The Economic Season Is About to Drastically Change
By: Tim Denning
Tags: Self Improvement, Money, Economy, Society, Life

What matters right now is that you don’t panic, but prepare. Many people are living in ignorance and not understanding what is about to happen. It doesn’t take an expert to understand.

There is 90 days to change your behavior, get yourself together, and face the changing economic situation. It’s going to be hard — we’ve faced far worse before. Here’s what you can do in the next 90 days to deal with what is about to happen.

Get a plan together

If you were to lose your job, how long could you survive?

If you had to take a significant pay cut, how would that look?

If you got sick, what’s your backup plan?

These questions can help you prepare so that when the storm comes, you don’t need to panic and you can ride it out in style — and hopefully help others, too.

It’s time to reinvent yourself

The skills you need might change.

This is the time to go all-in on building a mindset that can overcome challenging times. This is the time to admit what you’ve been trying to hide and get real with yourself. This is the time to rethink what work looks like and consider having a second income.

You can sell your skills to more than one bidder. You can work for several employers to diversify your risk or find a way to be helpful to a small audience and earn a little money on the side.

Those who refuse to change are going to get hit the hardest when the economic season moves in the opposite direction.

It’s time to radically cut your costs.

Having a buffer is key. Even if you think you’ve got plenty of money, you’ll probably need a softer cushion to land on when the economy changes.

Cut your costs more than you think you have to.

Do you really need all those subscriptions? Could you eat at home a little more? Could you pay off that credit card? Could you give gifts that are thoughtful rather than expensive?

If you cut your expenses too much you can always add them back again. A “just in case” mindset is a life-saver during an economic storm.

Don’t worry about how you look in front of your friends when you decide to cut costs. They too will be affected. It’s not the time to protect some fake image of yourself; it’s time to be smarter than you’ve ever been financially by cutting costs where you can.

It’s time to have a hard conversation with your bank.

Having worked in finance for many years, one mistake people make is not reaching out and asking for help. If you’re struggling financially now is the time to tell your bank or get professional advice.

Banks can help you get your finances together if you’re honest with them early on. There are payment plans and things they can do now to help you prepare. But when a lot more people are contacting their bank in 90 days it may not be so easy to get the help you need.

If you’re doing well financially, it’s time to ask your bank to cut their interest rates or waive some fees to help increase your buffer.

It’s time to sell something, or many things.

Selling stuff you don’t use anymore or don’t really need is a way to further increase your financial buffer.

It’s also a good way to practice entry-level minimalism and experience the freeing feeling of not letting your stuff own you.

You probably don’t need as much stuff as you think you do. Lighten your load and put the savings somewhere useful like in your investment portfolio.

Do whatever it takes

The part people will find the hardest is letting go.

Letting go of their image, their past, their idea of work, their old home, their stuff, their feelings, their potential ignorance of this situation.

You deal with what is coming by making a decision to do whatever it takes. You commit to the future, and to what counts: family, love, happiness, productive work you enjoy. Everything else isn’t so important.