Posted on 11 Apr, 2008 -
Worried about a recession? DON’T BE!
An alternative guide to not just surviving the recession - but becoming wealthy and successful because of it!
While everyone around you starts turning to a fretting mess due to this spectre called ‘recession’, why not try my alternative guide and actually make it your friend and stage upon which to prosper?
While the media runs around like Chicken Licken telling us the sky’s about to fall on our head, take advantage of the doom, gloom and regression to shine and prosper.
Because, you see, a few things have struck me about the nature of recessions (not to mention the fact that it may not happen or that it will only happen because we think it will)…
First of all, the symptoms that a whole nation can suffer during a recession share a remarkable resemblance to the symptoms suffered by an individual person suffering from depression. Secondly, few people actually understand exactly what or why they are worried - and are therefore unable to take specific action to protect themselves and prosper.
Indeed, like the depressed person, they stop feeling any energy or enthusiasm for the future. They suffer from constant anxiety without really being able to pinpoint a solvable problem. And they become generally less effective and productive as people.
They have a negative outlook and therefore they are pulled down by this negativity.
Know your enemy and you’ll be able to face it
So what, you may ask, am I suggesting as an alternative?
Well, first of all, you need to understand your enemy to decide whether you have any cause for worry. If you don’t then you can stop worrying immediately. If you do, then you’ll be able to do something about it.
The main problems that happen during a recession is that some people lose their jobs (but probably not as many as you might imagine). The stock markets plummet. Property prices fall. And sometimes we suffer from high inflation as well.
Let’s take a look at those problems one by one:
How to safeguard your job and rise up the company
First of all, yours and your spouse’s and perhaps childrens’ jobs. The key thing to do here is to make sure that you become as indispensable as possible to your employers and or customers. Now is the time to go a few extra miles further than anyone else in your company. Enjoy the chance to shine and show energy and creativity just as everyone else is crippling themselves with worry and fear about the future.
If at all possible, make sure you are an important part of actually bringing in money to your company. Make sure the important people realise that if cuts are to be made, you should be one of the last ones to go. Make sure you are crucial and indispensable and seen as competent and hard working. Get to work early, leave late, work hard and most importantly, make sure people notice.
The public sector will be safer than the private - especially if you’re in health care. You’re more likely to stay if you’re in sales than if you’re in something like customer services or a less important initiative.
And finally, ignore the recessionary pull to batten down the hatches and stop planning for the future. Plan for a future that’s even brighter than tomorrow.
What to do if your future depends on the health of the stock market
I don’t want to offer any specific financial advice here as I’m not an expert and I don’t have a crystal ball. However, if you will need to cash in any investments that rely on stock market performance in the near future, then now might not be a bad time to switch them into something more secure if you think things will continue to get worse.
On the bright side, if stock market prices carry on plummeting, hold onto your cash so you’ll be able to mop up bargains when they hit the bottom.
What to do if your future depends on the value of your home
If you’re thinking of selling and downsizing your house in the next five years, then it might be worth considering doing it now. If you wait it is possible (but far from certain of course) that you could lose a lot of further value.
If you’re not thinking of downsizing your home or cashing in on a property investment then the important thing is not to lose sleep over the fact that the value of your home is decreasing. Too many people judge the size of their wealth on the value of their house. But the value of your house should be the pleasure that it gives you. The monetary value only need matter if you need to sell it today. If you don’t have any plans for cashing in during the next ten years then do yourself a favour and ignore all news on property prices until it will actually affect you again.
Keeping afloat if things get tough financially
If you’re worried about the state of your finances and or debts, now is the time to do something about it. Make it a mission to cut down your debts - whether it entails taking on a second job, living more frugally or selling that expensive car you bought and buying a smaller one.
With the rising cost of petrol, the smaller car the better anyway. And the same is true of houses…
The cold truth, I’m afraid, is that if people have credit card debts then 9 out of 10 times it means they’ve been living a lifestyle that they just can’t afford.
Become lean. DOWNSIZE Your Debts, UPSIZE your energy.
Make a list of all your larger monthly expenses and decide to slash at least two of them.
Shop cheaper for everything you buy and take pleasure in frugality.
Should you save for a rainy day?
The obvious answer, of course, is that yes you should. In fact, I believe that everyone feels a lot happier for having money in the bank rather than living on the edge of debt and credit card crisis.
On the other hand, with the threat of inflation (the increasing cost of everything) and the relative low interest you can get on your savings, another (complimentary) solution might actually be to stockpile stuff.
I personally quite like the idea of having a huge pile of tinned salmon and bottles of wine in the attic in case times get really hard!
Or, if there are big expenses you know you will have to pay out for in the future and you have cash in the bank today, now might be a better time to pay for them.
Looking after your emotional health and steering away from anxiety
Always remember that you are your own most valuable asset. If you lose your health, energy or enthusiasm then you will lower your ability to prosper and survive.
Don’t get pulled into unnecessary fear about recession. Remember, most people won’t be too adversely affected by it and if you stay in top shape you could actually outshine the crowd and rise to the top.
Keep on thinking positively about the future and plan for great things to happen in your life. Live with energy and enthusiasm and energy and success will be returned to you.
Concentrate on increasing your wealth and security at the same time as your happiness and there’s a very good chance that that’s what will happen. Concentrate your energy on worrying about losing your job and financial crisis and chances are you’ll attract those things to you.
