What’s Keeping You Up at Night? Tips to Help You Weather Economic Storms

What’s Keeping You Up at Night? Tips to Help You Weather Economic Storms

Sometimes it could be all too much wars and threats of war, effect of global warming, ongoing political unrest, pandemics and the resulting fallout.

If you're like me, you want to stay in bed with your cover's over your head, keep the blinds closed, shut off the TV and not open the mail.

There's a lot to be said for that.

Unfortunately, not all of it is good hiding from uncertainty now can just make the future more bleak.

I equate the current state of life on earth as walking through a minefield.

It's manmade and this threat has always been there.

Although we think  we have been made immune to the traps, we have only adapted and somewhat blindly taken the path of least resistance.

Thinking however foolishly, that we will make it to the other side intact.

We have simply refused or did not understand that our own individual feet in the minefield would ultimately lead us to where we are now, not only as an individual, but also a nation of nations.

When we thought we had successfully navigated the minefields, we neglected to look back at what was happening behind us.

More landmines have been set, and now you have to stop to consider more thoroughly your path and the risk to you.

Your path needs to change.

The path is never the same, even though we expected it to be.

Doing your best to weather these threats require a concerted effort to take a dive into your foundation of security, find the cracks, understanding they are weaknesses and shoring them up to weather the next storm.

That will certainly come.

That means looking at your finances and how they have changed and maybe not to the good because of inflation.

How can you mitigate the stress cracks now while keeping an eye on your future security?

What's most important to you?

What are the costs of achieving or keeping that secure?

Don't just plan for next week or next month or next year.

Plan now for the rest of your life.

Match your financial goals, including savings with your values.

And don't forget to anticipate negative influences that you cannot control your financial health, including unexpected illnesses so you can better alleviate a financial crisis.

Areas of finances you need to review.

Review everything in your monthly budget.

Get rid of everything you don't need, Such as those subscriptions that renew yearly even if you aren't using them.

How about the gym membership you have that you're not using as well as media subscriptions.

Resist the temptation to eat out often.

Many people don't realize exactly how much they are spending on lunches, take outs, restaurant dinners and entertainment.

I know it's great to be out of the home post-COVID, but you also don't want to create or exacerbate financial ills as well.

Be prudent in your spending.

Review your insurance portfolio.

Life insurance can be a life saver for those with a chronic illness.

Insurance isn't just for inheritances.

Consider disability insurance.

If you don't have disability insurance, protect your income in the event of illness, whether it be short term or long term illness, you are putting yourself and your family at risk.

Don't forget auto, homeowners and rental insurance.

You may be surprised to learn that you can change insurers prior to the policy renewal.

If you have a homeowner's insurance included in your mortgage, it's even more timely to review it, especially if it's been five or more years since your loan origination.

Many, if not all, insurance companies increase their rates based on anticipated value of homes.

Beware of other increases that make you over insured that give you absolutely zero benefit.

I was able to save several thousand dollars a year.

You may recognize this when the mortgage company does an annual reamortization.

Hint, it always increases.

Many times is it a result of the increase in your insurance, sometimes at the tune of automatically increase the value of your home 15 to 25% every year.

How realistic is that?

Even down real estate markets?

Additionally, they are using multipliers that were in effect at the time you originated your mortgage.

They may have decreased a lot since then.

If your house has lost value, review your insurance as well as tax bill, they can be corrected as well,  saving you money.

You'd like to increase your returns on savings accounts, consider reviewing your account types as well as online banking accounts.

Sometimes they offer higher interest rates.

If you have credit card debt,  work with a financial counselor or go online to a reputable provider to review best practices to pay this debt down or eliminate it.

With interest rates rising, the interest rates on these credit lines are bound to increase as well.

And as tempting as it may be, don't ignore your investment statements.

Right now is a good time to review it.

Take advantage of opportunities, speaks with a financial advisor who is also a fiduciary to help you.

And even if you are managing your health care expenses, make sure you are paying only what you legitimately owe.

Review your bills for errors.

Look for financial assistance plans that can help you pay for expensive medications.

These are challenging times that everyone is facing worldwide.

I can't stress the need to review your health now.

Prepare for the worst while expecting the best.