Here’s the last installment of my 3-part series on the Economy. If you missed the first two, be sure to check them out: What Happened to Our Economy – In Plain English and What Happened Next.
Today I’m going over a few steps I think you would be wise to take to protect yourself from suffering hard times in today’s tough economy.
Get out of Debt
I can’t stress how important this is. If you have credit card debt and/or are living beyond your means, you need to cut back now! There are lots of little things you can do that will make a dent in your debt.
- Have a garage sale and sell everything you don’t need. Take the cash straight to the store and get a money order made out to the credit card company so you aren’t tempted to spend it.
- Cut back your grocery bill by $25 per week. That’s $1300 per year savings that you can use to pay off your card.
- Stop eating out. Stop going to movies. Try to have a free date night once a month. Get a friend or family member to watch the kids. See who can come up with the most fun free date night. Most people spend $50-250 on entertainment. This would give you quite a bit to put towards your card.
These are just a few ideas. But you need to be committed to getting out of debt. I strongly recommend you find a copy of Dave Ramsey’s books Financial Peace and The Total Money Makeover. Also J.D. Roth over at Get Rich Slowly chronicles how he managed to pay off $35,000 worth of debt. Once you are living without credit card debt you’ll be in a much better position financially.
Focus on Your Family
Don’t worry about your neighbors and what they drive, wear, or do. You need to focus on the needs of your family and meeting these needs in the most frugal way possible. If you already use coupons try a new way to save money like buying things at thrift stores or on Craigslist. There are lots of other ways to save money. Be creative and don’t worry what your neighbors think. They probably won’t even notice anyway.
Cut Costs Now
If you think you will be laid off, make a budget right now as if you were. Cut out all your discretionary spending and start socking away as much as you possibly can. This way you’ll be better prepared for a layoff. First, you’ll be able to fine-tune your budget and correct any slip-ups when your financial situation isn’t as critical. Second, your family will be accustomed to living leaner and you won’t have to add a lifestyle change to the already traumatic experience of losing an income.
Stockpile
Start building up a healthy stockpile of products that you regularly use when they go on sale at a rock bottom price. In a few months you should have a supply good enough to last you through hard times or at least until the next rock bottom sale. This has been great for me not only to last between sales and helping to save money, it means if I don’t feel like shopping one week, I can get away with it.
Share with Your Neighbors
I’m going to go into this more next week with my Tuesday Tip, but here’s a teaser. If you are having a hard time one or more of your neighbors are too. Share with them! If you have coupons that would really benefit them, pass them on. Share when they can get things at a rock bottom price. Teach them some of your money saving tricks. Share you homegrown veggies. They can return the favor. Plus, if you fall on hard times, you have a support group of like-minded people ready to assist you.
For more recession-proofing ideas, check out Homemaker Barbi’s recession-proof series: Recession Proof Your Pantry and Food, It’s Not About How Much You Make, and Recession Proof Your Family
What are some of the steps you take to make sure you are recession proof?
Shellie loves to share her frugal finds to help you get more with less. A spender at heart, she balances her frugal lifestyle with the occassional splurge.
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Great post! Love the links, too.
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