Why I Check My Bank Account at 5 AM for Social Security Payments – Anxiety Over Chaos

Personal Finance

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Understandably, many people wake up every morning and check their credit cards and checking/savings accounts when they grab their phones and turn off their alarm. Whether to look for fraud or ensure the money still exists, I can speak as an authority on this subject as I’ve been doing it for years. 

Well, in one Redditor’s case, posting in the r/SocialSecurity subreddit, they feel incredibly anxious every month when they wake up on the day their Social Security payment is due to be hit. The goal is to find peace of mind and ensure their deposit has been made. Is this a habit they should break? The answer is unequivocally yes, but it’s not unlike what millions of other people do. 

Whether or not this is a force of habit or OCD, people dependent on this money have every right to worry about monthly deposits. 

Anxiety Level Increase

As there is a lot of movement within the American government, the Redditor is worried that there is “ongoing chaos” at the Social Security Administration. As a result, they feel far more uncertain about whether their deposit will happen on time and correctly. 

After seeing that the money is in their account and available to spend, they acknowledge that their blood pressure returns to normal. Having received benefits for 18 years, they have never seen it so chaotic, which is only increasing their levels of anxiety. 

While there hasn’t been any widespread news of Social Security deposits being late or wrong, this isn’t affecting the Redditor from logging on early the morning when a deposit is due, and double-checking. Thankfully, the Reddit comment section tries to put the original poster’s mind at ease by saying that 1) Social Security has “never” missed a payment and that 2) “Lots of people have this anxiety, you’re not alone!” 

Don’t Stress Yourself

The good news is that, as one Redditor points out, the original poster isn’t alone in their worries. There is comfort in numbers, but the comments mention DOGE more than once, and whether potential layoffs at the Social Security Administration could eventually impact payments being delivered on time. 

With the Social Security Administration being largely unaffected by job cuts, the Redditor’s mind should be more at ease. This goes for all commenters expressing similar concerns, but I know this is easier said than done. One Redditor acknowledges a similar fear by saying they are having self-induced anxiety attacks. 

The most important thing to remember may be that what this Redditor is feeling is perfectly rational, given their fears. It’s easy for me to judge from afar, but what I can say is that until there are widespread reports of issues where checks are either delayed, stopped, or incorrect, this Redditor needs to try to live their life without causing themselves undue anxiety. 

Politics and More Politics

Unsurprisingly, this Reddit thread gets pretty political given the current climate in American politics. Hopefully, both sides of the aisle know that Social Security can’t be touched without a massive uprising of an electorate that votes heavily. This, too, should give the Redditor some confidence that there won’t be any widespread issues in the very near future. 

The best thing the Redditor can do right now is to try going just one month without waking up early for the deposit. Even if they woke up at 5 AM and the check wasn’t there, they couldn’t do anything about it for hours. In other words, get some rest and try to relax as much as possible so you can enjoy your golden years. 

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