How Single Ladies Can Prepare Financially for a Recession

Recently there have been some alarming rumblings in the financial markets. For those of us who remember The Great Recession of 2008 (the majority of us) these rumblings can be very scary and unnerving. Instead of freaking out now is the time to prepare and keep things in perspective. Hopefully you’ve been working towards cleaning up your finances, saving money, and paying off your debt. If you haven’t, now is the time to get started. Recessions happen and here are some thoughts on how single ladies can prepare financially for the next economic downturn.

Don’t Freak Out- A Recession Will Happen

Understand that just like with everything the economy goes up and down. This is a normal part of an economic cycle. Because of this, you are empowered to prepare for the inevitable which is that the economy will go up or down. It would be very strange if the economy continued growing without stopping. Many outside forces affect a country’s economy. For the purpose of this post I will focus on the U.S. (I’m American) but you can apply the same factors to your country wherever you may be reading this post from.

Here are some outside factors that can affect your country’s economy:

• Political leadership
• Weather related events
• Trade wars
• Perceptions of big companies
• Consumer confidence

And, the list goes on. Basically, there are so many components that affect the health of the economy that it’s important to focus on what YOU can control for YOU and YOUR life.

Know Your Numbers

Spend some time really looking at your overall financial picture. When you look at your financial picture, this is not an opportunity to be mad at yourself. It’s an opportunity to create financial clarity and empower yourself. Again-recessions will always happen. Don’t be caught off guard when they do. You want to know:

• How much you’re earning

• How much you’re spending and what you’re spending on

• Your monthly set expenses

• And, your net worth.

Ideally, you will review these numbers monthly. A great tool to use to do this is Personal Capital. What I’ve learned after blogging about personal finance for 7 years is that you have power to change these numbers once you know what they are. It might take awhile, but your personal finance journey is an Ultra-Marathon. You will be making financial decisions from now until you’re 100 years old. Just get used to it.

Look For Opportunities

To lower your overall expenses. When I began my financial journey my monthly budget was super inflated. As I worked towards freeing up cash so that I could pay off debt, one of my areas of focus was how to live the same quality of life for less-much less. I spent a lot of time looking at:

• Buying Groceries for Less-and I eat organic food.

• How to Workout For Cheap or for Free

•  Paying off Debt

• Looking Nice with Fun and Inexpensive Wigs

In fact, I was able to free up $13,500 a year by focusing on opportunities to save and switch services without sacrificing quality.

Earn More Money

There are a ton of ways to earn more money ranging from negotiating a higher wage at work, side-hustling and starting a business on the side. You could even take action on all three of these opportunities to make more money. In fact, it is shocking how many ways there are to make money.

• 101 Fun, Crazy Ways to Make More Money

As my friend Kara Perez from Bravely said so eloquently “You can’t out frugal debt. You will have to earn more.” This is a reality that most people (including myself for a long-time) lose sight of.

Prepare For Murphy

It’s Murphy’s Law that some crazy stuff will happen as you work through the process of preparing your finances. Spend some time imagining different financial scenarios that could affect your finances. Don’t freak yourself out. Just, think about things that could come up and mess you up. Then, create a plan for those eventualities.

• Job loss-This one is super scary…but most people have experienced it. I know that I have. Do you have an updated resume on file? What are you earning? What type of field do you work in? Where are jobs located if you need to find a new one?
• Do you have insurance? What type of coverage? Do a quick check. Life is busy and maybe coverage is too expensive, has lapsed, or your needs have changed.
  • Home
  • Health
  • Car
  • Travel
• Family stuff-Do your family members depend on you occasionally for financial stuff during the “good times?” What would that look like when the economy experiences a downturn? Do you have a plan. Set money aside AND DON’T TELL YOUR FAMILY. Just create a plan and be prepared.

Pay Off Debt

I’ve spent the past 7 freaking years paying off debt. I had a ton of debt that I owed to way too many creditors. In fact, when I began this journey, I was probably dealing with well over 30+ creditors. Right now I have 6 bills creditors left and in the next six-8 weeks that number will drop to two creditors left.

Begin paying off your debt NOW. It may happen for you fast or slow-it doesn’t matter how long it takes as long as you get it done. The fewer people you have to deal with financially, the better.

Lower Your Overall Living Expenses

Currently, my monthly expenses are less than $2,000 including the cost to run my online business. For the first four months of 2019 my overall expenses will be much higher as I finish paying off my remaining unsecured debt. This is my #1 financial goal for the beginning of 2019.

But, there is something to be said about having extremely low monthly expenses. It just makes things so much easier to manage.

Pay Expenses Ahead

Start making calls to the following:

• Internet service provider
• Electric company
• Any monthly subscriptions

Ask and see if you’re allowed to pay extra on your bill. This is a great way to build up a buffer between you and “Murphy’s law.” With monthly subscriptions, see if it’s possible to pay your bill annual and if you’re eligible for a discount on that service if you do that. The goal is to have as few outgoing monthly payments as possible or to get ahead on as many as you can. You can choose a specific bill and throw extra cash at it methodically or when you receive a windfall. Or, you can do both.

Save Money

Americans have a notoriously difficult time doing this. I get it. There are a couple of ways you can make saving easier.

• Work with your human resources department to have money sent to a designated account before you ever see it.

• Use savings apps/platforms such as Digit or Qapital. Digit has a $3 fee each month so F.Y.I. but, that fee may be worth it if you struggle with saving.

• Free up cash by switching services. I did that by switching my phone service from Verizon to Google Fi. As long as my phone is connected to WiFi, I average around $35 a month for service.

Methodically go through your expenses and see what actions you can take to free up cash so that you can put money towards savings.

Keep Things in Perspective

Your personal finance story is an ultra-marathon. You will be making financial decisions every single day for the rest of your life. Be kind to yourself as many of these moves may take time to implement and your new habits may take awhile to get used to.

But, with each action that you take, you will build up confidence and results over time.

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Michelle

I am an obsessive foodie, but not self-righteous with it, love travel, meeting new people, helping you look good, and am freaked out by people who don't enjoying reading...something! Grab a Perrier, read my blog, feel free to drop me a line! Hope to hear from you soon.

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