The dollar is falling. Banks are failing. Foreclosures are rising. Jobs are scarce. Is that a piece of the sky I just saw?
How does one find peace in the midst of financial difficulty?
I don’t have all the answers, but having been through my share of financial turmoil in the last year, here are my best suggestions…
Focus on your family
When everything goes to crap, your family will likely still be with you. Family can support and comfort you even in the midst of a foreclosure, or bankruptcy, or job loss.
Control what you can
You will never be able to control every aspect of your life. You can’t control the housing market, or the federal reserve, so stop worrying about things outside your control!
You CAN however control your spending. You can control a budget. You can control how much you save each month. Control what you can, let everything else go…
“God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change,
courage to change the things we can,
and wisdom to know the difference.”
It’s not just for addicts : )
Talk about it
Find a family member, or friend you can share your economic thoughts, worries, and war stories with. I can’t stress enough the value of words in financial difficulty. If you’re struggling with your job, your mortgage, credit card bills, whatever. Find someone to talk with.
Many of us were brought up being taught that money was a “dirty” topic for discussion. Bragging about how much money you make isn’t what I’m saying here. I’m talking about sharing budgets, frugal purchases, investment thoughts. These are all very positive, healthy topics that we shouldn’t shy away from. Always be tactful, but don’t be afraid to “talk money”.
Punch stuff (not people)
Financial unrest can make you angry. I like to throw towels when I get angry. I know it’s strange, but it works. Find some inanimate object (pillow, punching bag, etc) to take your wrath out on. You’ll feel better, and it beats taking your rage out on the road.
Learn to find non-circumstantial Peace
Want true Peace? You have to be able to feel peace irregardless of your financial situation. This could come from your faith, or another avenue that is a stable force in your life. Find peace is something that cannot be go into turmoil (like the financial markets) and you’ll be able to weather any financial storm.
This is what I’m working on right now in my life. The ability to have emotional stability irregardless of my financial situation. It isn’t easy, and I have a long way to go, but I’m trying to get there.
{ 1 trackback }
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
On the punching stuff. Make sure you don’t punch your inanimate car with an inanimate wrench. Doesn’t help. Keep it fluffy, lightweight and soft if you must be aggressive on something.
@ Stephen – Good point. Putting hammer down now….
Punching stuff not people made me laugh but its very true. When you get angry or frustrated by your financial situation you might as well take it out on an inanimate object rather than a physical person.
Just make sure to pick something that can take the beating! Throwing the TV won’t help much not to mention cleaning it up will be a pain.
In my experience, surefire conversational wet blankets are sex, politics, religion, and money issues. It’s just too personal; maybe talking to very close friends, family, and a therapist is acceptable as long as someone else approaches the subject first. This is why I feel the net has so many opinions, as well as useful info, on finance…it is a way to get some direction without glazed over eyes and a yawn. I’m sure there are plenty of exceptions…it was such fun to hear about “day trading” which I found was similar to the lottery..we knew lots of people who play but hearing about someone actually “winning” was great news! Now we have the long faces and tales about how much people have lost in the stock market turmoil. What a drag. My point is, you might want to throttle back the money chit-chat until you can march out your successes! 03/19/08
This is a total head-in-the-sand tactic, but when I feel myself starting to freak out over the economy, I remind myself that we went through a recession in the nineties and I didn’t even know about it, lol! So really, how much could this one really impact me? It helps calm me down. The other thing I’m doing is NOT looking at the 401k or any other investments. I don’t want to know how much I’ve lost. If a situation is going to bring me down I do my best to just avoid it altogether. =) Then I have more time for some of the fun-focused items on your list!
It’s usually better to find something that you enjoy doing that relieves stress and do it even when you’re not feeling stressed out by foreclosures or the economy. Of course, that’s not always possible and stress is sometimes the motivation for finding a way to deal with stress.
Focusing too much on money is definitely a quick and unhappy path to an early grave, though. It’s possible to be happy with little money, maybe it’s easier to be happy with little money. Having no money is obviously stressful, but then you should find out what brought you to that point and begin planning a way out, if possible.
Your post seems to be mostly about re-centering yourself and your life, and recognizing the things that have value that can’t be measured with depreciating dollars. Family, friends, peace, conversation, and punching things
> You have to be able to feel peace irregardless of your financial situation.
This statement really rings true for me. I’m digging myself slowly out of the debt hole myself, and I do mean SLOWLY. It’s hard not to let your current financial situation get you down – especially when I have to stick tight to a budget and can’t afford to buy the things I want to for my two kids. I can’t really afford to buy the kids easter baskets this year, but you’re right about family – I’m just letting the in-laws take care of it. It’s nice to know I’m not alone, though! I’m joining you on your journey, I just subscribed to your feed. If you can get out of debt, so can I!