment results.

Scrap your budget.

For most people, saving money out of every paycheck is the most important financial skill they can learn. Without saving, there’s no money to invest for retirement, pay down credit card debt, or use as a down payment for a car.

We’ve all heard that if you want to save money, you should set up a budget. While budgets can sometimes be effective, for most people, they don’t work. And they so often fail because they’re stressful.

Want to reduce your money worries? It’s easy. Save more money by throwing your budget in the trash. And get better investment results by forgetting about beating the market.

Kenneth Robinson author of Don’t Make a Budget: Why it’s So Hard to Save Money and What to Do About It tells how in the summer issue.